Best Animal Shelters In Montclair Area: Adopt, Volunteer Or Donate

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Spring brings National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, but when that has come and gone, many pets remain, waiting for homes in Montclair.

Those adorable puppy and kitty eyes may seem unfairly enticing, but pets are great companions. It's been shown and reported that pets can increase wellness and enhance mental health.

If you just love animals but you're not in a situation to adopt right now, you might consider volunteering at a local shelter. Help is usually needed with exercising dogs, cleaning, feeding pets, and helping to raise funds. Donating is also a way you can get pets into homes; your donation may keep costs of local veterinary care low so more people can afford to adopt pets.

Great Animal Shelters Around Montclair

The Montclair Township Animal Shelter is one of the few municipal shelters in New Jersey. See the Montclair Township Animal Shelter Facebook page to view animals waiting for adoption.

• You can volunteer at the Township shelter or help by fostering a pet, if you can't full adopt.
• Montclair Township uses PetFinder.com to list its available pets.

PAWS Montclair is a busy pet adoption shelter dedicated to the humane treatment of animals. Cats and dogs waiting for homes have been getting help from the award-winning PAWS shelter for more than 45 years.

• Starting again in June, PAWS will be at the Farmer's Market in Montclair in addition to its on-site adoption days at Petco.
• The PAWS Tricky Tray 2022event is happening May 14 at 60 Newark Ave. in Bloomfield starting at 11 a.m. It's a raffle-style fundraiser.
• You can foster, donate, or give items from PAWS' wish list, like leashes and cat litter.

John A. Bukowski Bloomfield Animal Shelter is a no-kill shelter nearby that is managed by Bloomfield Township. The shelter accepts strays and local surrendered pets, and shelter staff work to train the animals so that they can make the most appropriate adoption matches.

• The shelter helps manage feral cats in a humane, trap-neuter-vaccinate-release program.
• Adoption times at the shelter are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 2-5 p.m. and on Wednesday 2-6 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, the shelter is open for adoptions 1-5 p.m.

West Orange Animal Welfare League is doing its part in the area to help homeless pets find owners. It's a nonprofit that relies on donations. It often takes animals that have been surrendered to municipalities but who have used up their stay time and are in danger of being destroyed.

• The League uses PetFinder.com to match the animals it has with homes, by area.
• West Orange Animal Welfare League can only take animals in West Orange, though they will take cute critters beyond just cats and dogs.

Manes & Tails Organization Not to play favorites with the canine and feline, the equestrian also sometimes needs to be rescued. This New Jersey organization helps older or abandoned horses — sometimes headed for slaughter — to find homes.

• Their website explains the organization has been "Rescuing, Rehabbing, Retraining and Rehoming Horses Since 1995."
• You may not have a stable to take in a horse but you can learn more. You may want to support these horses another way; you can donate to this unique nonprofit.

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