South Jersey Regional Animal Shelter’s Community Outreach program has worked with dozens of families and 100s of pets this year, finding many solutions to keep pets with their people or to safely rehome them.

While our preference is to always keep pets out of shelter, the shelter still remains a safe haven for many animals in desperate situations and for three of our Outreach dogs, the shelter became a necessary safety net. All three of these special dogs are residing in our adoption room waiting for the perfect home to come along and give them a happy ending, as they all have endured difficulties in the past few weeks and months.

Two of these pups can be found together, Chloe and Happy are 8-year-old Pug/Dachshund mixes and just as cute as can be! Both of the ladies have lived together their entire lives and are very bonded, so we are looking for a home where they can stay together.

The girls lost their home when their owner became very sick and could no longer care for them.  Outreach was working with their family to find them a new home, when another family member took it upon themselves to bring the dogs to the shelter, falsely claiming she found them running stray.

Aside from the obvious ethical concerns here, what she did is also illegal. It’s simply not okay to lie about animals being stray when they are not.

Fortunately, we were quickly able to connect the dots and identify our new “strays” as our Outreach dogs, Chloe and Happy. They are frightened and nervous in the shelter, but still very, very sweet.

Happy has an easy-going personality and is described as loveable and a lapdog. Chloe is the more sensitive of the two. Both dogs will probably need a refresher course on housebreaking, in their previous home they went outside and used pee pee pads inside. They are also both overweight and will need proper nutrition as well as safe and appropriate activity each day so they can live their healthiest lives possible! They would do best in a home without cats, but other dogs may be just fine!

Chloe and Happy are in our dog adoption room just waiting for you to come meet them. They are available as a buy one, get one for $200 adoption fee.

Next up is Shorty, an extremely handsome gentleman of 14 years. He’s a salt and pepper faced black and white pit bull who is just lovely. Shorty was bottle-fed by his owner as a pup and lovingly cared for and adored until his owner recently suffered a health emergency and Shorty wound up at the shelter.

Shorty has been a complete love with us and we know that he gets along with dogs (he lived with two small dogs) and cats.  Shorty seems to love everyone he meets and at 14 years old, he certainly would appreciate a home in which to rest his bones, rather than a kennel. He would love to meet you and you can find him in our dog adoption room.

While Shorty, Chloe, and Happy wound up at the shelter due to their extenuating circumstances, our Outreach program has helped many other animals stay in their homes, or explore safe rehoming options. Keeping animals out of the shelters is our goal for several reasons, most importantly is the welfare of the animal. We believe that keeping pets with their families who love them, whenever it is safe to do so, is the best option for all. We believe in supporting the families we help just as much as the pets we help.

In addition, especially during the summer months we can save lives by reducing intake and giving our already sheltered dogs more time to find a home or rescue placement.

We utilize our social media accounts and Petfinder page to promote pets to the public and then utilize shelter adoption resources or private placements when a good match comes along. It’s such a relief to owners and animals alike when two families are able to meet and talk to determine if it’s a good match, and if so, move forward without a moment spent in a cage.

For information about the Community Outreach program, visit sjras.org. To request assistance, visit southjerseyregionalanimalshelter.org/commotrch.

Shelter needs: Breeders edge kitten formula, Purina dry cat and kitten food, packets of tuna and sardines, cat carriers, bully sticks, Kong dog toys, popsicle sticks, all-purpose spray cleaner, laundry detergent, newspaper, fleece throw blankets, twin sized blankets and towels.

Source: Can you help Shorty or Chloe and Happy find a happy ending?