Local nonprofit rescue 24 dogs from poor living conditions in Shawnee

TULSA, Okla. — The Humane Society of Tulsa is now caring for 24 dogs, including five puppies, recovered from a property in a rural area of Shawnee.

The animals were in poor living conditions and are now undergoing medical treatment, but officials said with the extra intake they need help with supplies.

The local nonprofit helped the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture with the rescue.

“It can be really heartbreaking to see 2-week old puppies covered in feces with no access to food or water, but we're there to help. We're there for the animals to get them moved on to something better,” said Rachel Ward, adoption manager at Humane Society of Tulsa.

Ward said they were voluntarily handed over by the owner.

“It was about 50-50 on the animals that were in enclosures versus the animals that were roaming free. Our team did have to catch a lot of the dogs that were roaming out there,” Ward said.

Ward said the dogs range in age from around 2 weeks old up to several years old.

“We've got some that are underweight. The puppies were found in not so great condition so trying to get them cleaned up and back to nursing on mom. Lots of skin conditions like suspected mange and things like that,” Ward said.

Ward said the recovery shows the need to spay and neuter animals.

“That's definitely what we see a lot of when animals aren't spayed and neutered. They're going to continue to reproduce and a lot of times that's how situations like this turn into 24 animals on a property,” Ward said.

The nonprofit is now calling on the community for help.

“All of those supplies that we go through on a regular basis start to diminish very quickly,” said Ward. “One of the most rewarding things to see in cases like this is as soon as you remove them from that environment, you see that stress fall away. You just see how grateful they are to have those basics.”

The dogs aren't ready for adoption yet as they're still waiting to see an improvement in their condition first.

For those who want to help, supplies can be dropped off at their center located at 6232 E 60th St.

The nonprofit also has an Amazon list link for their most needed items on their Facebook page which can be found below.