A Message from the Director

My position started here in 1980 and I assumed the position of Executive Director in 1991. Over the many years here, I have seen the animal welfare movement make tremendous strides in reducing pet overpopulation, humane education, and have seen the perceived value of animals as family members increase dramatically.

The HSAC has operated an animal shelter since 1970. A low-cost spay clinic was opened in the mid-seventies and operates today as a high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter clinic that has helped start numerous others. The HSAC has built and operated two different mobile animal surgical hospitals (M*A*S*H units) and has been a mentor to numerous shelters - both private and government. The HSAC has adopted a "no-kill" philosophy, meaning no animals are ever euthanized for space or time here at the center. Today, most dogs come to the HSAC from other organizations. Animals from overpopulated shelters are matched with shelters that have available space. Standardized temperament testing across the country is enabling many groups to work together. This is the true no-kill movement at its finest, and we are proud to have been there since the beginning. Years ago, we decided that the shelter was not going to be a dump off site where people could just leave their animals because they had medical or behavioral issues that they did not want to address. For that reason, we pre-screen animals coming into our adoption program. Those animals passing the pre-screening are accepted into the shelter and then we go through the process to bring the animals up to date medically and do full temperament evaluations. Some animals are ineligible for the adoption program because they are aggressive, have severe medical issues, or are at an age where they would be extremely hard to place, leaving them in the shelter for extended periods of time. In cases where the animal does not get accepted into the adoption program, we try and help in other ways either through our veterinary clinic or the trainers that we work with. It is a sad fact that some animals are not appropriate to re-home for safety reasons. Leaving an animal at any shelter should is not an easy decision or an easy process so people must give themselves, the shelter, and the animal the time needed to find a suitable solution. Animals should never be part of this throw away world.

In 2000, the HSAC opened a small full-service veterinary clinic. To date, the busy clinic operates six days a week. The facility has digital x-ray equipment and up-to-date blood chemistry machines to offer our clients and their pets outstanding veterinary care and service. Our Spay Neuter Clinic does high volume spay neuter surgeries on Wednesdays and Fridays. Applications and appointments can be done online on this webpage.

As Director, I oversee the running of the entire facility. In addition, I have served on several boards as a Gubernatorial Appointee. The Boards include New Jersey Animal Welfare Task Force, New Jersey State SPCA, and the NJ Domestic Companion Animal Council. These positions enabled me to affect some changes for the good of animals through legislation and education.

The Humane Society, AC is a private non-profit organization that was established in 1968. It operates an animal shelter, spay clinic, and veterinary clinic at its Atlantic City location. Many of our programs are funded through private donations, grants and user fees in the veterinary clinic. We welcome visitors at the shelter from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day, except Sunday and Monday. The veterinary clinic is by appointment.

Over the four-plus decades that I have been with the Humane Society AC, I can see that many different types of people make up our Animal Welfare Community. Not all of us agree on everything, but there are common goals between the agencies. We have learned that in pooling resources, we best serve the needs of all people and animals. There are many organizations that believe in the no-kill movement, as does the HSAC. The organizations making the most progress are the ones that work together with others to help even more animals. We are proud to work with many shelters and organizations including: