Atlantic City Animal Shelter Needs Your Help!

The holiday season is the perfect time to give to those less fortunate, including those with floppy ears, paws and a tail! The Humane Society of Atlantic County in New Jersey has been helping our furry friends and their owners since 1965 and needs your help.

As a result of the challenging economic conditions in the U.S. countless animal shelters are seeing an increase in the number of surrendered pets, while experiencing a decline in donations.

There are some pet owners who can no longer afford to provide food or shelter for their animals. And, with more jobs being lost every day and future layoffs imminent, consumers are keeping tight controls on their non-critical spending.

I recently had the chance to chat with Steven Dash, the Executive Director of the Humane Society of Atlantic County (HSAC), located on 1401 Absecon Blvd., Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The mission of HSAC is “to curb pet over population through our clinics spay and neuter programs, increase the number of animals adopted into loving homes through our shelter, provide a safe and caring environment for animals that are lost or strayed, and to serve as a resource for humane animal education within our community.”

Steven Dash joined the Humane Society of Atlantic County back in 1980 and became the Executive Director in 1991. As the Director, he serves on the Governor's Domestic Companion Animal Council and recently completed a commission on the Governor's Animal Welfare Task Force,

Steven, how is this challenging economy impacting your shelter?

“The number of donations is not down however the amount of each donation is down. The number of adoptions have not slowed down at all, we are still adopting out a lot of animals.”

What do you feel sets the Humane Society of Atlantic County apart from other animal shelters in the New Jersey area?

“We are unique because of our full service Veterinary Clinic that is open to the public. We strive to have a very affordable/reasonable program for our clients.

The second thing that sets us apart is our Shelter Outreach Program. We currently take in animals from North Carolina, local groups, & Puerto Rico. Typically the groups we take animals from have very high numbers of animals & are not able to place them, we give them another opportunity.”

What is the best way for your generous supporters to help with your shelter’s success?

“You can make monetary donations via, paypal, mail in check, credit cards over the phone, and donations in memory of. Non-monetary donations we could use are: canned cat food, paper towels, all office supplies(paper, pens etc), bleach, dish soap, detergent, cat/dog toys, unfolded newspapers.”

More information on how to donate, can be found on the HSAC's website.

Adoption success stories are always nice to hear. What are some of your recent favorites?

“Recent adoptions that we have had are the 2 dogs that we took in from Dead Dog Beach in Puerto Rico. Jo-El & Harold came from a very harsh area where dogs starve to death and are beaten by local people. They were rescued by a local group and then transfered here to be put up for adoption. They both found their loving, forever home!”

So glad you could help Jo-El and Harold!!

To make a donation to the Humane Society of Atlantic County, visit their website at http://hsacpet.com/index.html or mail your gift to 1401 Absecon Blvd., Atlantic City, New Jersey 08401

Need more info?

Telephone: (609) 347-2487

FAX: (609) 344-0369

E-mail: info@hsacpet.com