OLD BRIDGE — Mayor Owen Henry said despite public comments made against the Old Bridge Township Animal Shelter, the shelter has been running successfully.
“We’re not trying to be tough guys,” he said in response to the comments made at a Township Council meeting on July 10. “We’re just trying to run a shelter and we are very successful. The animals are well taken care of. I challenge anyone to go down any time of day to see an animal in distress, to see an animal not being well cared for.”
Tensions have been high among animal advocates and township officials since charges were levied against Karen Chen, the Old Bridge Animal Shelter’s manager, after she was alleged to have left a cat to suffer in pain due to dental issues for more than a month.
On Feb. 21, the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) announced that it had charged Chen with failure to provide necessary veterinary care and inflicting unnecessary cruelty to a cat named Jupiter as far back as November 2016.
In March, a petition with more than 1,100 signatures was submitted to Henry, his administration and the Township Council for the removal or transfer of Chen.
The matter against Chen is still in the court process. Township officials have said because of employment law, township officials do not comment on personnel matters.
Henry said officials have been working hard to run the animal shelter successfully, adding that security has been a big issue.
“You can’t just walk in any township building and do what you want to do and have access to where you want to go,” he said.
Henry said there needs to be some kind of process and policy in place to run the shelter.
“We have to have control of it,” he said. “There’s too much liability if someone just walks off the street and walks in where these animals are. They could do harm to the animals. They could do harm to themselves.”
Henry said the township cannot run any department or agency without some form of rules.
“We’ve had accidents where people didn’t want to follow the rules and they still continue to not want to follow them,” he said.
Henry said the township has a volunteer policy handbook. Part of the volunteer application process is going through a very thorough background check, he said.
“If you are not going to sign off on it, you are not going to be a volunteer,” he said.
Councilwoman Anita Greenberg-Belli said previous volunteers who left in good standing should be able to come back to volunteer at the shelter.
“We want the animals to be taken care of and the shelter to run properly,” she said.
In addition, members of the public have asked for the shelter to be open additional hours. The shelter currently is open from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1-3 p.m. every day.
Henry said officials are currently not recommending the shelter to be open additional hours; however, he said that does not mean people are not there after hours.
“We can’t have volunteers when it’s not open, but there’s going to be people before and after hours to tend to the animals,” he said, noting that the Old Bridge Animal Shelter has passed inspections and met restrictions and requirements put out by the state.
The Old Bridge Township Animal Shelter is staffed by the animal control officers, under the direction of Acting Captain Joe Mandola of the Old Bridge Police Department.
Contact Kathy Chang at [email protected].