Tag: New Jersey

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Sammy’s Hope Shelter in Sayreville, New Jersey Needs Volunteers!

Sammy’s Hope Animal Welfare & Adoption Center is a Sayreville, New Jersey non-profit, all-volunteer organization whose mission is to care for homeless animals, socialize them, and provide for their medical needs while finding them loving, forever homes. This private shelter, whose only source of funding is donations and adoption fees, has been operating since February of 2015 in a facility co-located with the Sayrebrook Animal Hospital.

Sammy’s Hope has been able to stay afloat during the Covid pandemic by operating as appointment-only for visiting the animals and for approved adoptions. But it’s back on a mostly regular schedule, open to the public, and once again needs volunteers (who love animals!) to join their volunteer team!

Volunteer requirements are:

  • Minimum 18 years of age
  • Have health insurance coverage
  • Can commit to a 2-3 hour shift on the same day and time each week
  • To work with dogs: able to handle and walk dogs weighing 35+ pounds, and work in a kennel environment
  • To work with cats: comfortavble with cats and kittens, and can work a midday “socialization” and play shift

If you’re interested, and they hope you are, please visit https://www.sammyshope.org/volunteer

THANK YOU!

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Puppy Mills Fuel Retail Pet Stores in New Jersey: Just a Fact

PUPPY MILLS: Cruelty and Suffering

The main problem we have in New Jersey is the 22 remaining retail pet stores that fuel the puppy mill >> pet store pipeline.

Even during a pandemic, when many businesses have been ordered to close, and animal organizations around the country have halted charitable life-saving transports of animals out of respect for public health, NJ’s puppy milling pet stores continue to sell puppy mill dogs. A HSUS-led coalition request to Gov. Murphy to change this via executive order was unfortunately denied by his office a couple weeks ago.

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N.J.’s Seer Farms is Site of Alleged Animal Cruety, Again…Nothing Happens

From the “Reformers-Advocates for Animal Shelter Change in NJ” Facebook page:

Well folks, here we are, another Monday morning (12/16/19) and still nothing. The Jackson Police Department, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, @Kim Trujillo, Mayor Mike Reina, Our Town, Jackson, NJ and the rest of the official in Jackson, NJ refuse to take the pictures of the abuse and neglect at Seer Farms [472 West Veterans Hwy, Jackson, NJ 08527] seriously. Animals continue to die in the cold, go without medical treatment for severe medical conditions such as exploded tumors, cancer, ruptured eyes, etc. How anyone can believe that the pictures (shown) do not show abuse is astounding to all of us.

This operation has a sad history of animal abuse; for example: https://www.app.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2017/09/12/jackson-animal-sanctuary-director-charged-animal-cruelty/657190001/

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Toms River, NJ Woman Charged with Animal Cruelty

How could anyone (allegedly) leave three pups to die a miserable death of starvation and dehydration and then smile?  It’s almost unbelievable. Almost.

JOINT PRESS RELEASE-TOMS RIVER WOMAN CHARGED WITH THREE COUNTS OF ANIMAL CRUELTY

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Lacey Township Police Chief Michael DiBella announced today that Allissa DeStefano, 29, of Toms River, has been arrested and charged with three counts of Animal Cruelty in violation of N.J.S.A. 4:22-17c(2).

During the evening hours of November 11, 2019, the Lacey Township Police Department responded to a residence in Lacey Township for a report that dogs had possibly been abandoned in the residence. Upon arrival, the officers determined that the house was indeed abandoned, and the remains of three dogs were discovered. An investigation by Detectives from the Lacey Township Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office revealed that DeStefano was responsible for the care of the dogs and had abandonded them in the residence, which resulted in their deaths. DeStefano was arrested without incident, and processed at the Lacey Township Police Department. She was released on a Summons pending a future court date.

Prosecutor Billhimer and Chief DiBella extend their gratitude to the Lacey Township Police Department and Detective Bureau as well as Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office for their fine cooperative work in connection with this investigation.

The public and the media are reminded that all defendants are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Lacey Township PD

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What’s With all the Animal Hoarding in New Jersey?

In July alone in New Jersey, there were two cases of huge numbers of animals being hoarded, and thankfully, rescued from deplorable and disgusting conditions.

The first involved more than 170 cats, who have been taken to St. Hubert’s, which thankfully can handle such massive numbers of distressed animals. Some of them are already available for adoption at St. Hubert’s!  Information about that incident can be found HERE.

A few days later, 25 dogs were found in a home in Ewing, and subsequently taken to EASEL Animal Rescue Shelter and Adoption Center. Information about that case can be found HERE.

 

 

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Lawyer Dante Di Pirro Steps Up to Save Animals Killed in Hamilton Shelter

New Jersey attorney Dante Di Pirro, who has a long record representing the interests of homeless and abused animals and opposing animal shelter operators who flout the law, has put the Hamilton NJ Municipal Shelter on notice. He’s sent them a litter promising a class-action lawsuit unless they stop euthanizing–killing–owner surrendered animals before the mandatory hold period, during which the animals must be offered for adoption.

Di Pirro notes that statements made at the recent Hamilton Township council meeting by Shelter representatives show that “they are aware of the law, refuse to follow the express and unambiguous language of the statute, and fail to comply with their non-discretionary, mandatory duty to offer each such animal for adoption for at least seven days.”

Good on you Dante!

His letter to the Mayor and Council can be found HERE.

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Sadly, there are more Michael Vicks out there

An Asbury Park, New Jersey man was recently sentenced to two years in federal prison for his part in a cruel and nefarious dog fighting ring that stretched from New Mexico to New Jersey.   This evil man admitted to a federal judge that he dumped a pitbull who “lost” a dogfight in Virginia after the dog died on the ride back to New Jersey.  See the Hackensack, NJ Daily Voice coverage HERE.

it’s encouraging that at least some such people, whose depravity and barbarism cannot be overstated, are finally being forced to pay a price for their actions.  Those of us who care about animals would like to see them confined for life–or worse–but I hope two years in a federal lockup will send a message that such cruelty is finally being rewarded by real punishment.

Stay engaged and keep up the fight.

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Holmdel NJ Bans Puppy Mills! Who’s Next?

According to the Holmdel, NJ Patch on March 1, 2018, the Holmdel Township Committee passed a new ordinance that effectively bans pet stores from opening in the Township.

The ordinance, which was unanimously passed, allows future businesses to sell animal supplies, and provide grooming, training and boarding but may not sell cats or dogs. They could host adoption events with animals sourced from local shelters, similar to what national retailers like PetCo and PetSmart do.

More information can be found HERE.

This is good news and we need more such ordinances in NJ boroughs and communities. Puppy Mills are just bad:  Terrible suffering for the animals and eventual if not immediate heartbreak for humans!

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New Jersey Court Socks it to now-defunct NJSPCA for OPRA Violations

The NJSPCA, now on its way out the door — thankfully — as a so-called “law enforcement” agency, is now being forrced by a NJ Court to pay up for its long-term attempt to evade its OPRA requirements.  It’s amazing but not surprising that the organization wasted tens of thousands of donor money in such a cynical quest, when it was already apparent it had already lost.  More good reason why this group of “wanna-be cops” is on its way into the dustbin.

Media coverage can be found here!

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Animal Abuse Charge Levied in Montclair

In a now widely-reported incident with video coverage, a Montclair, NJ resident who was a LYFT driver but not driving a customer at the time, is alleged to have thrown a dog out of the car of another motorist with whom he was fighting.

The dog, a 12 year old female miniature pinscher, is reportedly bruised and traumatized but will be ok.  Thankfully!

For details on this terrible but all-too-common incident, click here.