Kill the 90-day policy at the Bergen County Animal Shelter (BCAS)

Target:

Bergen County Executive, Dennis McNerney

Sponsored by:

Concerned residents of Bergen County, New Jersey

We Need To Fight For the Animals at Bergen County Animal Shelter!!!

Please sign our petition!

1) STOP unnecessary "Euthanasia!"   Putting healthy and adoptable animals down after the maximum 90 days adoption period is reprehensible.

2) NO breed specific "Euthanasia" (i.e. pit bulls, jindos, etc.) if these specific breeds are perfectly healthy and adoptable.

3) NO time limits on any adoptable animals.  Instead, provide additional funding to relieve or prevent overcrowding
during the busy months of May thru August.

4) Treat all animals with medically treatable conditions instead of putting down without giving any treatment.

Perfectly adoptable animals should not have to be euthanized if they are not adopted within 3 months of their adoption period at the Bergen County Animal Shelter.

Thank you very much for your support!

Here is the link to Bergen County Animal Shelter Pets waiting to be adopted!

We Need To Fight For the Animals at Bergen County Animal Shelter!!!

Please sign our petition!

1) STOP unnecessary "Euthanasia!"   Putting healthy and adoptable animals down after the maximum 90 days adoption period is reprehensible.

2) NO breed specific "Euthanasia" (i.e. pit bulls, jindos, etc.) if these specific breeds are perfectly healthy and adoptable.

3) NO time limits on any adoptable animals.  Instead, provide additional funding to relieve or prevent overcrowding
during the busy months of May thru August.

4) Treat all animals with medically treatable conditions instead of putting down without giving any treatment.

Perfectly adoptable animals should not have to be euthanized if they are not adopted within 3 months of their adoption period at the Bergen County Animal Shelter.

Thank you very much for your support!

Here is the link to Bergen County Animal Shelter Pets waiting to be adopted!

Mr. Dennis McNerney
Bergen County Executive
ONE Bergen County Plaza Floor 5 Room 580
Hackensack, NJ 07601

Sub: Petition to kill the 90-day policy at the Bergen
County Animal Shelter (BCAS)

Dear Mr. McNerney,

We, the undersigned, consider the current practice of
euthanizing perfectly healthy dogs, cats and other animals at the
Bergen County Animal Shelter after a period of 90 days (counted from
the day they are available for adoption at the Shelter), to be inhuman and a gross misuse of public and taxpayer resources.

Based on our consultation with animal experts and other shelter systems around the country, we find that the strict 90-day guidelines handed down by your office to BCAS do not fit the legal definition of euthanasia.

In this petition, we hope to convince you that cats and dogs deserve a more flexible, individual and case-by-case population control approach than their sheer numbers as one may use for controlling the mosquito or rodent population of Bergen County.

Currently, your office assigns a 90-day ticking clock as soon as a
cat or a dog become available for adoption at BCAS. This practice does not take into account anything about the animal itself: its breed, health,
background, circumstances, chances of finding a suitable home or
rescue, etc. The only thing that matters that it has 90 days to find
a home or it will be terminated. Even if "Lassie" walked through the
doors of BCAS with an injured leg and took 91 days to recover, she
will not be able to go to a loving home because of the strict 90-day
policy! You will have to end Lassie's life even though she is a
highly adoptable pet! I hope that you see our primary objection to
the 90-day policy - it has made all animals at BCAS living on a
ticking clock!

When we talked to FOCAS (Friends of the County Animal Shelter, a
volunteer organization dedicated to animal welfare and adoption)
volunteers about adoptions at BCAS, we were told that many dogs and
cats used to be routinely adopted to loving families, retirement
homes and community service organizations after 90 days. However, the
recent requirement of enforcing the 90-day policy by your office has
made this impossible.

We understand the need for animal population control given the
limited resources and budgetary constraints for social and welfare
services. However, as residents of Bergen County, we would like to
see a more balanced approach that blends increased adoption rates of
homeless pets with population control.

In order to raise public awareness of this issue among the residents
of Bergen County, we plan to hold several town hall meetings in towns
that have contracted animal welfare and population control services
with BCAS. We invite you or a representative from your office to
attend these meetings so that the residents of Bergen County can
discuss the best possible ways to achieve animal control as well as
increased adoption rates of shelter pets with your office.

Thank you very much for your time to listen to our voices.

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We signed the "Kill the 90-day policy at the Bergen County Animal Shelter (BCAS)" petition!

