Three Golden Dogs Found Near Wildlife Refuge Need Your Help

Three golden dogs were found near Lake Elmer Thomas on the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, according to their public Facebook post. Now, community members are steadily searching for the found puppies' missing owners. Representatives from the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge Facebook page also used this opportunity to remind folks that abandoning animals in Oklahoma is illegal.

Oklahoma has been tackling an intense animal overrun issue for the last several years. With shelters full, limited number of fosters available and less people adopting, it's been difficult for rescues and shelters to care for animals in need.

However, in this case, we're hoping this could be a case of missing owners.

"Abandoning animals on the Refuge is illegal and poses serious risks to our wildlife."

Staff from the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge reportedly found these three dogs near Lake Elmer Thomas today, June 13, 2025. Unfortunuately, none of them were wearing collars.

"No one in the area recognized them, so they are being taken to Lawton Animal Welfare," they wrote.

This isn't the first time that an unmarked pet was found on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Another incident happened recently this past May when another dog had been found and was again taken to the Lawton Animal Welfare.

The Wildlife Refuge staff have been reminding Oklahomans that, if they're caught abandoning animals on the Wildlife Refuge, they face serving possible jail time and paying a multitude of fines, according to stillwaterattorney.com.

Of course, there is no gaurantee that the animals were dumped. They appear healthy and well groomed in the photos, as well as social and friendly. This could mean that they are runaways, could have been stolen and escaped and a variety of other possibilities.

It's important to share their photos and information as often as possible in order to increase their chances of finding their homes again.

According to the post from the Wildlife Refuge staff, they are currently being housed at the Lawton Animal Welfare. It is encouraged for potential owners to visit the shelter directly to witness the animals in person rather than calling over the phone.