As the East Coast prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Irene there were many shelters being set up in Monmouth County, few of which were prepared to take pets. Quickly the staff at the Monmouth County SPCA and Chief Investigator Victor “Buddy” Amato started working with local municipalities, the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management, Sheriff Shaun Golden, the NJSPCA, the Associated Humane Society and the Humane Society of the United States – NJ (HSUS-NJ). Together, a plan was developed to help the displaced animals of Monmouth County.
The primary purpose for the Monmouth County SPCA (MCSPCA) is to be used as a safe haven for stray, abandoned, abused or orphaned pets. It does not normally house owned animals in an emergency situation. The MCSPCA had developed an emergency plan of their own to deal with the animals in their care and were preparing for the worst case scenario of countless homeless animals that would be left wandering the streets after the storm had passed. They began receiving hundreds of phone calls from worried evacuees looking for pet friendly animal shelters.
Chief Amato, who had recently worked on an emergency/disaster plan for the domestic animals of Monmouth County with Sheriff Golden, called the Sheriff asking for a favor. Sheriff Golden delivered by allowing the MCSPCA to help establish a pet-only emergency shelter at the Juvenile Detention Center in Freehold. Kathy Miles, MCSPCA Canine Behavior Department Manager, helped coordinate the emergency effort by calling on Kathleen Schatzmann, HSUS – NJ State Director, for support with supplies such as crates, litter and food. The next order of business was staffing the Freehold facility. Chief Amato reached out to the MCSPCA’s animal welfare neighbor, the Associated Humane Societies, where District Manager, Terry Clark, answered the call to help staff the shelter.
All local police departments, Monmouth County OEM, the Sheriff’s office, NJSPCA, Associated Humane Societies and the MCSPCA all pulled together and helped over 1,000 animals in Monmouth County. When Governor Christie announced that all New Jersey emergency shelters would be pet friendly, Chief Amato along with the NJSPCA Superintendent Frank Rizzo went out on calls and helped by obtaining additional manpower. They also accessed vehicles to distribute food, crates and other supplies to the shelters that opened their doors to the pets of Monmouth County.
Helping the pets of Monmouth County was truly a collaborative effort between all of the agencies mentioned as well as the citizens of Monmouth County. As this is the start to what appears to be a very active hurricane season, having a successful emergency plan already in place is one piece of reassurance.
Monmouth County SPCA
260 Wall Street
Eatontown, NJ 07724
732-542-0040
www.monmouthcountyspca.org
NJSPCA
1119 Livingston Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
www.njspca.org
The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
kschatzmann@humanesociety.org
Associated Humane Societies
Executive Offices
124 Evergreen Ave.
Newark, NJ 07114-2133
www.ahscares.org
Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office
50 East Main Street
Freehold, New Jersey 07728
www.monmouthcountysheriff.org
Monmouth County OEM
300 Halls Mills Road
Freehold NJ 07728
http://www.state.nj.us/njoem/about/association.html#monmouth
