Finding Room for One More
The dog days of summer are just around the corner, and that means the perfect time for a new pet. So why not help out an animal in need? For one New Jersey shelter, when they say animal rescue... they mean it.
Michelle Stymacks is the founder of "Room for One More" animal shelter in Hopatcong, New Jersey. This no-kill facility takes in animals, many of whom are just minutes away from being put down. After six years, the shelter is now forced to close its doors... leaving little hope for animals still waiting to be adopted.
"It's a lot of stress trying to make sure that everybody here is safe by the 30th," says Michelle. If they're not out and have places by the 30th, then there's a good likelihood that the dogs here would have to be put to sleep. And that's definitely something I don't want to do."
Michelle's landlord decided to sell the property. Given just six weeks notice, the shelter is scurrying to find their animals a home. Michelle is still looking to place 17 dogs and eight cats with families. The shelter will also leave behind animals still in need of rehabilitation. "Room for One More" has rehabilitated a number of animals who've suffered a difficult past.
Meanwhile, Michelle is also searching for a new space for the shelter. For these animals, a new facility would be a saving grace. It would also allow the folks at "Room for One More" to keep doing what they love most: animal rescue.
"We can make a large open space into a shelter," says Michelle. "Basically, our needs are running water and environmental control - heat basically. Other than that, we've got the materials here to make a facility. It's just having the actual building to put it all into."
For now, Michelle says her biggest concern is finding these animals a family. And of course, she'd love to see the shelter continue its work in another location.
"In the past two years we've had about a thousand cats and dogs come in and out our doors," she says. "So when you put it like that, it's a large number of animals. And now with not having this facility, that's that many animals that in the future, don't have a hope."
The "Room for One More" animal shelter will close June 30th. So if you're looking to welcome a furry friend into your home, head down to Hopatcong, New Jersey to give a dog or a cat a second chance. Suggestions and donations for a new shelter location are also welcome.
Contact Information:
Room for One More
155 Stanhope Sparta Rd
Hopatcong, NJ 07821
(973) 770-6700
roomforonemore@gmail.com
Comments: 25
Howard,
Thank you so much for your story on this animal shelter. I hope your efforts to help the Room for One More Shelter will save some animals and maybe even enable the shelter to relocate.
i tried to go to the website for the room for one more animal shelter but no luck... hopefully its just an error on my part.. hope to see u tomorrow in the bronx howard
Howard,
Thank you so much for your story on this animal shelter. I hope your efforts to help the Room for One More Shelter will save some animals and maybe even enable the shelter to relocate.
www.roomforonemore.net
We wish you good luck placing your animals. We have spent he last 3 weeks trying to place 4 older cats with daily medicinal needs to no avail. The lady who cared for them in her home for years is now ill and can't do it anymore. So if you have any ideas how to do this, and you've placed your cats, please drop us a line and give us a clue how to place our fab feline four.
Michelle Stymacks isnt the founder of Room for One More. Kage Garramone is.
Also there have been so many complaints about this place and the NJSPCA has been there so often its not even funny. Cats were dropping dead there right and left and not getting any medical attention. A lot of places will not even send animals to them anymore. Petsmart has banned them entirely because they were adopting out sick puppies all of which died within a week of adoption and their attitude was "oh well, once you sign the contract the dog is your responsibility"
Many of the dogs there have bitten volunteers, sometimes badly and some have attacked other dogs. Some of these dogs are even adopted out to people and then come back because they attacked the new owners and Michelle blames the new owners.
the place needs to be shut down. Other people have been rescuing animals FROM Room for One More due to the conditions they have been found in. There are 2 cats who were taken one from the shelter and one from Michelle's own home who were in such bad shape they are still being treated at the vet over a month later. Giardia, coccydia, Corona virus, malnutrition, and thats just a few of the things the two cats were diagnosed with.
Volunteers have been leaving there for a year now because they get screamed at when they mention that one of the animals is sick. Dogs have sores on their legs, cats and kittens leave with giardia and cost their families hundreds of dollars to get them well.
JP,
I have to wonder at the accuracy of your statement, because animal shelters will of course have sick animals in them, people who don't want to pay to have their sick animals treated will dump them.
