Throughout June, local dog owners can get their bully breeds spayed or neutered for free courtesy of Tulsa Animal Welfare and the Humane Society of Tulsa.
“We are hosting Operation Pit Stop, which is a high-volume spay/neuter event brought to Tulsa by Wings of Rescue and a whole bunch of sponsors that really know the importance of spay/neuter and are helping us spay and neuter over 500 bully breeds in Oklahoma this year,” said Rachel Ward, the adoption manager for the Humane Society of Tulsa.
Ward says there is a reason the clinic is open to so-called bully breeds specifically:
“That is the number one breed that ends up in our Tulsa shelters—a lot of them end up in our municipal shelters by the litter. So, if you can imagine taking in, you know, even just one litter of bullies every week at our city shelter, that is a lot for them to keep up with and unfortunately what ends up happening is they have to make space,” she said.
By “make space,” she means euthanize the dogs if there isn’t enough room in shelters. Ward said a female bully breed can have anywhere from 8-12 puppies in a litter, contributing to overpopulation. She also said the breeds come with the baggage of misinformation, which is why many don’t get adopted.
“A lot of people don’t see them as adoptable pets. A lot of apartments and places like that don’t allow them just based on misinformation about behavioral and temperament and things like that, so they end up sitting and spending a lot of time in shelters,” she said.
The clinic is being held at the former Tulsa County Juvenile Detention Center at 315 S. Gilcrease Museum Road. For more information about Operation Pit Stop, go to operationpitstop.org.
