Opp Pound Project hopes to give stray dogs safer path to adoption
Published 2:45 pm Tuesday, June 3, 2025
- Opp Pound Project volunteers Robin Herz, left, and Kelley Penn stand outside a new playpen area that allows dogs to stretch and play outside of their regular, smaller kennels. (PHOTOS PROVIDED)
Written by Robert Blankenship for the Star-News
Volunteer Robin Herz gives a couple of dogs a treat during their time in the playpens.
A nonprofit volunteer organization in Opp is working to provide a safe and comfortable home for stray dogs found within the city and to make it easier for prospective owners to meet dogs up for adoption.
The Opp Pound Project works hand-in-hand with the city’s animal control and police department to house stray dogs and provide necessary veterinarian visits.
The project began in the summer of 2024 when Opp native Andi Shepard, who was working with an animal rescue program, recognized the need for additional funding and improved daily processes for the pound.
“I spoke with my city official, Gary Strickland, who set up a meeting between myself, Mayor Becky Bracke, Police Chief Kevin Chance, and an animal control officer to discuss what we could do to make the pound a better place for the animals and the police department,” Shepard said.
Prior to beginning the project, the pound was made up of eight 4×8 feet kennels where dogs are put for their whole stay at the pound. Inside the kennel the animals had a small metal dog house, which Shepard said were known to cause injury to some dogs in the past. She added that there was no place for animals to go during cleanings and there was no place for the animals to be placed during kennel cleanings.
When animals go into the pound they are held on a seven-day owner hold. Once the owner hold is done, they are then put up for adoption. The dogs are given 30 days before they are sent to be euthanized. If someone would like to meet a pound dog they must call the Opp Police Department and set up an appointment. All dog meetings currently happen in the Opp Police Department parking lot. If the animal is adopted they are given a rabies shot. Adoptions cost $20 and a contract is signed stating the adopter will get the dog spayed or neutered.
“We have found issues with the system over the years,” Shepard said. “One issue is that potential adopters are meeting the dog at the police department on a leash where the adopter, not only doesn’t get to see the true nature of the dog, but the dog is stressed from being in an unknown place. The adopter also doesn’t get to see the other dogs available which could potentially result in more adoptions. Additionally, we have noticed in the past that setting up these meetings are difficult. While calling to make an appointment to meet with a dog some people have been told to call back a different day because the animal control officer is not on duty. This not only fails the animals, but can lead to a potential adopter eventually giving up. All in all, the way the system is set up ultimately sets these dogs up to fail.”
Shepard added that the situation also led to other problems, including the spread of parvo. “Since our organization has been established we have seen more than five dogs die from the disease at the pound. We have spoken with the police department discuss ways to keep the dogs in their care protected from this disease and they have done a good job putting these actions into place along with the procedures they were already doing.”
The first major project for the Opp Pound Project was the placement of two playpens that allows dogs to get out of their kennels and stretch while their spaces are being cleaned. The group also plan to use that space for a meeting place between dogs and prospective owners.
The next phase is to build shade structures over the playpen areas.
“Due to the very warm weather during the summer the shade structures are vital in the playpens actually being used during most of the year. Once this project is complete we will begin raising funds to put drive-through gates between the playpens and existing kennels that house the dogs. This will ensure that all animals are contained and kept safe at all times while they are at the pound,” she said.
The Opp Pound Project is a 501c3 nonprofit group that is completely run by volunteers. The group hopes to continue making improvements that will lead to a safer environment for the dogs and lead to more of them finding happy homes.
“We are currently working to include pre-vetting for all animals before entering the pound and cleaning procedures to help reduce the spread of diseases such as parvo. We are also working with the mayor to put a liability form in place so that we can start having volunteer days at the pound. As a volunteer group, we need funding to help us move forward with all of these projects. They are all very costly, but are all very much needed,” Shepard said.
Since its establishment, the Opp Pound Project has held multiple fundraisers, including a ticket raffle, sold drinks, popcorn and other items at Opp Fest and the Opp Chamber of Commerce’s Spring Fest. The group is working with Grit + Grind Coffee in Opp to create a specialty drink with portions of sales going to the organization.
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