Shelter still $1.5M shy of costs for renovations
One of Monmouth County's animal shelters still needs to raise $1.5 million to have the ability to continue to help save the lives of hundreds of animals each year.

In 1999, the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSPCA) decided it would no longer euthanize adoptable animals. Since then, its shelter on Wall Street in Eatontown has saved more than 10,000 lives, according to an MCSPCA press release.

In order to continue to succeed in its mission to not euthanize adoptable pets, the MCSPCA must keep the animals in an environment that does not make them sick or aggressive. However, the conditions in the shelter now fall woefully short of that responsibility, according to the press release.

The shelter was built 30 years ago as temporary housing for animals that were kept no more than a few weeks. Built to house 40 dogs and 60 cats, the facility now serves as many as 75 dogs and 250 cats on a daily basis. Every square inch of available space in the building is currently used as makeshift homes for homeless dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and other animals. The conditions at the facility have become hard on the staff and volunteers as well. For instance, staff members have even given up space in their lunchroom to house cats, according to the MCSPCA.

Above: A rendering of a section of the cat cages that will have climbing accessories, individual air circulation and views of the outdoors at the MCSPCA shelter in Eatontown. At right: A rendering of the gazebolike structures that will house the dogs once the renovation project is completed.

The shelter currently has more than 250 cats. The dog training and socialization room, where staff members could interact with shelter dogs in a more homelike setting, is now used to house over a hundred cats. The facility only has one "kitty playroom" where 12-16 cats can live together, move about freely and have many comfy places to sleep and get privacy, and it needs more, according to the MCSPCA.

The facility is currently home to 70 dogs. The kennel area is old and overpopulated. Barking reverberates off the cement walls and ceiling and makes the canines and other animals in the shelter nervous, fearful and anxiety-ridden, according to the MCSPCA.

Because of how the cages in the kennel were built, the bigger dogs can see and taunt one another all day long. The constant bickering can be devastating to the dogs' emotional health and can make them acutely fearful or even turn them aggressive. Every year the shelter is forced to euthanize a small number of dogs because the animals have gone "insane" from living in the conditions at the shelter, according to the MCSPCA.

A team of MCSPCA board members and volunteers including the organization's executive director, Ursula Goetz, has been working with architects Tim McCorry and Bob DeSantis, of Kaplan Gaunt DeSantis Architects in Red Bank, to redesign the facility.

Once the renovation is complete, the building will no longer be just a shelter, but a bright, clean, odor-free, pleasant and relaxing adoption center, according to the MCSPCA.

The theme of the renovation is "bring the outdoors in," and the MCSPCA will incorporate natural light and views of the outdoors in its interior and a parklike setting with trails for dog walking outdoors, the MCSPCA said.

The center will be constructed so that dogs, cats and other species such as rabbits and guinea pigs have their own places in the building. The renovation project has also been specifically designed to eliminate stress and disease for all pets in the shelter's care, the MCSPCA said.

In the new center, dogs will be housed in "gazebos," which are divided into sections to hold four dogs each. The gazebos will let in natural light and have their own air circulation. Each dog in the gazebo will not be able to smell other dogs, which should have a calming effect on the animals. The gazebos will provide dogs with limited visuals of other dogs so they do not feel isolated. They will also significantly reduce noise throughout the entire facility, according to the MCSPCA.

About half of the cats in the new facility will live in gazebos holding 12 cats each. Cats will have accessories to climb on and will be able to see outdoors. Like the dog gazebos, each kitty gazebo will have its own air circulation, the MCSPCA said.

The rest of the cats will live in individual cages. While the MCSPCA originally wanted to go "cage-free," research revealed that some cats simply are not happy living with other cats and need privacy, according to the MCSPCA.

The MCSPCA will use a $10,000 Friskies Grant that it won thanks to the efforts of hundreds of people who voted online for the organization to create a special room for cats with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Animals with FIV can lead long, healthy lives, but they need to be kept apart from non-FIV cats since it is possible to transmit the disease through scratches and bites, the press release said.

The center's new vet tech area will have a maternity room for nursing moms, tiny kittens and puppies, and other fragile creatures that need care. There will be separate isolation areas for ailing dogs and cats, away from noise and with separate air handling, all of which will enable animals to get better faster and to stop disease from spreading, according to the MCSPCA.

The MCSPCA hopes to finalize its plans with the architects soon. Once the organization has the final plans, it will put the project out to bid, as it hopes to start construction later this year, according to the press release.

The MCSPCA formed a Capital Campaign Steering Committee, a group of people whose job will be to raise the funds to complete this project. The committee has already raised $2 million. However, the MCSPCA will need $1.5 million more to complete all the necessary work at the facility.

To make a donation, send a check to MCSPCA with "for renovation fund" in the memo section to 260 Wall St., Eatontown, NJ 07724. To donate online, visit www.monmouthcountyspca.org. Click on "Donations" and go to the Building Renovation Fund.