Lawton might stop accepting animals from other communities at its animal shelter

The City of Lawton animal shelter may stop accepting animals from other towns.

City Council members have directed city staff to craft a plan that could do away with the existing policy of crafting agreements with entities outside Lawton, providing those communities services for stray or released animals that include rehoming and euthanizing. To date, Lawton has agreement with three communities, but only the agreements with Apache and Walters are active (a third agreement with Grandfield is not).

Animal Shelter Superintendent Roy Rodrick said Lawton provides its animal shelter services to those towns for a fee: $46 for a rehoming contract plus an administrative fee of $5.75, both per animal. The practice gives those communities an option for their stray pets, but Rodrick and others say it also creates questions and problems for Lawton’s shelter: specifically, are the fees covering cost of providing services, and are those animals contributing to an overpopulation problem that forces the shelter to euthanize some animals to make room for more.

Rodrick said the fees being charged are not covering costs. The shelter estimates a one-day cost of holding one animal at $65, to include vaccines, sterilization surgery and average daily care. The total cost the city receives from out-of-town animals is $51.75.

Council members said they appreciated the help Lawton is lending its neighbors, but they are concerned about the strain the service places on the shelter.

“We are at capacity,” said Ward 4 Councilman George Gill, adding Lawton’s only real choice if it continues to accept animals from outside the city is building a larger facility, and that means a cost to Lawton residents. “From a business standpoint, it’s absolutely a losing program.

“Unfortunately, other cities need to take care of their animals.”

Ward 8 Councilman Randy Warren called the situation “heartbreaking,” but said the city must run the shelter like a business.

“It’s not fair to the citizens of Lawton to spend money to take care of others,” Warren said, adding if Lawton wants to build a larger facility in the future, it must be profitable now and that means asking those outside the city limits to pay the entire cost of taking in their animal, plus a little more.

Warren said those cities also must adopt the ordinances Lawton has, such as the city’s breeding permit requirement, to help control pet overpopulation.

Mayor Stan Booker had mixed feelings, saying while Lawton appears to be subsidizing the animal control functions of other cities, there also is the possibility those animals would simply be abandoned in Lawton if the agreements weren’t in place.

Rodrick said his plan is to review the fees related to the animal shelter, with council members agreeing fees need to cover the costs of caring for animals. Responding to a question from Ward 5 Councilman Allan Hampton, Roderick said his recommendation is that the City of Lawton stop accepting animals from other communities.

Ward 2 Councilman Kelly Harris said Lawton should, at the very least, not take in animals for less than what it costs the city to care for them. Council members indicated they want that information, as well as details on the process to stop accepting out-of-town animals before making their final decision.