“Every animal is spoken.” With these words, Beverly Poppell, vice president for the Pet Safe Coalition announced the closing of Nassau County’s emergency pet shelter nearly five months after superstorm Sandy forced the separation of hundreds of pets and their families.
The shelter, which was set up at the former Navy hangar in Garden City has been caring for dogs and cats around the clock until they could be reunited with owners displaced by Sandy, with some volunteers clocking in 14-hours a day for months. In recent weeks they have been scrambling to find homes for those animals still there, either finally returning them to their original owners or making sure they have been adopted out.
Pet owners had until Monday to decide whether they wanted to claim their animals. Failing a response (in a number of cases owners could not be reached), the county’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals assumed ownership and is in the processes of arranging adoptions for the remaining dozen dogs and cats.
“We had more than 100 callers responding to a local newspaper article about the deadline,” reported Poppell. “About five will take home animals, and we have back-ups.”
Among those still waiting for new homes are an older feline with special needs and a Rotweiler who “needs an experienced dog handler.”
For more information readers can contact the Nassau SPCA at 516 812-7771
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