Founded in 2011 by community based volunteers at Pine Ridge who had been helping rez pets for many years, the Oglala Pet Project (OPP) helps community members and their pets through education, spay/neuter support, pet health resources, and the re-homing or networking of abandoned, abused or unwanted pets on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Animals have played an important role in Lakota history. Dream catchers also have significance and most Native Americans believe the dream catcher holds the destiny of the future. Many people have a dream catcher above their bed to sift their dreams and visions. The good is captured in the web of life and carried with the people, but the evil in their dreams drops through the hole in the web and are no longer a part of their lives. The OPP logo captures the good of our animal friends. Pine Ridge is one of the poorest communities in the country, with an 85% unemployment rate, an even higher alcoholism rate and some homes have no electricity or running water. Some families are overcrowded in homes caring for each other and most pets live their entire lives outside. It is our goal to work through community member volunteers to enhance the quality of life for pets through education, spay/neuter support, pet health resources, and the re-homing of abandoned, abused or unwanted pets.
Prior to adoption all OPP pets are healthy, current on vaccinations, spayed or neutered, microchipped & cats are also feline leukemia tested. OPP does not give pets away for free and OPP focuses on the most important aspect of animal rescue work - spay/neuter. We will not contribute to the pet overpopulation problem by placing unaltered pets. OPP asks for a nominal adoption fee of $100 for kittens & cats and $200 for puppies & dogs, which helps cover some of the expenses of getting our adoptable pets ready for adoption. Adopters are welcome to offer an additional donation at the time of adoption which allows OPP to help other needy pets on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. To request an adoption application, please email [email protected]. She will provide a word document version of the adoption application and agreement for you to complete and return to her via email.