Dog Dumped on Shelter's Door Handle in a Bag Found by Staff in the Morning

Aug 22, 2023

Staff at the Oklahoma Humane Society were greeted with an unexpected surprise when they arrived at work this week.

When they went to unlock the door, they found a small dog tied to the handles inside a carrier.

The Oklahoma Humane Society was founded in 2007 and works closely with Oklahoma City Animal Welfare (OKC Animal Shelter), but the OKC is currently closed due to an outbreak of canine influenza.

Canine influenza, also known as dog flu, is a contagious respiratory disease that affects dogs. First identified in racing greyhounds in the U.S. in 2004, the flu easily spreads among dogs and can be fatal—particularly in puppies, older dogs or those with weakened immune systems.

Preventing the spread of canine influenza includes practicing good hygiene including washing hands and changing clothes after contact with infected animals, and isolated sick dogs from healthy ones.

"Sadly, many local shelters are currently closed due to a deadly outbreak of the Canine Influenza Virus, and people are struggling to find a place to take pets," Roshelle Anderson from the Oklahoma Humane Society told Newsweek.

While the humane society is working hard to support the community and fill in potential gaps in animal care, they do not directly care for animals.

"We are not a shelter facility, and we cannot take them in unless we have a foster commitment," explained Anderson.

"Our program relies on community support and fosters. Generally, we pull animals from the local shelter into our program once we get a foster commitment. Without a foster commitment, we are unable to take an animal in."

Earlier this week there were tears after an elderly golden retriever was dumped at a shelter because her owner's boyfriend hated dogs. Meanwhile, two dogs found abandoned together at a library got a forever home together.

The small dog that was tied to the adoption center door last weekend remains unnamed and is still in search of a foster home.

"Fostering a pet is usually a two-week commitment. Once the pet is ready for adoption, they can visit our adoption center," said Anderson. "People fostering canines drop the dog off at our adoption center in the mornings and pick them up in the evenings if they were not adopted that day. Dogs don't stay at the adoption center overnight. We provide all the food and take care of all medical expenses."

The dog left at the center is in good health. "She enjoys snuggles but does not appreciate vet exams," said Anderson. "She is currently at our intake facility which is a temporary holding area that we use when we pull animals from the OKC animal shelter into our program."

The Facebook post gained attention from dog lovers who were frustrated to see the dog abandoned in this way, but Anderson clarified that the post was not intended to point fingers at anybody.

"We didn't post the photo to specifically call out the people who left the pet, but rather to bring attention to a greater problem facing our community," she said. "With the closures of our local shelters, we are struggling to keep up and need the community's help more than ever."

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