Volunteers Work to Find Forever Homes for Shelter Animals
Greetings!
This is my first blog, my name is Phyllis Delesandro and I would like to tell you about one of my passions, my dogs (all adopted from shelters), and the organization I volunteer with. I hope to entertain and enlighten in the months to come.
The group is "The Volunteer Auxiliary for Animal Shelters, Inc." We are a nonprofit (501(c)3) run solely by volunteers. Founded in 1990, (I worked at the shelter then) by a couple of concerned citizen with big hearts, the focus of the group has always been:
- To promote spaying and neutering to help lower the number of unwanted and therefore surplus pets.
- To find loving, permanent homes for these shelter animals.
- To educate the public of their pet ownership responsibilities.
Our goal: To end the needless suffering of abandoned dogs and cats due to overpopulation.
We work with the Ocean County Animal Shelter (North) located in Jackson. Some ways we help include: evaluating the animals, assisting with adoptions and financing medical treatments. A large part of our adoptions are done at off-site locations, staffed solely by our caring volunteers. Over these past two decades, the group has grown from the hopes, wishes and dreams of its original founders into the visions and focus of our many dedicated current volunteers.
For more information contact me here or find us on the Web:
Facebook: Volunteer Auxiliary for Animal Shelters
Petfinder: Pets in foster care or Pets at the shelter
In Person: Our Mobile Adoption Unit attends local venues with in the community every Saturday.
Unless there's a conflict with the special events, our normal off-site dogs adoptions are at:
- Petco on Route 70 in Brick on the third Saturday of each month, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Petco on Route 9 in Howell on the first Saturday of each month, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- PetSmart on Hooper Avenue in Toms River on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This Saturday, May 14, from 12 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., join us at: "The Bark In The Park," BlueClaws FirstEnergy Park, 2 Stadium Way, Lakewood, NJ.
Come on out, enjoy the fun, and meet some of the wonderful dogs and cats we have available for adoption in our Mobile Adoption Unit. Hope you have a purrfectly great time!
Until next time....
"Paws" for Life, and Live!
SANDY PARISI
2:53 pm on Thursday, May 12, 2011
Not until today when I read your blog did I know about your wonderful organization. What a wonderful thing to be involved in. Will be looking forward to more blogs from you. Also, please keep getting the dates, times and locations for your Mobile Adoption Unit out to the public.
Phyllis Delesandro
4:28 pm on Thursday, May 12, 2011
Sandi,
Wonderful to meet you! I will do my best to keep you posted on upcoming Events.
Eric Thomas
3:16 pm on Thursday, May 12, 2011
Good for you, Ms. Delesandro. It is people like you that are the epitome of the human spirit.
Phyllis Delesandro
4:30 pm on Thursday, May 12, 2011
Eric,
Thank You for the kind words.
Kathy Bottone
10:16 pm on Thursday, May 12, 2011
You do amazing work for the shelter. All my cats came from your foster program and they are the best cats in the world. I donate whenever I can to the Food Bank (for animals) and to the Auxillary. The gift auction earlier in the spring was terrific. Thank you all for what you do for those who can't speak for themselves.
Phyllis Delesandro
11:31 pm on Thursday, May 12, 2011
Kathy,
Thank You for choosing to adopt a pet from a shelter! We have a great group of volunteers , but we can't do it without the support of the community.
Capt. Kirk
12:37 am on Monday, May 16, 2011
great work nice to know there are those who care out there.i have 3 cats all from different shelters
Phyllis Delesandro
11:12 am on Monday, May 16, 2011
James,
There are a great many caring people out there, such as you. Adopting a pet from a shelter means saving a life. Thank You for caring!
R. Mc
12:46 pm on Monday, May 16, 2011
Why are you guys no longer at the Route 70 Flea Market? For years the Auxiliary were there. Its my understanding that hundreds of animals were adopted from that location, and they pull much bigger crowds than the "Events" you are now attending. I believe they even gave the space free since you were a non-profit.
Phyllis Delesandro
8:29 am on Friday, May 20, 2011
R.MC,
Good question. I will speak to the powers that be and try to get an accurate answer for you.
R. Mc
8:54 pm on Saturday, May 21, 2011
I spoke to the owners and they would love to have the animals come back. They said they still get many calls asking if the shelter animals are still there. The contact person there is Adam.
Phyllis Delesandro
12:12 am on Sunday, June 5, 2011
R. MC,
First, Let me Thank the good folks at the Rt. 70 Market for many good years of exposure for our homeless pets and group. I love the market and you can usually find me there shopping on Sundays. A few factors went into the decision to move on. Adoption rates were slowing, and with the popularity of PetSmart and PetCo, which are specialized markets geared towards pets there wasn't much head scratching going on over the choice. There has also been an increase in the number of specialty doggie events in the area, such as the resent " Bark in the Park", and the upcoming Doggy Yappy Hour at 6pm on June 10 at the OC Park. This can be an exhausting pace for our team of "Offsite" volunteers. Finally, though our beautiful new adoption unit has made adoption outings much easier on our pets and volunteers, it is very large and sometimes difficult to maneuver. Regrettably, we have had to give up several regular offsite locations for this reason. Thank you for your question and patience with the answer.