Plans for New Shelter in Bridgewater, Too Small, You Decide

I recently read an article about the plans for the new shelter in Bridgewater and I must say I'm a bit disappointed.

Although the new shelter will be somewhat larger, they will not have enough space for a real life room, or community room and the cats will be stuck in the same very small cages they always been in.

You may ask, why is it important to have a community room and a real life room at the shelter?

The short answer is that in order for the shelter to adequately meet the needs of the community and their animals, they simply need a bigger shelter.

One of the main reasons that animals are surrendered (both dogs and cats) is due to behavioral issues that are hard to solve on your own. Through programs like Training Wheels (http://www.suesternberg.com/) and similar educational programs, Somerset Regional Animal shelter is trying to evolve to meet these needs. A real life room will allow to them to properly assess animals personality traits and thus in the future, hopefully reduce surrenders and decrease the shelter's animal population.

In tandem, a community room will help the shelter become more of a resource rather than just a place to give away your pet. With use of a community room, the animal shelter may hold training sessions and offer education that could also lead to a decrease in the number of surrendered pets and allow owners to learn practical training tips that will help improve the animal-human bond.

As we come into the holiday season, please consider this --in the event that you have to relinquish your cherished furry friend, wouldn't you feel more comfortable surrendering it to a facility that seemed well equipped and gave you the impression that not only were they going to provide for the basic needs of the animal (food/water/shelter) but mental enrichment as well?