History
The Tulsa Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded in 1913 by a group of Tulsa citizens concerned about homeless dogs and cats who also wanted to protect against abuse of draft animals used to do heavy work on farms, in mines and on oil fields. The structure that houses the current shelter was built in 1931. In 1949, the Tulsa SPCA was incorporated as a non-profit organization and since that time has been governed by a board of directors.
In 1991, the Tulsa SPCA hired a cruelty investigator, the first and only in Oklahoma. In 1992, the foster pet, pet therapy and dog training programs were developed. The current vet clinic was built in 1994. We launched our Mobile Adoption Center in 2005 and in 2013, the Tulsa SCPA celebrated its 100th Anniversary! 2017 welcomed a milestone with more than 1,000 animals adopted in a year!
Who We Are
Our Mission: "To improve the lives of dogs and cats, and their human companions."
Our Vision: "By 2028, through community engagement, the rate at which dogs and cats in the Tulsa area are abandoned, neglected or unnecessarily euthanized will be reduced."
Our Core Values:
- Teamwork We believe in the power of teamwork and positivity, both internal and external, in achieving our common goals. Practicing respect, empathy, honesty and assuming good intentions will allow us to progress further as a team.
- Stewardship In addition to meeting the minimum legal and financial standards for nonprofit organizations, we believe our responsibility demands we keep our mission at the forefront of our decision making. We will ensure impact optimization through transparency, effective use of resources, and being true to our high professional standards.
- Public Education and Outreach We believe education and outreach are key to long-term improvements in animal and human lives. Through active and compassionate listening to our community, we aim to identify where the needs are so we can be a non-judgmental resource where understandable and forward-thinking information is vital and easily accessible to all willing to participate.
- Compassionate and Humane Treatment of Animals In all program aspects, we will ensure compassion and humane treatment of animals is our primary concern. Following Fear Free® principles in our interactions with animals, adherence to the Five Freedoms model, staying up to date on animal welfare practices, and keeping our capacity for care in mind are aspects we consider core to this value. Additionally, reserving personal judgment and prioritizing facts and compassion is key. This includes the ability to acknowledge when humane euthanasia is the best option.
- Animal-Human Bond We believe the benefits between animals and humans flow both ways, thus the size of your bank account should never determine your ability to experience the love and companionship of an animal. Meeting people where they are and providing resources to strengthen the animal-human bond is critical. These resources include: access to affordable veterinary care, removing adoption barriers, and other tools to help keep animals and humans together.
The Tulsa SPCA is considered a managed-intake shelter. That means we are able to make intake decisions based on things like available space, suitability for our housing options and other factors. We would be considered, by those who use the term, a "no-kill" shelter.
With regard to the description of shelters, we advocate for use of the terms managed admission and open admission because to use the term "no-kill" implies we don't "kill" animals but other shelters do. The sad reality is government shelters are required to take in surrendered, injured or at-large animals and because of space limitations must sometimes euthanize in order to make room for new arrivals. The decision to euthanize an animal is heartbreaking for anyone but especially for those who chose to work in an animal welfare organization and even more so when you have to make the decision due to space constraints. The difficult decisions they have to make are a result of poor decisions by pet owners in the community not poor decisions by employees carrying out their legal obligations. If there was no pet overpopulation issue due to failure of owners to spay and neuter their animals, or if animals weren't abandoned, left unattended or unidentifiable (no microchip or tag), the numbers coming into shelters would be manageable and not require those heartbreaking decisions.
The reality is, the Tulsa SPCA also has to euthanize animals, but thankfully never for space. We are committed to making sure our community is safe and so we will not adopt out a dog or cat we determine is dangerous. We are also committed to making sure dogs and cats in our care do not suffer unnecessarily and so will humanely euthanize for untreatable medical conditions which are causing suffering.
Outcomes
The Tulsa SPCA uses Asilomar Live Release Rate to highlight the number of animals who left our care with a live outcome (adoption, return to owner, etc.). We are pleased to report our 2023 live release rate was 98%!
Our progress in 2023:
- 1,393 Adoptions
- 6,321 Spay/Neuter Surgeries
- 178 Dental Procedures and Other Surgeries
- 23,423 Vaccinations
- 4,164 Microchips
- 1,009 Cruelty Investigations
- 27,725 Pounds of pet food distributed to those in need