Montclair’s Animal Shelter Director Resigns

Montclair, NJ – Montclair’s lauded animal shelter director will resign her post, township officials have announced.

According to a municipal news release, Montclair Township Animal Shelter Director Niki Dawson has resigned from her job and has “accepted another position in animal rescue.”

Town officials made no mention of an official resignation date in their June 17 announcement.

“We are sad to see such a capable and caring shelter director leave us, but are excited for her as she moves on to her new venture,” town officials stated.

After serving as acting shelter director for several months, Dawson was hired by the township as the municipally run shelter’s permanent director in July of 2015.

• See related article: Montclair Hires Acting Animal Shelter Director

Township officials listed some of the contributions that Dawson made during her tenure:

• Cross-trained staff to provide greater competencies and knowledge in animal care
• Helped organize and train core volunteers
• Reorganized the layout of shelter spaces to better manage animal health and welfare and allow for more enrichment activities

“After the April 3 fire that devastated our shelter, Niki continued to provide animal control to the communities we serve, while dealing with insurance investigators, restoration crews, architects and seeking out potential temporary sites,” town officials stated in a news release. “Her leadership, expertise and inspiration will be sorely missed.”

• See related article: Montclair Shelter Engulfed In Fire, Animals Safe

“Once [Dawson] has officially served her remaining time, appropriate measures will be swiftly put into place to ensure continuity in shelter operations,” town officials stated. “In the meantime we continue moving towards providing a temporary space to shelter our animals and assisting the foster families who are still caring for our fire survivors.”

• See related article: Montclair Animal Shelter Fire Devastates: Recovery Efforts Launched

In 2014, members of the municipal Animal Welfare Advisory Committee reported that alleged mismanagement at the shelter was causing a range of issues, including long evaluation times for new animals, animals not being socialized and exercised regularly, inventory and supply shortages and a general lack of community outreach and volunteer coordination

• See related article: Montclair Animal Shelter Showing Improvement: Town Officials

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Photo: Montclair Township

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