By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Super storm Sandy left the Princeton animal shelter on Herrontown Road without power for more than a week, a predicament for the staff and the more than 70 cats and dogs housed there.
SAVE, A Friend to Homeless Animals lost power on the evening of Oct.29, the day Sandy hit the region, until it came back on Wednesday. It was a difficult time, said the woman who runs the shelter.
”So our staffers had to come in and work in cold, dark conditions,” said Piper H. Burrows, SAVE executive director, in an interview at the shelter Wednesday.
During what Ms. Burrows called the most challenging period for an organization that dates to 1941, SAVE staff was helped by volunteers and SAVE trustees who stepped forward to clean cat cages, walk dogs and do laundry.
”I just decided to come in and help,” said Maria Cory, a teacher who has not been able to go to work since her school in Matawan has been closed as a result of Sandy.
Ms. Cory, a self-described cat lover, has been coming for three hours a day to clean cages and do other tasks.
Meanwhile donations of supplies poured in, including 18,000 pounds of cat litter from Church & Dwight, the Princeton-based maker of home products. Some many supplies came in, such that some surplus items will be sent to a shelter in Woodbridge Township that was damaged in the storm, Ms. Burrows said.
None of the combined 75 cats and dogs at the shelter died, although Ms. Burrows said the animals had to endure being in pitch darkness from about 6 p.m. until 7 a.m. “and with very, very limited heat.”
The shelter has used space heaters to warm up areas where the pets are kept, to keep the temperature to a steady 60 to 65 degrees, she said. Heaters are not run at night.
”But despite all of this, the staff has done an amazing job keeping the shelter as sanitary as possible. The animals have not suffered in any way,” Ms. Burrows said. “We have really maintained everything as best as we can.”
PSE&G was on site Wednesday, when power was restored. Prior to then, no one from the utility had visited, Ms. Burrows said.
”We have begged and pleaded with PSE&G to please get this power up and running,” Ms. Burrows said. “It’s not fair to our animals, it’s not fair to our staff. We should be a priority, and we have not been made a priority here.”
”There was a tremendous amount of storm damage to our equipment. We have been working around the clock to assess every damaged location and make repairs,” said PSEG spokeswoman Karen Johnson in an email Thursday.
It’s been hectic, it’s been difficult,” said kennel manager Elaine Pelke, a SAVE staff member.
In some cases, some “fragile” animals like young kittens were placed with foster families to avoid having them spend the night in an unheated building, Ms. Burrows said.
Township Animal Control Officer Mark Johnson was able to get the shelter a diesel-powered generator Monday through the township. Mr. Johnson said that as soon as he got power back at his home Sunday, he provided the shelter his personal generator.
Asked if there could have been a generator in place before the storm hit, Ms. Burrows said: “We never thought we would be in such dire conditions as we are now. Had I known this, yes, we would have purchased generators.”
Mr. Johnson said that in his 18-year-tenure, SAVE had never lost power for more than 24 hours, except for three days last year during Tropical Storm Irene.
Looking ahead to when SAVE relocates to a new facility in Montgomery Township, Ms. Burrows said there would be a substantial generator system.
The storm has been rough on pets in general. Since Sandy, there has been an increase in the number of missing cats in the two Princetons. Mr. Johnson estimated the total at around 20, the same amount he would get in six months.
The past week has put a crimp on the organization’s finances since no animals have been adopted meaning no adoption fees.
Anyone wishing to help SAVE financially can contact Ms. Burrows by email at [email protected], or mail a check to the shelter at 900 Herrontown Road, Princeton, 08540.

