OCHS transports 4,000th animal
The Oktibbeha County Humane Society Mississippi Mutts on the Move program transported its 4,000th animal Tuesday to a shelter in the northeast for adoption.
The 4,000th animal, a female Great Pyrenees mix named Velvet, was transported along with 20 other dogs to the ASPCA of New York City.
OCHS Outreach Coordinator Sarah Buckleitner said Velvet and the other dogs will travel around 18 hours from Starkville to New York City, stopping every four hours for water and bathroom breaks.
Buckleitner said the program was created in August 2016 through a grant from PetsMart Charities. Initially PetSmart Charities provided vans, now OCHS owns and operates their own program. PetsMart Charities has donated over half a million dollars to program, and OCHS has also received support and funding from ASPCA.
As of Feb. 6, OCHS Mississippi Mutts on the Move has transported 255 cats, 3,730 dogs and nine rabbits to humane societies in Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Buckleitner said OCHS is partnered with Amory Humane Society, Animal Relief and Rescue Fellowship, Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society, Grassroots Animal Rescue, Louisville Animal Shelter, Small Mercies Animal Rescue, Webster County Animal Shelter and West-Point Clay County Animal Shelter.
“Previously we were only able to transport animals from our shelter, which is great, but there are thousands of animals around Mississippi that need homes,” she said. “With this program, we’re able to pull animals from other shelters and counties, to help stop the whole issue of homeless animals.”
Buckleitner said animals are overpopulated in Mississippi, and the population is less willing to adopt, so animals are taken from shelters in the south and transported to the north, where many people have already begun the adoption process for animals before they even arrive to the shelters.
“In the northeast, people spay and neuter a ton, they’ve got cold winters so animals don’t breed year-round, and they have a culture where it is only really acceptable to get an animal that is from a humane society,” Buckleitner said.