A lot has happened at the animal shelter located at 235 Jersey City Boulevard since the City of Jersey City took over the space previously run by the Liberty Humane Society. Staff at the shelter are eager to get the word out about their commitment to responding to local animal needs. Read on to learn what to do if you find a lost pet or need help solving animal-related problems in Hoboken or Jersey City.
Why Stray Animals Need Our Help
Whether you’ve found someone’s lost pet, a feral animal, or one fed and cared for by multiple households in the neighborhood, that fur baby needs support! The first order of business is to make certain it is spayed or neutered. These vulnerable cats and dogs need shots to keep from spreading Zoonotic diseases (diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people) like rabies, toxoplasmosis, ringworm, and cat scratch disease. Lost animals may have heartbroken owners hoping for their return. Abandoned pets often become starved and occasionally abused. The responsible response to finding a loose dog or cat roaming your midst is to contact an appropriate authority. For the area surrounding Jersey City and Hoboken, there is only one place to call and that place has just seen a major overhaul.
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More than Just Fresh Paint
Jersey City took over animal care, control services, and shelter management on January 1st, 2024. Since then, the City has increased animal control services to seven days a week, operating 7AM to 7PM Monday through Saturday and 8AM to 4PM on Sundays.
Jersey City Mayor Steven M Fulop and Health and Human Services Director Stacey Flanagan invited the press and public to tour the 235 Jersey City Boulevard facility, now operated by the City on February 9th, 2024. Both reported a commitment to responsive and reliable services that have, in the first six weeks, resulted in care for 48 dogs (15 surrendered) and 39 cats with seven adoptions, 100 animals spayed/neutered, seven dogs safely returned to their families, 25 summonses issued, 63 complaints responded to 17 abandoned animals taken in, and 39 wellness checks made. To meet these impressive milestones so quickly, five employees with experience in animal control were brought into the new Animal Care and Control Division, with 16 additional staff members hired thus far to support daily animal control and care functions.
The new program promises not only consistent responsiveness but also expanded services. The new Division of Animal Care and Control is working to establish an animal food shelter to help decrease the number of beloved pets surrendered due to care costs. Connections between program administrators and a wide range of local rescue organizations have resulted in connecting animals requiring hospice care to appropriate foster care. Groups like Best Friends of Cranford, Second Chance, Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge, and Whiskers Rescue Inc. are part of the support network the new facility administration has been able to rely upon during these early days.
What About Hoboken?
The City of Hoboken is currently negotiating a contract with Jersey City to receive Animal Control services through the shelter program now organized by the JC Division of Animal Care + Control. Hoboken does not have a shelter so this contract is merely a matter of determining how the two municipalities can work together toward their mutual goals for a healthy animal population. The contracted services will add funds to the Jersey Avenue facility’s coffers as well as staff. The capacity of the facility is far from reached at the moment and there is established room to grow.
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Get Involved
In addition to the expanded services, Jersey City has launched a volunteer program to support quality animal care and fostering. The volunteer program will provide an opportunity for animal lovers to give back to their community by helping with fun tasks like walking the dogs, socializing the cats, and assisting at adoption events.
Applications for the volunteer program can be found here. Fostering and adoption applications are also available online at jcnj.org/adopt. All donation interests can be sent to animals@jcnj.org. You can call the shelter at 201-547-5100 and animal control at 201-547-4888.
