Bixby's stray and surrendered animals will head to the Humane Society of Tulsa starting in October, the city's fourth sheltering provider in roughly four years.

The agreement, first reported Wednesday, Sept. 23, by KJRH, replaces a partnership with the city of Coweta that ends in October. Bixby Police Chief and Interim City Manager Todd Blish said the Coweta deal worked but strained Coweta's own capacity.

"While it went very well, it was presenting some housing issues for the city of Coweta," Blish said.

Before Coweta stepped in, Horizon Animal Hospital served as a makeshift shelter for Bixby until the clinic ran out of space. The city does not own or operate its own shelter and has cycled through three outside providers over the past four years, according to the city's bond project page.

Lawrence DePriest of the Humane Society of Tulsa said the new deal renews an agreement the nonprofit had with Bixby several years ago. Under the arrangement, the Humane Society will house animals during the legal stray hold period and attempt to reunite them with owners. Dogs that go unclaimed can be pulled by the Humane Society and placed for adoption.

Bixby still handles animal control calls and picks up strays. The Humane Society provides the shelter space the city lacks.

Bixby's own shelter is part of the $77.5 million bond package voters approved on Tuesday, Aug. 25. News On 6 reported the package passed with all four propositions clearing. City leaders said the bond extends the current tax rate without raising or lowering it.

The shelter is expected to cost between $1 million and $2 million and would be built on city-owned land, Blish told KTUL in June. A specific site had not been selected at that time.

That facility is still years away. Veterinary staffing shortages and Bixby's continued growth have made a local shelter more urgent, according to the city's bond project page. Each time an officer picks up a stray, an employee must leave the city for up to an hour to transport the animal to an outside facility, Blish told KTUL in June.

The Humane Society agreement fills that gap for now. No financial terms of the deal have been made public.