In this recession, more and more pets are being abandoned, and some local animal activists are unhappy with the fact that some towns send their missing or abandoned animals to the Associated Humane Society shelter in Newark. A different shelter, the former SPCA Shelter in Jersey City, was shut down last year due to allegedly poor conditions.
It has fallen to the county’s many rescue groups to temporarily take in strays. One group, the Liberty Humane Society, actually runs a shelter in Jersey City that takes in and adopts out the strays in that city.
But other towns in Hudson have either used the Newark facility or built their own smaller shelters.
“Police don’t always have a good system for lost dogs.” – Yvette Miqueli
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On Saturday, Nov. 7 Animal Life Savers, Inc., a non-profit organization that rescues homeless animals, will be hosting a fundraiser. It is open to all.
The event will be held from noon to 5 p.m. on Palisade Avenue between 76th to 77th streets outside of Woodcliff Community Church in North Bergen.
According to Volunteer Betsy Orozco, volunteers have been forced to dig into their own pockets to care for many abandoned dogs during the financial downturn. The fundraiser will help them continue to rescue abandoned animals throughout Hudson County and beyond.
Their will be games and activities, including face painting for children and a cutest pet contest. The group is only asking for small donations in return. There will be refreshments and live entertainment as well.
A Chinese auction will also take place and kittens and dogs in need of homes will be present for those interested in adopting a pet. Groomers, veterinarians, and dog trainers will also be at the event.
Local vendors and veterinarians donated treats and coupons for free goodie bags that will be given out to the attendees.
Dog left in cab
Orozco said that while the group is based in North Bergen, it has worked throughout the area to help displaced animals find homes.
Recently, a volunteer took in a dog at 2 a.m. that had been left in a taxicab in Hoboken.
“The owner of the taxicab company, who is one of my clients, had the dog delivered here because he knew that Animal Lifesavers would take him in and find him a good home,” said Yvette Miqueli, the volunteer in question, who is also a dog trainer.
Miqueli said that she was told that the girl left the dog in his case and completely abandoned the case in the cab. Miqueli also said the girl may have been under the influence of a substance.
“We had to make sure the dog was put into the proper environment,” she said. “In the end, the parents of the girl came to pick up the dog. Those are situations, and there are tons of them, where people will just call and say ‘We just found this dog.’ One of the volunteers will step in and find a place to foster the dog until it can find a good home. That way, they can avoid the shelter, which is a god-awful place. We call police, but police don’t always have a good system for lost dogs. Animal Life Savers makes it a point to call all the local police departments on a regular basis. There’s no better place for these lost dogs than back with their families.”
Miqueli, who is an animal trainer, said the group also trains dogs that are in shelters so that they can be adopted more easily. Some of them, she said, have never had the proper training.
“[The group] has changed so many lives,” Miqueli said. “The dogs are now walking the streets and having wonderful lives with their families.”
For more information, call (201) 220-8086 or visit www.animallifesavers.com.