# 5,054:

11:03 am PST, Dec 28, Lauren Pirro, New Jersey

# 5,053:

4:19 pm PST, Dec 25, S Fein, New Jersey

# 5,052:

8:20 pm PST, Dec 10, Victor Fuerte, California

# 5,051:

9:31 am PST, Dec 9, Leilani Collier, California
we need to save gods animals

# 5,050:

12:38 pm PST, Nov 29, Kepa Laca, New Jersey
It's unbelievable that a dog would only get 90 days to be adopted. There are many animals who could find good homes if given enough time. 3 months aren't enough for most of these animals to even get a chance to find that home. They need to be given that chance.

# 5,049:

11:00 am PST, Nov 27, Celina Mowczan, New Jersey
Please do not kill these precious animals. Killing innocent dogs will not solve the problem. We all need think of a better way to help dogs besides killing them!!!

# 5,048:

5:59 am PST, Nov 27, Michelle Dumit, New Jersey
I have pets that I've rescued from kill shelters! These perfectly healthy adoptable animals have the right to live.

# 5,047:

6:47 pm PST, Nov 25, Chris Jordan, Canada
For more impact, add a personal comment here

# 5,046:

5:28 pm PST, Nov 22, Carla Quevedo, Maryland

# 5,045:

6:53 pm PST, Nov 20, Joanne Johns, Pennsylvania

# 5,044:

6:11 pm PST, Nov 20, Emily Johns, Pennsylvania

# 5,043:

5:46 pm PST, Nov 20, Simmi Kalirai, New Jersey

# 5,042:

5:01 pm PST, Nov 20, Kim Barning, New Jersey

# 5,041:

6:18 am PST, Nov 20, Terri Kannenberg, New Jersey

# 5,040:

9:26 pm PST, Nov 19, Amanda Johns, New Jersey
�The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated� -Mahatma Gandhi quote. As a Bergen County resident and owner of two dogs, I find it horrifying that you would mandate the elimination of adoptable pets after they reach their 90 day time limit. I like to think of Bergen county as one of the more progressive in the state, however, this is a shameful and tremendous step backwards. There is a bigger picture here, and the reputation of our county is at stake. A one-size-fits-all approach is never a part of any successful business plan, and at the heart of the matter is the most important lesson of all: respect for life in all of its forms. Rather than spending our resources to turn the shelter into a 'death row' for pets that would have otherwise had a bright future, those funds would be far better channeled into extending and enhancing the lives of animals with potential. With this policy change, you have the ability to positively affect the lives of thousands of pets and their owners, and make our area a better place to live!

# 5,039:

1:19 pm PST, Nov 18, Rebecca Ollert, New Jersey

# 5,038:

3:03 pm PST, Nov 15, Susan Winton, New Jersey
Dear Bergen County Animal Shelter, Please dont euthanize adoptable animals after 90 days. Thank you. Susan Winton

# 5,037:

5:54 pm PST, Nov 12, Jason Elfenbein, New Jersey
Find another way to deal with the problem. If you don't know how, don't be to proud to ask for advice or suggestions from the public.

# 5,036:

8:51 pm PST, Nov 11, Name not displayed, New Jersey
I adopted my dog from BCAS. She was there for at least six months, and if this policy was enforced then she wouldn't have had a chance. She is a wonderful dog and brings joy to many people...others need to be given the same chance to find their forever home.

# 5,035:

4:11 am PST, Nov 5, Samantha Eldridge, Illinois

# 5,034:

6:37 pm PDT, Oct 27, Anna Krochmal, Poland

# 5,033:

4:18 pm PDT, Oct 26, Dawn Stadlin, New Jersey
90 days is not long enough for a dog to find a home. We have to give these animals a chance to live, not just euthanize them. Just like people, animals should not be stereotyped by their breed or their health status. each animal should be treatly equally.

# 5,032:

3:59 pm PDT, Oct 26, Name not displayed, New York

# 5,031:

3:18 pm PDT, Oct 26, Jessica Lyons, New Jersey

# 5,030:

9:49 am PDT, Oct 17, Victoria Cieliczka, Michigan
I found our dog just prior to euthanisation. We were very close to losing her. Can't something be done rather then just killing them? When I was in high school, I so badly wanted to work in a shelter for a summer job and to show love to the animals left behind or that were lost. Once I found out that they were put down after so many days, I could hardly keep myself from crying everyday. Needless to say, I never applied for any job. Why can't these places be expanded into something wonderful, it would not only create MORE employment, but also, teens could work and get extra credit if they were planning on becoming a vet. Or the troubled teens could not only get paid, but bond with these animals and get in touch with their inner feelings to help them, become better humans. It worked in the Prisons.

