Bloomfield Animal Shelter Hits Brakes On Dog, Cat Surrenders

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield Animal Shelter is temporarily putting the brakes on new surrenders because it has reached full capacity, staff reported Monday.

According to the shelter, it is unable to accept surrendered pets “until further notice.”

“To help our current struggle, we are waiving all cat adoption fees and reducing all dog adoption fees until Friday, Sept. 8 for approved applicants,” staff wrote, adding that the shelter will consider foster homes for some of its animals (with a minimum commitment of a two-month time period).

People can email BAS@bloomfieldnjpd.com for more information about how to foster an animal from the Bloomfield shelter. Download adoption forms online here, and see available dogs and cats up for adoption here.

The Bloomfield Animal Shelter also reported a huge influx of stray dogs and cats in July.

• See Related: Bloomfield Animal Shelter Is Full; Dog, Cat Surrenders Put On Hold
• See Related: Bloomfield Will Keep Providing Animal Control For Maplewood

Other animal shelters in North Jersey have been hitting the same type of wall this year when it comes to space at their facilities, their staffs have reported.

Earlier this month, staff at the Liberty Humane Society in Hudson County reported that owner surrenders have been “off the charts.”

"We are receiving more requests to re-home pets than we have ever experienced before,” the Liberty Humane Society stated. “These surrenders aren't just unsocialized puppies or difficult cases like you might expect – they are senior animals who've been in a home for all their lives; animals in need of medical intervention; and animals who just simply aren't wanted any longer.”

"Our shelter staff is struggling to keep up and our space and resources are limited," they added.

• See Related: Hudson County Pet Surrenders 'Off The Charts' And Shelter Is Full

Montclair Township Animal Shelter workers and volunteers have also noted that they’ve been dealing with a spike in intakes lately – possibly driven by the high prices of pet services and food, Baristanet reported.

“We’re seeing something we’ve never seen before,” said Liz Morgan, director of the township shelter. “We’re used to kitten season. What’s different this year is we’ve never had this amount of dogs.”

In April, the Associated Humane Societies put out a call for help at its Newark shelter in an email newsletter, saying that it has seen a dramatic rise in the number of animals coming into the shelter over the past year. See Related: Newark Animal Shelter In 'Crisis Mode' After Deluge Of New Dogs, Cats

“So far this year our intake numbers have increased by over 19 percent,” administrators said. “Though we are adopting our more animals than ever before in AHS history, it isn’t enough.”

“Between lost animals, owner surrenders, cruelty cases and more, our kennels are completely full – although we continue to have new animals arrive daily,” AHS administrators reported.

“It really is a nationwide issue, and the number of stray animals – in addition to those surrendering animals due to financial reasons or they cannot afford to live in pet-friendly housing and are forced to surrender – is rising,” AHS-Newark staff said. “In less than two weeks, our shelter has taken in almost 50 dogs, only eight of them being reclaimed by families looking for their lost pets. There are a myriad of reasons, but many of them stem back to financial difficulties.”

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