Newark Dog May Finally Be Leaving Shelter – 2 Years After Arriving

NEWARK, NJ — It isn't a permanent home, but Red is finally expected to be moving on.

Last week, the plight of “Red” – a hard-luck canine in custody at the Associated Humane Societies shelter in Newark – touched the hearts of many people across New Jersey. The “once rambunctious and lively spirited dog” has become melancholy and depressed after spending more than 730 days in a kennel, the shelter reported.

“Two years is an unreasonably long time for a good boy like Red to be at the shelter, and it shows,” the AHS-Newark said.

• Read More: NJ Dog Is Struggling With Depression After 730 Days In Shelter

The search for a permanent family continues, according to Heart & Soul Dog Rescue Inc., a nonprofit rescue group that is helping to find the poor pooch a home.

But there’s some good news to share, the nonprofit said Monday: Red may soon be leaving the shelter.

Heart & Soul Dog Rescue Inc. said they are hoping to take Red out of the AHS-Newark shelter on Nov. 25. He would be staying at the home of the group’s president, who has been walking him at the shelter for the length of his stay.

From there, Red would head to a “board and train” until he is ready for a foster home – and then his forever family.

“Our team decided this was the best thing for Red, being that he has been in a shelter setting for two years,” the group said.

While it's not a done deal yet, and the nonprofit has yet to take custody of Red, things are definitely looking brighter for him.

When asked why it has been so hard to find the plucky pooch a home, here’s what the rescue’s president had to say:

“Red came in the mix of the pandemic. There were so many strays and owner surrenders that we think he just got lost in the mix. In the beginning when he came to the shelter, he did not show well in his kennel, which made people overlook him.”

It’s not a surprising story, considering the massive spike in intakes that shelters across New Jersey have been experiencing this year. Read More: Animal Shelters Are Hitting Their Breaking Point Across North Jersey

Statistics from the New Jersey Department of Health show that there were 1,526 dogs impounded in Essex County in 2022 – nearly a 20 percent total increase from 2021.

In October, the Associated Humane Societies animal shelter in Newark put out a call for help, writing that it was in an “unprecedented crisis capacity situation as dogs continue to enter the shelter at an alarming rate.”

The Bloomfield Animal Shelter has also put out multiple calls for aid this year, temporarily putting the brakes on new surrenders because it reached full capacity. Read More: These 5 Dogs In Bloomfield Are Fee-Free To Adopters, Shelter Says

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

“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,” staff said.

• 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.

“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.”

Despite the surge in unwanted dogs and cats across the Garden State, groups like Heart & Soul Dog Rescue continue to spend time trying to catch the animals that fall through the cracks of an overburdened system – including Red.

“There would be nothing more in the world that would make us happier than knowing he’s found a home,” a spokesperson told Patch. “This would be such an amazing feeling that would be so hard to explain.”

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