Adoptable pets are only a click away

Nov, 17-2009 10:58 am

PLEASANTVILLE – Looking for unconditional love online? The Atlantic County Animal Shelter hopes so. Its featured pet of the week, a Shar-Pei called Walter, is just one of 31 adoptable animals listed on the shelter’s page at Petfinder.com.

In an age when more people are looking for news, jobs and even romance via the Internet, the shelter is using the adoption website to match humans with furry friends. Users can browse through more than 320,000 animals across the nation by location, breed, age, size, gender or special needs.

In Walter’s case, users can see that although “well behaved and very smart,” he needs a home without children age 5 or younger. According to the shelter, the young dog has missing fur and is still in treatment after having a massive amount of fleas removed from his wrinkly skin. Soon, though, he could be romping or showing off his voice-command skills with an experienced Shar-Pei owner.

The shelter’s page also includes a list of more than 1,000 dogs and cats that have been adopted from the Atlantic County Animal Shelter since their photos were added to the site.

Arranging adoption for healthy, behaviorally screened animals is just one aspect of the shelter’s daily routine. On Sunday, Nov. 15, the shelter administered rabies vaccines to 134 dogs and cats at no cost to their owners. The county sponsors free rabies vaccinations each month due to the seriousness of the disease, which is fatal if left untreated in animals or humans.

The shelter’s next free rabies clinic is 10 a.m. to noon Sunday, Dec. 20. No appointment is necessary; pets are vaccinated on a first-come, first-served basis. Dogs must be leashed and cats must be in a carrier, and owners are asked to bring proof of their animal’s last rabies shots, if available.

Located at 240 Old Turnpike Road in Pleasantville, the county-operated shelter has been open since October 1995. It offers educational programs, K-9 obedience classes and microchipping as well as low-cost spaying and neutering and animal rescue. Though the shelter’s budget is provided by the county, donations of pet food, old bedding, washcloths and newspaper are greatly appreciated.

For information about the shelter and to view pets available for adoption, see www.petfinder.com/shelters/NJ140.html, visit www.aclink.org/animalshelter

or call (609) 485-2345. The shelter is open seven days a week; hours are 1-3 p.m. Tuesday and 1-4 p.m. all other days.

– Rebekah Zumwalt