'Our employees are very overwhelmed': Washington County SPCA catches couple dumping dogs on camera

A couple in Washington County was caught on security camera dumping a dog and her puppies.

The SPCA hopes to identify the two people because they want them to be held accountable.

"Like I said, they didn't stop at the front office; they literally just drove in, backed up, pulled out the crate, dropped it, and left." Said Tonya Pete.

Under Oklahoma law, it is a misdemeanor to deposit live domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, in any public or private location, including roadways.

Tonya Pete is the CEO of the SPCA in Washington County, which hasn’t had to euthanize a pet since 2009.

However, due to the pet overpopulation problem in the state, the number of stray cats and dogs has become unmanageable for shelters and rescues.

“The unfortunate situation is that every shelter or rescue in the country right now is over capacity and has been since COVID-19. Opportunities to transport them or get them adopted have been few and far between. So, someone else decides for shelters and rescues when they dump an animal,” said Pete.

Washington County has 165 animals right now, most of them dogs. The shelter must keep some dogs outside for lack of space. They aren’t the only organization feeling the pressure.

As of March, Tulsa Animal Services is more than double its max capacity. The shelter has 340 animals right now and euthanized 60 dogs last week.

The SPCA is hoping to avoid making those kinds of tough decisions right now.

“Our employees are very overwhelmed. I'm overwhelmed.”

Tonya believes this couple may think they were doing the right thing by bringing the animals to the shelter, but she wishes they had come to the shelter when they were open to discuss the surrender. Now, she worries she will have to make space for seven new dogs by euthanizing.

“We understand there are really bad situations, and we're not trying to shame anyone, but there's a right way to do things, and there's a wrong way, and that was a wrong way,” said Pete.

Washington County SPCA has:

1. 165 animals total
2. 127 dogs
3. 38 cats
4. 98 adoptable dogs

Tulsa Animal Services Weekly Report Card, Mar. 10-16, 2025:

Image Provided By: Tulsa Animal Services