Cherokee leaders gathered on March 31 with representatives of two major Pet Partners programs, Waymakers Pet Rescue of Adair County and Kenwood Pet Rescue of Delaware County, as Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin announced a new \u201cPet Partners\u201d program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cherokee leaders gathered on March 31 with representatives of two major Pet Partners programs, Waymakers Pet Rescue of Adair County and Kenwood Pet Rescue of Delaware County, as Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin announced a new \u201cPet Partners\u201d program.\u00a0
TAHLEQUAH \u2013\u00a0<\/span>Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner announced on March 31 the tribe\u2019s new \u201cPet Partners\u201d program as part of a larger public health agenda.<\/span>
\u201cUncontrolled pet populations can lead to misery for pets and illness and dangers for the public,\u201d Hoskin said. \u201cOur new Pet Partners program provides resources to community partners that are already doing great work in this space, helping them go further.\u201d<\/span>
Pet Partners is funded by the Cherokee Nation Public Health and Wellness Fund Act, a landmark Hoskin\/Warner Administration law that earmarks 10% of the tribe\u2019s third-party health revenue to public health, behavioral health and physical wellness programs and services. Pet Partners, a pilot project, utilizes less than one percent of the entire PHWFA annual funding.<\/span>
Cherokee leaders gathered on March 31 with representatives of two major Pet Partners programs, Waymakers Pet Rescue of Adair County and Kenwood Pet Rescue of Delaware County as Hoskin signed the programs policies, as well as memorandum of agreements with the two partners. First Daughter Jasmine Hoskin, along with her cat, Odin, and several dogs in the care of various new \u201cPet Partner\u201d organizations, joined in the event.<\/span>
Waymakers and Kenwood Pet Rescue will each receive $100,000 to provide or coordinate spay, neuter and vaccinations events across the reservation and to support their existing operations.<\/span>
Pet Partners will also provide an additional $75,000 in grants to other pet care non-profits in the region.<\/span>
The MOUs and grants administered by the program will be renewable each fiscal year.<\/span>
\u201cPer Partners represents a tiny fraction of tribal funding, but the impact will be felt in a big way,\u201d said Deputy Secretary of State Canaan Duncan. \u201cPets and people will be safer as a result of this great new program.<\/span>
Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Warner also announced a special donation of $1,000 to the Tulsa Based Purr-A-Lot Cat Shelter in the name of Cherokee County resident Brenda Suddeth, a champion of animal welfare.<\/span>
Warner praised the potential of Pet Partners.<\/span>
\u201cNo single person or organization can address the problem of neglected or dangerous animals,\u201d he said. \u201cPet Partners is a way to bring people and organizations together in an effort in which we all have a stake.<\/span>
Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) non-profit organization operating a no-kill animal rescue and\/or shelter located on the Cherokee Nation Reservation or in a contiguous county that significantly impacts citizens or communities located within the Cherokee Nation Reservation.\u00a0<\/span>
\u201cThis MOU is a promise that Cherokee Nation believes in what we\u2019re doing. They are standing behind us, they are partnering with us and giving us the resources and the funds to not only continue what we\u2019re doing, but to also tackle a very big problem in the state of Oklahoma with overpopulation, unwanted pets, abandoned pets and dumped animals. If we can knock out spay and neuter, it will limit and diminish the numbers that we are taking off the streets,\u201d Waymaker Rescue President Joan Forsyth said.<\/span>
Eligible non-profits can seek more information by emailing\u00a0<\/span>PHWF@cherokee.org<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and\u00a0applications can be found at\u00a0<\/span><\/span>https:\/\/www.cherokee.org\/media\/zmzjrxt2\/phw-pet-partners-grant-application-03312026.pdf<\/span><\/a>
\u201cThis partnership will impact Kenwood Animal Rescue tremendously. People can\u2019t afford to get their pets spayed and neutered or even vaccinated and it\u2019s heartbreaking when anybody loses a pet because they weren\u2019t able to afford these services, so this helps us tremendously,\u201d Kenwood Animal Rescue Founder Christy Davis said.<\/span>
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