Bloomfield's Animal Shelter Bigger - and Better

I love Nero.

 “Nero,” said Romel Fernandez, manager of Bloomfield's John A. Bukowski Shelter for Animals, “is five months old.”

The spry, black dog, previously barking to have his cage open – and coincidentally, the loudest barker at the shelter – is now happily wagging his tail, his eyes on a strange visitor: Me. Fernandez pats his head as the dog leans out of the cage. “I think he’s part Chihuahua, and maybe a mini Labrador.”

Bloomfield's animal shelter, located off Hoover Avenue at 61 Bukowski Pl., has seen significant improvements. In a nutshell, the facility is more organized now than it has been in the past, and their vision is to be one of the best in an area where animal shelters are lacking.

The township's health officer Michael Fitzpatrick and Fernandez communicate at least once or twice a day, sometimes more.

“This way I have a pulse from afar as to what’s going on here," said Fitzpatrick. "A lot of dynamics can go on here; you have to be vigilant.”

And at a place where cats outnumber dogs, you need to love animals.

“You can’t,” he said with a smile, “work here and not love animals.”

Fernandez and Fitzpatrick and a crew of volunteers have made the most of the facility with the least amount of tax dollars, and that includes adding on a new addition with a second level for storage, with much of the work done by Fernandez, Fitzpatrick and volunteers.

“The new shelter addition gives us the ability to separate different groups of animals and do so with some flexibility,” said Fernandez. “For example, we separate dogs that bark a lot or have high anxiety to calm these animals down and minimize stress to other animals.”

Cats and dogs now have five different areas each, including the adult long-term  population, newer, adolescent population, medical isolation, and new intake. New animals are isolated for at least seven days to observe if they are healthy, and sick animals are isolated from the rest until determined they cannot transmit disease. There is now a veterinary technician on-site to give medications and assess animal’s condition when dropped off. He then conveys his gathered information to a veterinarian.

“We try to separate pregnant and nursing mothers and baby animals from our healthy adult populations because these populations are known to transmit diseases at a higher rate than healthy adult populations," said Fernandez. "Also, the staff works hard to keep the place clean. It’s a better place."

“To do this right every day, we need a lot of focused energy,” added Fitzpatrick.

The animal shelter is also charitable, donating food the shelter can’t use to Mayme Puccio, an animal rescuer who runs an animal food bank in Newark helping low-income and homeless pet owners who cannot afford dog and cat food. Shelter volunteers also raise funds for Neighbor to Neighbor Network, a 501(c)(3) public charity run by Bloomfield's Health and Human Services Department.

“This charity collaborates to provide services to the Bloomfield community through the use of a volunteer and organizational network where traditional services are absent," said Fernandez. "Our shelter volunteers operate under the umbrella of this nonprofit to raise funds and help out at the shelter."

Roman Rak is a Bloomfield resident and local contractor who recently adopted one-year-old Amber from the shelter. He’s had her for a week.

“I have the same kind of dog at home (seven-year-old Max)," Rak said. "I wanted another one.”

He highly recommended Bloomfield's shelter as the place to adopt a pet.

Potential volunteers are encouraged to visit the shelter and speak with a staff member about volunteering.

Bloomfield's Bukowski Shelter for Animals
61 Bukowski Place
Phone: 973-748-0194