OARC Reports No Animal Losses After Winter Storm Fern, Community Donations Help

The Oxford Animal Resource Center came through Winter Storm Fern without losing a single animal in its care, the shelter reported, crediting generator power and a wave of community donations for keeping operations running around the clock through the storm and related outages.

OARC director Kelli Briscoe and her staff maintained continuous care throughout the disruption, relying on backup generator power when outages hit. The community response that accompanied the crisis helped sustain those efforts, with donors stepping up to keep the shelter functioning. Baptist Memorial Hospital similarly prioritized uninterrupted operations during the same storm period, reflecting a broader pattern of Oxford institutions holding the line during what local coverage described as a historic weather event.

The shelter's resilience during Winter Storm Fern underscores a relationship between OARC and the wider Lafayette County community that Briscoe has worked deliberately to cultivate, particularly with the University of Mississippi student population. Through programs including Foster For a Day, students can take a shelter dog off-site for a single day or commit to a short-term foster arrangement without the permanence of adoption. OARC provides all necessary supplies during the foster process, including toys, bowls, food and a crate.

"The Foster For a Day and Foster Programs are what we have noticed have strengthened the relationship between shelters and colleges," Briscoe said. "Students have the ability to come and take a dog for a day or to foster short-term without the commitment of adoption."

Briscoe described the student engagement programs as both an educational effort and a practical pipeline for animal welfare, noting that Oxford's college-town character creates an unusual reservoir of willing volunteers and temporary caretakers.

"Adopting an animal is a big responsibility and takes time and patience," Briscoe said. "Educating the student population in Oxford about all aspects of owning an animal is where we like to start: the good, bad, pretty and ugly parts of it."

She also pushed back on assumptions that shelter animals carry permanent behavioral deficits, pointing to OARC alumni that have gone on to careers as service canines, explosive detection canines and bird dogs.

"I think the misconception is that they are 'damaged goods' or not 'trainable,'" Briscoe said. "Both of those are highly false. Just because an animal comes from a shelter or a rescue does not mean that they cannot be successful."

The Lafayette County Animal Shelter operates alongside OARC in serving the region's animal welfare needs, and both institutions have been active in outreach to the University of Mississippi community. With Winter Storm Fern now past and every animal at OARC accounted for, the shelter's storm response stands as a concrete measure of what generator preparedness and community backing can accomplish when conditions turn severe.