Longtime Oklahoma City Thunder fans can certainly understand the inclination to root for the underdog, cheer on the outlier or bet it all on an unlikely hero. Local nonprofit Mutt Misfits Animal Rescue Society has been doing the same thing since 2017, saving the dogs and cats that have been deemed “unsaveable” by other organizations. It has proven time and again that a dedicated group of volunteers and fosters can save many animals that would otherwise almost certainly have missed their chance at a full, happy life.
The tiny 501(c)(3) has worked tirelessly for the last eight years to save animals facing euthanasia due to special needs, injuries or major medical issues. Board Chair Chelsea Hixon has her hands full, especially with so many shelters around the state at capacity and with lengthy surrender waitlists.
“We pull animals from overcrowded municipal shelters across central Oklahoma, then use a dedicated network of fosters and donors to find spots for even the most challenging cases,” Hixon explained.
Once the immediate needs have been addressed and the animals have had a chance to be assessed in a home environment, another group of dedicated volunteers takes to social media to try to find homes for the animals. The appeals espouse the animals’ best attributes while laying bare the issues that made them misfits; transparency in advocacy is key to the organization’s many successful placements.
The shelters have been dealt an unwinnable hand as well, and the team at Mutt Misfits recognizes this. The calculus of an overburdened, overfull, overwrought municipal shelter is simple: triage. When all the kennels are full, an animal with serious medical issues or other special needs requires an exponential amount of resources. Those same issues also mean the animal might not necessarily find an adopter who is willing and well-suited to care for them. Most people who come to their local shelter looking for a forever friend aren’t usually in search of a medically fragile, special-needs creature of advancing age. Tripods, seniors and the generally yet uniquely maligned need not apply.
That doesn’t mean these dogs are less worthy of saving; for the municipal shelter, it’s just about the best allocation of extremely limited resources. It’s about intake numbers, adoption numbers and maintaining the lowest possible euthanasia rates — all good KPIs for a shelter. It’s not gymnastics; no extra points are awarded for extra difficulty. The shelters, beholden to boards, councils and accountability groups, are required to make real-time decisions based on occupancy, life expectancy and adoptability.
Heartwarming care
The mission of Mutt Misfits is equally easy to understand: These animals can be saved, deserve to be saved, and the desperate machinations of municipal shelters should not be the only measure. The nonprofit is fully volunteer led; all funds raised go directly to the rescue and care of animals in its charge. Guided by a no-kill philosophy, the organization does everything within its power to find a place for animals who are otherwise out of options. Because Mutt Misfits is foster-focused, many of its key volunteers are able and ready to take on even the most challenging cases.
When an animal lands with a Mutt Misfits foster, their luck has officially changed. Pets receive comprehensive medical care, including spay/neuter procedures; core vaccinations; and treatment for heartworm, tick-borne diseases and other conditions. They are placed with a foster prepared to manage medical challenges, behavioral needs and more.
For these seasoned fosters, the phrase “Not my first rodeo” often applies. They’ve cared for challenging characters before, and they’re not likely to give up anytime soon.
“Fosters are just so special. That’s a really unique skill set. They have a willingness to open themselves up to another dog, and it’s going to be so bittersweet when you send them to their new home,” Hixon tells me. “But I’d rather live with that bittersweet sorrow than have that same dog live its whole life in a shelter, never having a loving home, spending its last day on earth in a shelter.”
Hixon has a cache of heartwarming, tearjerking stories. She has countless success stories and a Rolodex full of lovely humans ready to provide short-term homes, longer-term halfway houses or forever homes for the misfits. And yes, it’s often true that the folks willing to take on the most special cases are also some of the most special people. It takes one to know one, apparently.
A recent case that really hit home with the volunteers was Herbie, a nine-month-old puppy who arrived at a local urgent-care vet clinic in such horrible condition that the vet convinced the owners to surrender him on the spot. The clinic then alerted Mutt Misfits to the situation.
“He was skin and bones. He had pressure wounds from being in too small of a kennel. He was so emaciated and so sick,” Chelsea recounts. “A vet tech offered to foster him, which made such a big difference because he needed wound care, antibiotics and a special feeding program to help him gain weight. He had to learn how to trust people again, how to be a puppy again. But he made an incredible recovery. He did get adopted and found a loving home.”
Mutt Misfits as an organization also stays involved, so if the deck continues to stack against a misfit and their foster, they’re not out there on their own. The organization still steps in to help cover unexpected costs or navigate complicated medical needs.
Once the fosters have done the work of getting the animals back on track, social media volunteers step in to find a forever home. Although the animals are ready for new families, they may still have long-term medical needs. The adopters who work with the rescue are also a unique breed prepared to handle lingering medical issues or the lasting effects of injury.
Hixon is also keen to make one other point known.
“Sometimes people feel like a small donation can’t possibly make a difference,” Hixon said. “Even a recurring donation of $10 per month is a really big deal to an organization of our size. That one recurring donation could cover the monthly cost of prescriptions for an animal or offset another bill. Not everyone is in a position to adopt a medically complicated cat or a dog recovering from a serious injury, but there are so many other ways to support these animals.”
Even if you’re not in a position to foster, adopt or donate, volunteers are a critical part of an organization with no paid staff. There’s always a dog who needs transport, donations to be sorted or administrative duties to attend to. There’s something so endearing about a fully volunteer-led organization, especially one that has done so much good for so many animals.
A long line of misfits and their humans have this small, determined group of people to thank for an untold number of boops, tail wags and snuggles.
Learn how you can help and find a gallery of adoptable pets at muttmisfits.org.
This article appears in City crowned.