Ihave been a loyal volunteer at the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSPCA) for many years. I support them with donations and recommend the shelter to people often. The purpose of this letter is to raise awareness, not to criticize the facility. Recently I had a very unfortunate experience at this shelter.
I trapped two kittens this summer and cared for them until there was space for them at the MCSPCA. They were healthy, happy and adorable. I could not keep them because I already have several cats in my home.
Three weeks later, Dinky, a little tabby female is dead. Apparently there is an outbreak of pneumonia in the shelter. I feel that when people surrender their pets to a shelter they should be told of any prevailing disease. I would never have left my little rescues if I had known about the infectious pneumonia.
I visited the kitties every other day when possible and watched Dinky’s demise. I repeatedly asked if I could remove her (I was hoping to get her to the emergency clinic), however, they would not permit me to do so. There are currently 500 or more kitties at the shelter and the staff there is really overwhelmed.
If you have room in your heart, please adopt an shelter animal. I would also like to encourage everyone to support the MCSPCA financially if possible. They need more medical assistance to save the lives of these special animals. I also feel that if you need to surrender an animal to the shelter, there should be a “Dinky’s Law” letting people know if there are diseases infecting many of the shelter pets.
Mary Kohlmann
Manalapan

