Animal Welfare Society Alive and Purring

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DIAS CREEK — It’s cleaner, leaner and smells a lot sweeter.
Animal Welfare Society, a non-profit shelter, has a new lease on life and is once again accepting dogs and cats for adoption.
Cass Clark, founder of Animal Welfare Society, passed away two years ago. Those of us who knew Clark were aware of her heart of gold but she also had a stubborn streak that put her at odds with state and county regulators.
In September 2006, Animal Welfare Society’s shelter was closed as the result of inspections by the state and county health departments. The shelter reopened in October of that year following renovations and clean up.
It operated for five years without the ability to receive animals but retained the right to offer for adoption animals already in residence at the organization.
With a new board of directors in place and many renovations, the shelter looks spotless and smells pleasant.
Animal Welfare Society is holding an open house Nov. 12-13 from 1-3 p.m.
Betty Little, facility manager, said the open house is to show off the facility to those who have not visited the shelter and for “people who have been here before and it smelled and it wasn’t very nice and said they would never come back.”
At one time, the shelter housed 200 cats in one room. Little said that population has been reduced to 14 cats by attrition and adoption.
The cats currently in residence in the room will live out there lives there, most either advanced in years or dealing with medical problems.
Before the county Animal Shelter opened, Animal Welfare received most of the cats and dogs picked up by animal control. Clark tended to keep animals because she did not want them taken to other shelters that euthanized cats and dogs.
“She was the only game in town,” said Animal Welfare board member Suzanne Callinan.
Fourteen runs are available for dogs and 30 cats may be kept at the shelter. A nice selection of kittens are currently on hand, available for adoption.
Animal Welfare Society was famous for the amount of cats that were neutered at the facility. Clark estimated the organization neutered and spayed over 35,000 cats over 30 years.
The organization no longer neuters and spays animals. That service is available from the Cape May County Animal Shelter Alliance, said Little.
The roof and siding have been replaced on the Animal Welfare Society’s main building. A separate room was set aside for sick animals with its own ventilation system. Walls and storage cabinets have been replaced.
Animal Welfare survives on donations from the public.No funding is received from any local, state or federal agency, said Little.
One room of Animal Welfare is referred to as Feline Assisted Living where elderly cats enjoy their days not cooped up in cages.
“We get a lot of the ones the county just can’t take because the owner has died or gone into a nursing home and the family doesn’t want them (pet)…” said Little.
The cats are adoptable and may be a good companion for a senior citizen, she said.
The organization has fewer feral cats than in Clark’s time of operating the shelter where less than social cats glowered at visitors.
Animal Welfare has a food bank for dogs and cats.
“I’ve been giving it to people who can’t afford to feed their pets,” said Little.
She said the pet food allows the owners to keep their pets rather than surrender them to a shelter. The organization accepts donations of pet food, dry, wet, for cats or dogs.
Little said low cost veterinary care is available from the Ocean City Humane Society.
Two, five month old, white cats recently arrived at Animal Welfare from Hammonton. She said their owner had called 43 other places to find a shelter for the cats
Little said neighbors had threatened to poison the cats and a landlord was insisting the cats leave the residence.
Animal Welfare has also received cats from the county Animal Shelter to give that facility more cage space for incoming cats, she said.
One cat in residence came from a hoarder’s house that was featured on a cable television program two weeks ago. Another cat was found residing under the Wildwood Boardwalk.
Animal Welfare Society is located at 40 Route 47 S. in Dias Creek, call (609) 465-3403.