It has been nearly a year since a committed group of animal lovers flexed their political muscle and brought about several changes at the Secaucus Animal Shelter.
Since the formation of the Secaucus Animal Care Committee – an all-volunteer group that raises awareness of and money for the shelter – thousands of dollars have been raised for the facility, the town has launched a Trap-Neuter-Return program, feeding stations have been built so residents can nourish homeless cats, and the shelter has quietly become a no-kill facility.
The changes are stunning given the short timeframe within which they’ve taken place. The decision to adopt a no-kill policy is particularly interesting because it means the shelter, with assistance from Care Committee volunteers, has made a commitment to either take care of or find homes for all the pets that have lost their owners.
Before this year animals that were hard to place or unadoptable were often put down.
The changes are also surprising in an economic climate in which more people have given up their pets, forcing local shelters to burst at the seams. Last year, one of the two shelters in Jersey City was closed due to health violations, causing even more of a shortage of space for unwanted or lost pets.
Why destroy?
“The mayor and council, I think, were all of the same mind on this,” said Susan Pirro, a member of the Secaucus Citizens Animal Care Committee who will also be sworn in as a 3rd Ward Town Council member next month. “Why destroy and just euthanize animals just because there’s no place to put them?”
Most of the changes that have been implemented at the shelter primarily impact the town’s cat population, since most dogs placed at the shelter are adopted quickly.
“The cat population is more complicated,” Pirro pointed out, “because there are just so many more cats.”
Cat control
The town has sought to control its cat population in part through its new TNR program. Members of cat colonies are safely and humanely trapped, taken to the Secaucus Animal Hospital for checkups, and neutered or spayed. They are then later returned to the same areas where they were originally caught.
Although a somewhat controversial animal control policy, advocates say that TNR programs greatly reduce the numbers of feral cats on the streets. Pirro said that the Harmon Cove development, which has had its own TNR program for several years, has been able to cut its feral cat population from more than 80 cats four years ago to about 30 to 35 cats today.
Through the TNR program, the town uncovered a number of kittens and young adult cats that were eventually taken to the shelter to be adopted out.
“We’ve had dozens and dozens of kittens adopted out,” said Pirro.
Selling points
This work, however, has created new challenges for both the shelter staff and Secaucus Citizens Animal Care Committee members. Since animals taken to the shelter are no longer put down, pressure has increased to find homes for them – and to find homes before they become too old to be adopted.
After a successful fundraiser last month that brought in about $8,000 for the shelter, committee member Connie O’Connell noted that cats that only 8 or 9 months old are much less likely to find homes than kittens, although Pirro recently had success placing a cat that was about five years old.
Because the shelter is a no-kill facility, it can quickly get overrun with animals. Thus, members of the Secaucus Citizens Animal Care Committee have ramped up efforts to place animals in loving homes.
Committee volunteer Marlene Prieto has spearheaded an effort to take cute and loving photos of the shelter animals, then post them on Petfinder.com.
“The pictures really help to ‘sell’ them,” Prieto noted.
Plans are also in the works to extend the shelter’s hours. Currently, during the week, the facility closes at 3 p.m., when many people are still at work. Although weekend hours are available, O’Connell said evening hours during the week are needed so more adoptive families can visit with prospective pets.
Said Pirro, “Our goal is to have an empty shelter.”
Anyone interested in volunteering or adopting at the shelter can call (201) 348-3213. The Secaucus Animal Shelter is located at 525 Meadowlands Parkway.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.