Economy hits hard at animal shelters

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By abc7NY

Monday, November 17, 2008

MONTCLAIR, N.J. "You have to factor in electric bills, health costs, just food to feed the animals. A bag of dog food is $20 a bag. That will only feed one dog per week," said Jennifer Petrain, a PAWS Volunteer.

The facility held a weekend fundraiser, where Larry Fayson got hooked on Stanley, found wandering alone on the street. Now Stanley is heading to a new home.

While the volunteers at PAWS step up their efforts to try to have more cats and dogs adopted, ten feline were left at the door recently abandoned.

"The economic crisis is going on. A lot of people are dumping their animals at the door. They can't take care of them any more," Petrain said.

The facility will be run by the township, which will scale back the operation in order to control costs and require that all animals brought into the shelter must belong to local residents.

"We'll probably be using the same veterinarians and the same professional staff that PAWS used. We just have a smaller mission," Joseph Hartnett, township manager, said.

PAWS is hoping most, if not all, of the animals in the current shelter will be able to find a new home before its closes on December 31.

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