# 5,029:

1:04 pm PDT, Sep 22, Tyla Colilla, New Jersey

# 5,028:

12:15 pm PDT, Sep 15, Joya Steffe, New Jersey
I had recently gotten an dog out of a shelter gonna be put down, and he is the sweetest dog on earth who cannot sleep alone and has to be told everyday what a good dog he is!! TERRIBLE, they should put a Kill Prison in action on people who abuse these dogs they should get enthusaized.

# 5,027:

3:21 am PDT, Sep 15, Iryna Marroyen, Belgium

# 5,026:

6:17 pm PDT, Sep 7, Eva Cajnko, Slovenia

# 5,025:

11:15 am PDT, Sep 4, Name not displayed, New Jersey

# 5,024:

7:27 pm PDT, Aug 30, Nicole Filicetti, New Jersey
Please give these animals a chance! Sometimes 90 days is not enough for a dog or cat to find a home, but there is a perfect family out there for them. Please don't let them die for no reason.

# 5,023:

1:07 pm PDT, Aug 23, Brooke Knorr, New Jersey
All dogs deserve to live! Children in foster homes don't get put to sleep after 3 months why should dogs? Dogs are perfect familt members!

# 5,022:

10:59 am PDT, Aug 20, Lynda Harding, United Kingdom

# 5,021:

8:22 am PDT, Aug 11, Kelley Mcqueen, California

# 5,020:

7:59 pm PDT, Aug 8, Emmy Dorfman, Florida

# 5,019:

4:19 pm PDT, Jul 31, Gail Zschack Knecht, Florida

# 5,018:

3:01 am PDT, Jul 27, Miho Cambel, California
Please be precious animals. Animal's life is same as much as human's life.

# 5,017:

3:35 pm PDT, Jul 21, Stephanie Harzewski, New York

# 5,016:

10:47 pm PDT, Jul 20, Margaret Miller, New York
That is absolutely rediculous! If the shelter has room keep the animals there! It is horrible to see this kind of treatment. That vet should not be a "vet" because he obviously really doesn't care about animals!!

# 5,015:

6:46 am PDT, Jul 18, Ruriko Maeda, Japan
Please be precious animals. Animal's life is same as much as human's life.

# 5,014:

5:15 am PDT, Jul 18, Lisa Staiano, New York
There should be no kill policy for animals that are healthy.There should be laws forcing people to neuter/spay their dogs and they should be enforced. It should also be cost reduced for people who have pets but truly cannot afford to have the procedure done.

# 5,013:

6:30 pm PDT, Jul 16, Denise Katsabanis, New York
That's ridiculous! You should be ashamed of yourself!

# 5,012:

12:55 pm PDT, Jul 16, Wendy Sellars, New York

# 5,011:

8:40 am PDT, Jul 16, Lauren Young, New York

# 5,010:

5:36 am PDT, Jul 16, Michelle Hahn, New York

# 5,009:

5:26 am PDT, Jul 16, Tara Mendez, New York
This is horrible. What gives you the right. Please do not let this happen.

# 5,008:

4:43 am PDT, Jul 16, THERESE NATHANSON, New York
Taking of life should not be acceptable practice

# 5,007:

8:43 pm PDT, Jul 15, Kimberly Gewertz, New Jersey
To whom it may concern: This petition should be the first step into making sure that euthansia is done away with. It is cruel, unnecessary and disgusting. It is not an unwanted animal's fault that it was put in a shelter for whatever reson. You are puuting to death heathly and loving animals that could be placed in homes and even help out in different jobs around the state and county. Please do not kill these wonderful souls anymore. They deserve better.

# 5,006:

5:01 pm PDT, Jul 15, MONIQUE GARZONE, New York

# 5,005:

2:15 pm PDT, Jul 14, Name not displayed, New Jersey
What you are doing at the Bergen County Animal Shelter is disgusting!!

# 5,004:

12:59 pm PDT, Jul 11, Bridget Hopper, Kentucky

# 5,003:

3:17 pm PDT, Jul 9, Greta Malkotzoglou, Greece

# 5,002:

10:50 pm PDT, Jul 8, Mizuki Chang, Georgia
All the lives are born for some meaning. Please give them chances to prove it.

# 5,001:

4:33 pm PDT, Jul 7, Name not displayed, California

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