Letter: Animal Shelter Thankful for Support

To the Editor:

For years the Ramapo Bergen Animal Refuge has been our workplace, our life, our heart and our home away from home, but more importantly it has been the temporary home and sanctuary to hundreds of starved, abandoned, abused, neglected and simply just forgotten animals.

Today as we walked through the empty kennel and water-drenched halls, it broke our hearts to see our shelter, our refuge and sanctuary to so many animals that so desperately need us, in a shambles, devoid of any life.

On Monday afternoon, a water main break forced the immediate evacuation of the shelter and our more than 50-plus cats and 30-plus dogs, including two sets of nursing moms with a total of 14 nursing pups. 

A United Water water main located near the railroad tracks backing the shelter ruptured, sending gallons upon gallons of water flooding into our building, overwhelming our septic system and causing the sewage to cover the first floor in approximately 8 to 10 inches of water. The break lasted for hours, and as the water rushed in, staff and volunteers rushed the animals out. Animals were dispersed to our local veternarian's offices (Ramapo Valley, Franklin Lakes and Pompton Lakes) as well as to the homes of several staff members and shelter friends. 

On Tuesday, when we thought we were finally getting a grip on this little catastrophe in our world, the flood waters began to rise again as the water main broke for a second time, sending our cleaning crews back to square one. 

We are now doing everything in our power to get the shelter back to the amazing place it is, and to do it as quickly as possible so that we can get back to saving the animals that need us. 

The outpouring of offerings to help has been amazing. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. Your help in so many ways is so greatly appreciated as the job of getting our shelter back up and running begins.

As you can imagine, most of our supplies in the dog kennel on the main floor were destroyed by the sewage. We have revised our wish list to pinpoint those items for which we are in most desperate need:

• Dry dog food—Adult: Nutro, Science Diet, Purina One/Pro Plan;  Puppy: Nutro, Science Diet, Pedigree;
• Bedding, sheets, towels;
• Dog beds: new or used, Kurunda bed donations through www.rbari.org;
• Dog toys:  Squeakies, Kongs, Nyla Bones;
• Paper towels;
• Bleach;
• Gift cards:  Petco, Petsmart, ShopRite, Staples.

Donations can be dropped off in front of the shelter or mailed to 2 Shelter Lane, Oakland, NJ 07436. Paypal donations can be made through this link: www.rbari.org/donate.html.

Ramapo Bergen Animal Refuge staff

Oakland