Burlington County Animal Shelter Waives Adoption Fees

Burlington County is located in Southern Jersey and is the largest county in New Jersey. It is very close to Philadelphia and is bordered by the Delaware River to the West. The local animal shelter is called the Burlington County Animal Shelter and they have waived adoption fees for the month of January in an effort to place animals in safe, warm homes. The shelter is located at 35 Academy Drive in Westampton, New Jersey, and is typically open from 12 to 4PM daily.

The Burlington County Animal Shelter has a wide variety of cats and dogs of all ages. The typical adoption fee for the shelter is $75 for dogs and $45 for cats. According to NJ.com, “Appointments are available Monday through Friday from noon to 3:30 p.m. Residents can also visit on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.” Available animals can be viewed by appointment at the shelter or at the shelter’s website. 

During the Covid-19 months, many people turned to animals for companionship. A national poll was put out by the ASPCA and it concluded that one in five households adopted a cat or dog since the beginning of Covid. The majority of those animals are still with that family. The article put out by the ASPCA states, “The vast majority of these households still have that pet in the home—90 percent for dogs and 85 percent for cats—and are not considering rehoming their pet in the near future,” Many sources have put out articles about Covid-19 pets being abandoned but,  “Despite alarmist headlines tied to regional reports of a surge in owner surrenders, this trend is not currently evident on a national level with many organizations simply seeing a return to pre-pandemic operations and intake.”  

The fact that there is no adoption fee could be considered the extra push that a family needs to adopt an animal. Hopefully, this extra push will help put numerous more animals into their forever homes. The Burlington County Animal Shelter is attempting to place as many animals into as many homes as possible.

According to Insider NJ, in order to adopt, "Adoption forms are available with the profiles of each pet. Those interested in making an appointment to meet a specific dog or cat should complete an adoption application first.” All of the animals at the shelter are already spayed or neutered and have all of their vaccinations. Going to any shelter is the best way for people to avoid online pet scams. In total, 1,125 cats and 398 dogs have been adopted so far this year. 

Even though it is only for the month of January, it is still an amazing thing that the Burlington Animal Shelter is doing in an effort to put more animals into a home. This shelter is a great example for all shelters across the country. Hopefully, more shelters will follow in their footsteps and waive adoption fees in the future if they have the ability to.