On January 11, 2005, we visited the West Jersey Animal Shelter in Pennsauken, NJ. Jennifer Anton gave us a tour and answered all our questions. Jennifer worked as a volunteer for 4 years, and has been a paid worker for 2 years. She said she is known as the 'Kennel Manager". Here is what we learned:
How did the shelter get started?
The shelter was started by a man named Walter Weilenbeck in 1959. Mr. Weilenbweck was an animal control officer. In fact, he was involved with the start of animal control officers in the state of New Jersey. He often brought unwanted animals into his own home. But there were so many unwanted animals, it became too crowded. So he decided to start a private animal shelter. The property originally had a bar and old cars parked on it. Mr. Weilenbeck started with trailers and constructed the shelter from the ground up. He liked being his own boss.
He accepted all differnt kinds of animals. In fact, over the years the shelter has had reptiles and even a baboon. Sadly, Mr. Weilenbeck died in a car accident several years ago. But the work he started continues at the shelter.
What kinds of animals are at the shelter and where do they come from?
On the day we visited we saw the following kinds of animals: horses (named Dane and Lucky), ferret, goat, peacock, chickens, ponies, dogs, and cats.
Jennifer said that they get more pit bulls than any other animal. Some arrive starved, beaten, or injured from fighting (one was so badly hurt it had to have a leg amputated).
The West Jersey Animal Shelter is a no-kill shelter.
Some animals are rescued, some are unwanted, some are strays, and some come from other shelters that euthanize after a set time.
Jennifer said that some days when she comes to work, she'll find unwanted dogs left and tied by their leashes (or ropes) to the shelter's fence. Other animals are left in boxes by the door.
While we were there, we saw a very frightened dog named Jeremy whom Jennifer had found tied to the fence early one recent morning. We also saw Bozlyn, a very obese dog who had been overfed by her owner. Bozlyn could hardly move, and is on a diet now.
All the animals either have or are given names at the shelter.
Every dog at the shelter gets walked every day. It is important to have contact with people very day.
How do you tell if an animal is friendly?
Jennifer tells if an animal is friendly based on how they react to her. They use color codes on the cages for volunteers/workers regarding the animals. Green means friendly and this animal can be handled by volunteers; yellow means "look out, caution"; red warns that the animal is "possibly mean" and can only be touched by paid workers.
Why are there so many unwanted pets?
Jennifer thinks the number of strays seems to be increasing. She said that people don't spay and neuter their pets so many unwanted puppies and kittens are born. People move to an apartment and pets are not allowed. People divorce and have to get rid of their pets. Some pets run away, and the owner never comes looking for them.
What kind of food do the animals eat, and how do you get it?
Food is donated by visitors, by people who adopt some of the animals. A local business, Menu Foods, donates pallets of canned food. The shelter uses canned pet food and mixes it with dry. They also have hay for horses, and chicken feed for the birds.
The goat loves to eat dog biscuits, but only likes the plain kind and will pick these out if there are mixed biscuits.
Do a lot of the animals get claimed back by their owners, or adopted?
About 5 out of 20 pets get claimed by their owners. Almost all animals get adopted within a year. Jennifer said that there are only about 5 or 6 dogs there right now who have been at the shelter for over a year.
Very rarely is an animal so aggressive it is judged unable to be adopted. If an animal bites experienced, paid shelter workers about 5 times then it is "put to sleep" (euthanized, put to death in a painless manner).
On the day we visited Jennifer said there were about 60 dogs and 30 cats at the shelter. These numbers vary. In summer the number of kittens goes up, but throughout the year there are usually more dogs than cats.
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Students' Reflections:
I liked the little dog. I liked walking the dog. The little dog made me happy. The peacock made me happy too. Thank you for letting me visit. I had fun.
- by Mike
I like the cats the best. The little cat with a neurological problem was cute and happy. When I fed the horses, I felt I'd like to take the horse home. I am happy. I will see the horse in the spring because we're invited back.
- by Melissa
I liked the cats and dogs. I didn't want to laugh. I liked all animals. I liked the horses but one of them bit me.
-by Brenden
I enjoy watching the peacock and I enjoy feeding the horses. I would like go back there because I wanted to see Lucky and Dane (horses).
- by Steve
I liked seeing the cats, dog, and horses. I enjoyed feeding the horses. I would like to go back to the shelter. They were nice.
- by Hasan
I liked seeing the dogs and cats.
- by Alexis
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