“I NEED DOG PEOPLE”: Heather Achenbach, Executive Director of SAVE, A Friend to Homeless Animals, is urging the public to adopt, foster, and donate funds to help find homes for dogs like Chiki, who recently arrived at the shelter.
By Anne Levin
With the capacity to house more than 100 animals at a time, it might seem as though SAVE, A Friend to Homeless Animals, has plenty of space. But the Skillman-based nonprofit shelter, which receives no funding at the federal, state, or local level, is running out of space — especially for dogs that need homes.
SAVE Executive Director Heather Achenbach has recently taken to social media to ask the public for help. A number of foster applications have resulted from her effort, but more fosters, adoptions, and monetary donations are needed.
“This is unfortunately not news for animal shelters nationally,” she said. “It’s definitely not news in the state of New Jersey. It’s heartbreaking.”
SAVE has space for 75 cats and 25 dogs. With cats, the shelter takes in “hundreds in a short time,” Achenbach said. “What we haven’t been able to leverage as a society, or even locally, is the same foster response for dogs. We recognize that cats and dogs are not the same – you can take home five kittens, but not five puppies. We need help.”
While SAVE was nearly emptied during the pandemic, “The world post-pandemic wants to pick up and leave home and not worry about their dog,” Achenbach said. “So, fewer people want to commit to a dog, period.”
Another major factor is the rising cost of veterinary fees.
“By the time you do early care to preventive care for a dog, you are in for thousands of dollars a year,” Achenbach said. “This is not how it was pre-pandemic. It is now almost unaffordable. The cost of vet care has gone through the roof. And that means that the surrender and abandon rates are through the roof.”
It isn’t only the pit bulls and large breeds that have become difficult to place.
“It’s not true anymore that the smaller dogs get adopted faster,” Achenbach said. “The community has to understand that if they continue to purchase from a puppy mill instead of rescuing, the problem will continue. I’ve had cockapoo puppies here that people will buy for $1,500 from a puppy mill. And I couldn’t get them out of here. In 2019, if I had told the public I had them, I would have had a line out the door.”
“Just yesterday,” she continued, “a Hillsborough family had to surrender their poodle and Yorkie because of allergies. A Shih Tzu was abandoned in a cat carrier at a motel. Someone wants to surrender their seven-year-old Yellow Lab because of caring for a relative. We have every breed coming in here that people have paid really big money for.”
Founded in 1941 by Dr. Cornelia Jaynes as the Small Animal Veterinary Endowment, SAVE was located on Herrontown Road before moving to its 10-acre property in Skillman a decade ago, after merging with the Friends of Homeless Animals. While 11 towns contract with the shelter to hold their lost and stray animals, paying a nominal fee for use of the space, key support comes from private funding.
SAVE’s six core programs of rescue, shelter, health and welfare, spay/neuter, foster, and adoption are focused on “the rehabilitation and successful placement of treatable and adoptable animals,” according to its website (savehomelessanimals.org). “SAVE endeavors to build, foster, and strengthen the human-animal bond.”
While Achenbach is encouraged by the response to her social media efforts, it isn’t enough.
“I want the public to foster, adopt, and donate,” she said. “Volunteering is great, but I need them [animals] to go home. We need space if we want to help animals. You have to take them home. Please give them a home, and please give us your money. Because if you don’t, we might not be here to help.”