When Europa first came into our orbit at LHS, things were looking a little bleak. The new mom of five had been living alone in a windowless basement – doing her best to take care of her newborn puppies without any food or water. Luckily, thanks to the intervention of concerned neighbors who called and alerted LHS to Europa’s situation, we were able to safely move her and her puppies to our shelter and get them the proper medical care they needed to go from surviving to thriving.

Though puppies arriving at LHS may seem like a relatively everyday occurrence, it’s actually quite rare. Puppies – especially newborns like Europa’s five little ones – are increasingly rare at shelters like LHS, thanks, in part, to successful community spay and neuter programs. So, when puppies do come to us, our staff must focus our resources to begin immediate intervention to help expose them to proper socialization activities with the goal of developing them into happy, healthy, and loving dogs who will make fantastic pets.

When Liberty Humane became the animal control provider for Jersey City in 2016, we were determined to set the community up for long-term success. One of the first steps toward this goal was implementing a new program that was designed to expand the traditional services of animal control into something more holistic and community-supportive rather than just trapping and sheltering animals. The result was our awesome Animal Response Team (ART) which have become one of the most essential pieces of LHS and our mission.

When the Animal Response Team phone rings, there’s no telling what may be waiting on the other line. In the case of a call that came in late August, it was a whole animal menagerie including seven goats, ten pigeons, a duck, a rooster, and a box turtle.  

The call came from police on the scene of a potential animal cruelty action that required immediate intervention to remove multiple animals from a dangerous situation. Though these calls are not necessarily uncommon in the world of animal sheltering and social services, they do provide a unique logistical challenge for staff who are faced with two diverging paths: seized animals vs surrendered animals.