South Jersey animal shelter in need of rescue
Founder and director Nancy Welsh likes to say that Almost Home Animal Shelter is where "little miracles happen every day."
Founder and director Nancy Welsh likes to say that Almost Home Animal Shelter is where "little miracles happen every day."
But Almost Home is almost broke.
And it may take a miracle for the somewhat makeshift facility - envisioned as temporary when it opened in a Pennsauken warehouse a decade ago - to survive.
"It's very emotional for everyone," says Welsh, 56, of Collingswood. "This is a labor of love. We love what we do for the animals, and for people, too."
Having lost the last of its six municipal service contracts at the end of 2015, Almost Home stopped accepting new animals on Dec. 31. It may be forced to close at the end of March.
"We want to adopt out all of the animals that are still here," says Welsh, who estimates that several thousand dogs, cats, and other critters have been rescued, rehabilitated, and adopted out since Almost Home opened 10 years ago.
After word of the potential closing spread on social media, about $15,000, mostly in small donations, has poured in. But Almost Home needs to raise an additional $100,000 to stay open for the next six months, Welsh says.
The shelter would use that time and money to renovate the facility and shift its mission more toward low-cost vaccination clinics, wellness care, and other income-generating services.
"I hope it works," says volunteer Jay Miller, of Bristol, Bucks County. "Closing will not just hurt a lot of animals, but a lot of families."
As Welsh and I talk, a lively dachshund-Chihuahua mix named Joseph and a lovely, long-haired kitty called Farrah vie for our attention from their nearby cages.
These two adorable noisemakers are among about 20 dogs and 40 cats remaining at Almost Home.
Despite offers from other shelters, Welsh is reluctant to place her remaining dogs and cats anywhere other than in homes. "The staff here is very attached to them," she notes.
"We are trying to work with Nancy and her staff to make sure those animals find good homes and don't have to go to shelters," says Pennsauken Township spokesman Frank Sinatra.
"They've done an amazing job in a tough situation. The building was never meant to be a permanent shelter."
When the private West Jersey Animal Shelter in Pennsauken closed in January 2006, the township and five other Camden County municipalities were left high and dry.
So the six communities worked with Welsh - a state-certified animal control officer - to launch Almost Home a month later.
The six communities, including Audubon, Audubon Park, Gloucester City, Merchantville, and Woodlynne, paid a monthly fee for animal control services and also helped underwrite the shelter's annual $250,000 operating cost.
Pennsauken provided the bulk of the funding, about $170,000 a year, according to Sinatra.
"We were supposed to be a temporary facility . . . until the county built an addition to its shelter in Lakeland," Welsh notes.
That $1.5 million project was not completed until last year, and Pennsauken began utilizing its services on Jan. 1.
The five smaller towns made arrangements with either the county or the private Voorhees Animal Orphanage, which in January launched a $1.6 million capital campaign to fund renovations.
"There's plenty of space in the system" to accommodate animals that might have gone to Almost Home, says Maya Richmond, director of the Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees.
But despite the expanded and improved facilities, "the only shelter available to residents in the northern part of the county is Almost Home," notes Joyce Moyer, of Gloucester City.
"I don't think the politicians realize the impact of closing it," adds Moyer, who's been involved in animal rescues as a volunteer for three decades.
"Wait until puppy and kitten season."
Sounds cute, but . . . challenging.
So here's hoping that Almost Home finds its miracle.
And if not?
"I'll probably take a week off for the first time in 10 years," Welsh says.
"And I'll find something to do with animals, I'm sure. Even if it's just raising money for that one stray who comes along every once in a while, and needs us."
856-779-3845@inqkriordan