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Community Corner

Madison Shelter Finds Rescued Beagles Homes, Fame

St. Hubert's finds homes for dozens of dogs taken from bankrupt laboratory.

St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center has been a Madison fixture since 1939. Its first storefront opened in 1958 and it moved to its present Woodland Avenue location–a converted cow barn on the former Dodge estate–in 1962. 

The local institution recently found itself in the national spotlight when St. Hubert's new president, Heather Cammisa, was contacted by In Defense of Animals (IDA).  IDA was in the midst of rescuing about 120 beagles from a bankrupt Oxford laboratory where they were scheduled to be used for product testing. The dogs, (all three-year-old males) had been raised in the laboratory, but had not been experimented on yet. They all needed to be placed as soon as possible and IDA needed St. Hubert's help for the placements.

Cammisa agreed to take responsibility for 30 dogs sending others to partner shelters including Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter in East Hanover, Noah's Ark in Ledgewood, Monmouth County SPCA in Eatontown and to an upstate New York shelter.

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The beagles became available for adoption over July Fourth weekend. Cammisa reached out to volunteers (who showed up in droves with only 24 hours notice) and to the public who not only embraced the dogs but also offered homes to every one of them as well as to more than two dozen other shelter animals.

Patch was unable to meet some of the famous pooches because they were now with their new families. Cammisa told us, "I believe in the power of 'Yes we can' – we were  happy to be able to respond to the situation, it's good for the animals and good for the volunteers. The beagles touched everyone's hearts and minds, we were proud and privileged to help these animals"

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Cammisa gave Patch a "hard hat" tour of the new St. Hubert's facility that's been under construction since April 2009. Fund raising is ongoing but with luck the new shelter will be open in about a year's time.

The new building is designed to be flooded with natural light and will include state of the art features such as indoor and outdoor runs. There's a planned kitty tower with windows overlooking the parking lot, and lots of places and spaces where pets and people can meet in a homelike atmosphere. The new building will also function as a revenue source that will support the Shelter's mission of pet retention. A retail operation and dog grooming and training will be on premises as well as veterinary services. These services will be in addition to the current programs that include a year-round doggie day camp.

In all there will be several new jobs available to area residents as well as many volunteer opportunities. In addition, there will be changes behind the scenes, for example, the shelter's dishwasher, washer and drier will all be replaced by commercial models. However, the 'back office' will remain in its current space, with the new building 100 percent devoted to the shelter occupants. According to Cammisa "We want to use every bit of life-saving space for the animals. They need opportunities."

For the remainder of the summer, the public is invited to regular ice cream socials held every other Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. during the summer remaining dates are July 21, August 4 and August 18.  There's Edy's ice cream for the humans and Frosty Paws for the four-legged attendees (donated by Nestle Company). A small donation is requested at the door. The shelter is open weekly for adoptions Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

For the record, here are the names given to the adopted beagles: Richard Stockton, Sam Adams, Elbridge Gerry, Philip Livingston, Oliver Wolcott, William Whipple, Caesar Rodney, Benjamin Rush, George Clymer, Edward Rutledge, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Roger Sherman, John Morton, Robert Treat Paine, George Read, Thomas McKean, John Adams, John Hancock, Frances Lightfoot Lee, Samuel Chase, John Hart, Lewis Morris, Arthur Middleton, William Hopper, and Benjamin Harris.

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