OCEAN CITY, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — People need to take the commitment and responsibility of dog ownership more seriously and give animal shelters a break, says the Humane Society of Ocean City.
Someone tied a dog to a bench outside the building at the end of Shelter Road last week with a note attached, saying they couldn’t care for the animal anymore.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Executive Director Phil Bellucci.
He said that was the fourth recent unannounced drop-off in a month, and many other shelters around the country have similar stories.
“It takes a bad situation and it makes it worse,” he said.
Unannounced drop-offs put a strain on shelters that are at or above capacity where resources are already spread thin. Bellucci said people should call them first to discuss the problems they’re having before it’s too late.
“We try to direct them. Sometimes it’s a behavioral modification — the dog is chewing up my carpet or something like that. The knee-jerk, the go-to, can’t be ‘I’m just going to get rid of you.’”
Bellucci posted surveillance video of the Aug. 1 dog drop-off to start some hard conversations on commitment and responsibility for current and prospective pet owners.
“First of all, if you’re going to get a dog, understand that it’s kind of like taking your wedding vows — through sickness and in health, through good times and bad. It’s a commitment to that animal,” he said.
Marriages don’t always work out though, and Bellucci said the same thing happens with pets. He wants people to call and speak about options and, at the very least, give some notice to the shelter before dumping them at a refuge.
“We’re a no-kill shelter. And nobody wants there to be kill shelters. So, if that’s the case, then let’s all start helping these shelters out and let’s all start taking a little bit of responsibility.”
Bellucci said people should never buy or adopt a pet as a surprise for someone else, and they should put in some effort to make things work before giving up.
“We as a society owe it to the animals that we care for so much to figure out a way to kind of at least ease this a little bit.”