VANCOUVER, Wash., Feb. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Banfield Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, in partnership with Humane Society of Tulsa (HST), a leader in animal transport, today unveiled a custom-built 38-foot mobile transport and disaster response truck and trailer. The new vehicle will transport 5,000 pets annually, deployed to help pets in need after a disaster and support mobile spay, neuter and adoption events across Oklahoma and the region.
The new vehicle's name? "Zipper"?is in honor of a two-year-old dog that was rescued from an overcrowded municipal shelter in Oklahoma. He was transported through the HST transport program, received comprehensive veterinary care, and was ultimately adopted into a loving home in Nashville, Tennessee. Zipper is one of 12,000 pets HST has transported, housed or helped over the last 10 years.
In response to the pandemic, Banfield Foundation and HST partnered on a series of emergency pet transports, enabling access to comprehensive preventive care, relieving shelters that are at?or beyond?capacity and helping pets find loving homes. Since initiating the partnership in 2020, Banfield Foundation has helped provide comprehensive veterinary care, including vaccinations, testing, behavior assessments and more to 4,000+ dogs and cats. In conjunction with the unveiling of Zipper, the Foundation is also funding preventive care for 3,500 additional pets in 2022.
"We are overwhelmed with gratitude to Banfield Foundation for their commitment to helping at-risk pets in our community, our state and our region. With Zipper, we can save animals in numbers that have never been possible before today," said Gina Gardner, president of the board of directors for the Humane Society of Tulsa. "This state-of-the-art vehicle will help us safely move pets impacted by overcrowded shelters, cruelty cases, and catastrophic disasters. The impact will be felt for years for the thousands of dogs and cats that will be transported to receive much-needed preventive care and ultimately, spend their lives with loving families."
Zipper is a significant improvement over HST's current vehicle which has logged more than 200,000 miles since 2011. The new trailer is designed to improve working conditions for the transport crew and handlers as well as the entire transport experience for the animals it serves. Zipper includes custom built kennels to maximize capacity, a fully self-contained water system, three roof top air conditioner units with heat capability, viewing windows on the outside for adoption events, and disaster response sheltering. A small workspace with a sink for preparing food, medications, and basic caregiving improves working conditions. Most importantly, the new vehicle can safely travel 3,500 miles each week and transport up to 80 pets each direction, which increases the numbers of pets that can be saved each year by 50 percent.
"Zipper will make a huge difference for Tulsa's critical transport work and will increase care for pets impacted by natural disasters and other community crises. The Foundation plays a critical role in supporting all of these efforts by enabling the preventive care needed to ensure pets are healthy, happy and welcome in society and in our lives," said Kim Van Syoc, Executive Director, Banfield Foundation. "Safely moving pets from places where there are too many, to places where there are too few?it's a win for shelters that are low on space and resources; it's a win for pets that are in need of care and a family; and it's a win for adopters who are anxiously waiting to welcome a pet into their homes."
When not in use for pet transports, Zipper will play an essential role in community programs that HST has historically supported to help vulnerable pets and people stay together, including:
About the Banfield Foundation®
Since 2015, Banfield Foundation has been making preventive care possible for the pets that need it most. Through grants and partnerships, we provide medical supplies and resources to nonprofit partners in need; support pets, people and communities in crisis; and enable veterinary professionals to deliver compassionate and inclusive preventive veterinary care in underserved and diverse areas across the United States and around the world. We also leverage the expertise and passion of Banfield Pet Hospital, part of Mars Veterinary Health, and its Associates to care for pets in need. At the Banfield Foundation, we are committed to living our collective purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. For more information, visit BanfieldFoundation.org.
SOURCE Banfield Foundation
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