Bloomfield Animal Shelter Is Struggling With Space Issues

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield Animal Shelter is temporarily hitting the brakes on accepting new cats or large breed dogs due to a lack of space, staff announced Tuesday.

New intakes will be accepted once the shelter can adopt out some of its current residents, staff said, adding that adoption fees are being waived for the rest of the month of March.

It isn’t the first time that the Bloomfield shelter has had to pause animal intakes in the recent past. Similar advisories were sent out in July, August and November last year.

The Bloomfield shelter isn’t alone in its ongoing struggle to cope with a backlog of animals in need.

Statistics from the New Jersey Department of Health show that there were 18,548 dogs impounded in the state in 2022, up more than 100 from the previous year.

All across New Jersey, shelters are reporting spikes in their intake numbers, leading several to temporarily hit the brakes on accepting new dogs. Read More: Animal Shelters Are Hitting Their Breaking Point Across North Jersey

“Our shelter is no different than other shelters in the area with the constant calls to surrender and the increasing amount of dogs and cats that are abandoned or found as strays and never reclaimed,” staff at the Bloomfield shelter wrote.

“Unfortunately, we don’t get as much rescue help for large breed dogs as other shelters, and we are struggling,” the shelter added.

One dog at the Bloomfield shelter – Sniper – has been languishing there since 2022. Others have been stuck there since late 2023.

Potential adopters can fill out an application online here, and see a list of available dogs and cats on the Bloomfield Animal Shelter’s PetFinder profile.

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