Pet Adoption Store to Close at Freehold Raceway Mall

The MCSPCA's Freehold Mall animal adoption center will close on Oct. 1st. But the good news is that the Eatontown location of the Monmouth County SPCA (the main branch) is bigger and better than ever, and will always be the main hub for pet adoptions.

The Monmouth County SPCA (MCSPCA) has announced that their Freehold satellite location will close as of Oct. 1st, 2018.

The Freehold Adoption Center was created 6 years ago and was the first NJ retail location of its kind. It was designed to offer the alternative to adopt a homeless animal rather than purchase dogs from puppy mill breeders (where young female purebreds are used to produce litter after litter in deplorable conditions.)

Since the launch of the Freehold location in 2012, 126 towns have passed anti-puppy mill measures, making our state the leader in the country for local laws passed regarding puppy mill breeders.

The Freehold MCSPCA location has not only helped make pet adoption more accessible to the public, but has served as an information center for the public to learn about puppy mills, spaying/neutering, and community cat services.

With the ever-increasing popularity of the "Adopt, Don't Shop" movement, rescuing animals has been trending and has become somewhat of a status symbol that people are proud to show off.

So how did the MCSPCA get all of those adoptable animals for the Freehold shelter/store? By developing partnerships with foster-based organizations and shelters in areas of the U.S. where there were too many puppies and not enough homes -- which many times would have otherwise resulted in those puppies being euthanized due to overcrowding.

The MCSPCA will continue to rescue animals from struggling, over-populated shelters, even continue recirculating a portion of adoption fees back to those shelters to help aid in spay/neuter efforts.

And of course the MCSPCA's Eatontown location, which has always been the main location for the Monmouth County SPCA, will continue to focus on their mission to find them forever homes for animals in need through adoption. And now they now have a new FULL SERVICE veterinary clinic!

Chief Ross Licitra, the MCSPCA Executive Director and Chief of Humane Law Enforcement, says he is proud of the message the Freehold Adoption Center has conveyed to the public about the horrific practices of puppy mills and the importance of adoption. He says that they MCSPCA's goal of bringing awareness to puppy mill practices has been a tremendous success and has generated momentum to encourage adoption and responsible pet ownership throughout our state.

The Monmouth County SPCA's mission continues to be to protect and advocate for all animals. They are dedicated to enforcing animal cruelty laws, providing a safe haven for homeless, abused, and abandoned animals while they await adoption, reduce animal over-population through spay/neutering, and cultivate humane treatment through education and advocacy services.

The MCSPCA  was founded in 1945 and has been saving animal lives all these years. Last year, they cared for over 5,700 animals. The shelter relies solely on private donations to fund their mission: They provide not only pet adoptions and low cost spay/neuter services, but a weekly vaccine clinic, dog training and behavior help, humane law enforcement, lost and found, trap/neuter/return for free-roaming cats, humane education pet therapy, and a pet food pantry that helps provide pet food and supplies for low-income families.

UPDATE: I spoke with Chief Licitra this morning since so many of you wanted more specific reasons as to why the Freehold location is closing, and he gave several. In addition to having accomplished their mission with the Freehold store (to draw attention to rescuing animals in need rather than supporting pet stores who use the horror of puppy mills to sell pets,) Chief says it no longer makes financial sense to keep Freehold open when the Eatontown MCSPCA can provide the same adoption opportunities...PLUS give those looking to adopt the chance to see some of the older dogs and cats in need of forever homes.

Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to run the second (Freehold) location, the MCSPCA can put that money toward rescuing more animals and getting them adopted, and put even more of the savings back into the communities that need spay and neutering programs.

For more info on this great organization, CLICK HERE.