Recently, Roll Off Dumpster made a delivery to the Atlantic County Animal Shelter in Pleasantville, NJ. The mission of this shelter is “To provide love and compassion, in a healthy environment, to animals while attempting to reunite them with their owners, to educate the public on responsible ownership, and to facilitate successful pet adoptions while respecting and striving to improve the quality of life for both pets and people.”
As a result of worries that pets for adoption were not good pets, people often decide to get their pets from a pet store or breeder instead. In fact, more often than not, pets are given up for adoption for other reasons, including:
- Owners are moving to housing that don’t allow pets (7% dogs, 8% cats)
- Allergies (8% cats)Owner having personal problems (4% dogs and cats)
- Too many or no room for litter mates (7% dogs, 17% cats)
- Owner can no longer afford the pet (5% dogs, 6% cats)
- Owner no longer has time for the pet (4% dogs)
ASPCA estimates that 5 to 7 million animals enter a shelter every year across the county. Approximately half of these animals are those given up for adoption by their owners, and half are those picked up by animal control. Due to the effects of the recent financial crisis, many shelters have essentially run out of capacity and funding. As a result, it is more important than ever that families and individuals who have the ability to adopt do so.