Monmouth County SPCA Moving All Adoption Operations To Eatontown

EATONTOWN, NJ The Monmouth County SPCA will only offer animals for adoption at the main Eatontown facility, starting on Oct. 1. The SPCA plans to close its Freehold satellite facility on that date.

But the work of the SPCA will continue to grow at the Eatontown shelter, where the new full-service veterinary clinic has been seeing more foot traffic than ever, SPCA officials said.

“We are proud of the message the Freehold Adoption Center has conveyed to the public about the horrific practices of puppy mills and the importance of adoption,” says Chief Ross Licitra, MCSPCA Executive Director and Chief of Humane Law Enforcement. “The Monmouth County SPCA’s goal of bringing awareness to puppy mill practices has been a tremendous success and has generated momentum to encourage adoption and responsible pet ownership throughout the state.”

The Freehold location, launched in 2012, was designed to offer the alternative to adopt a homeless animal rather than purchase dogs from puppy mill breeders, where young female purebreds are used to produce litter after litter, in deplorable conditions. Since the launch of the Freehold location in 2012, 126 towns have passed anti-puppy mill measures making New Jersey the leader in the country for local ordinances passed.

"Six years of that messaging has resulted in rescue being much more popular and the passing of anti-puppy mill ordinances, thereby negating our need for a satellite location," said spokesperson Lindsay Sanatore.

The Monmouth County SPCA has also developed partnerships with foster-based organizations and shelters in areas of the country where the spay/neuter initiatives had been lacking. Within certain regions, animal over-population is a huge problem, giving struggling shelters no choice but to euthanize puppies in heartbreaking numbers.

The Monmouth County SPCA will maintain the number of animals rescued from struggling, over-populated shelters and continue to give back a portion of adoption fees to help aid in spay/neuter efforts.

Photo: Courtesy of the Sato Project.