As far as the volunteers being bitten, many of the dogs come in there untrained, many volunteers come in there with good hearts but untrained and in a hectic animal shelter, accidents happen. I have volunteered and been bitten myself (not seriously though). Working in an animal shelter is unbelievably tiring. It is also disheartening for those running the shelter that despite good efforts to save animals, people often come not to donate or help out but to dump off animals like garbage. I don't doubt that there must have been tension there but I don't hear you offering to help or provide any treatment or solutions for the animals you are complaining about so it sounds like sour grapes to me. If you are so upset about the conditions of the animals, help find a place for them.
thank you ek for the site, i went there but it only showed dog that are located in floral city FL, i thought the animal shelter was located in new jersey. i live in the Bronx and adopting a animal from jersey is hard enough with no car but some place in Florida that's too much. i hoe u can find a home for those pets.
p.s. on the website you can only find dogs, there are no other animals shown on the site, and JP unless u have poof of what your saying most people will not take you seriously, you look like just another spammer
I am a former employee of Room For One More so i have first hand knowledge of the goings on there.
Sick animals is one thing. Im well aware of that. But animals should be treated -before- being adopted out to new homes. I also have photo's of the condition of the cats that were taken from there. Untreated cats. Many of the dogs were without current rabies shots and only if they were about to be adopted did they get updates.
You can contact Petsmart in Rockaway NJ about their banning. Highlands Veterinary Hospital refused to continue working with them because of this.
and just to make it clear. I am not an employee that was fired. I walked away due to the nasty way Michelle treated people both employed there as well as those who wished to adopt.
The NJSPCA also has many many complaints logged against them. So the proof is out there.
First I would like to say something to JP...you are making accusations and you do not have all the fact. RFOM has NOT been banned from PetSmart. That is inaccurate - get the details before you try to damage the reputation of a giving shelter. The facts are just this, puppies were rescued from a puppy mill. Clearance for adoption was granted by the vet and all folks who adopted the puppies were told straight up that these animals were given clearance for adoption and passed the legal testing for disease that must be done. ONE LITTER of puppies were sick and died. All who adopted where fully refunded and many have since adopted another dog from this facility.
Second - the ASPCA has been to the shelter numerous times and not based on complaints to RFOM. The ASPCA has been helping RFOM with issues from the owner of the property. These issues stem all the way from repairs needed at the shelter that are not being done to HIS personal horses being removed from the property for neglect. One has nothing to do with the other.
Third - Animals attacking the volunteers and other animals at the shelter. We rescue animals from all walks of life. Those who come to RFOM near death. They are given a fighting chance to LIVE! Mecca is a prime example of the work they do! She was a fighting dog that was $300,000.00 in the dog fighting world. After a year in rehad she is the perfect dog. Any dog or cat can bite or scratch at anytime. It has NOTHING to do with the shelter. Yes some animals do get returned and guess what buddy...that happens with EVERY SHELTER! The shelter does what they can to give the animal a chance at life and love.
It is folks like you, the ones who sit in the background and judge those who try to help rather than paricipate in a cause, who make our job worth while because we get the chance to prove you wrong! Get off your high horse pal and get a clue because you have NO IDEA what it takes to do this job!
As for the web address to RFOM, it is not currently working. You can see the pet list at www.petfinder.com and do a search by shelter. Thank you to those who want to help rescue an animal from the cold and give them a happy loving life!
JP - I know who you are...and I have seen you around the shelter and I have even worked with you. You are one of the reasons why the shelter is closing. And those "photos" that you speak..although sadly cannot be proven,are STAGED PHOTOS TAKEN BY YOU. Do the animals a favor and back off. If you care for the animals so much you would be trying to help them get adopted and not euthanized because of your differences with Michelle.
JP - You need to get some psychiatric help because you are a very sick person. I know for a fact the accusations made to NJSPCA have been negated and I know they were made by people with personal vendettas. As a matter of fact, NJSPCA will not take any more anonymous complaints against the shelter because they now know these complaints are being made without merit. You're just lucky no criminal charges have been filed against you (yet). If you want so much drama in your life, watch soap operas. Stop trying to hurt innocent people and animals.
Hello Marty,
In response to your fab four, there are many things you can try. Many times a vet will take them in or you can contact 11th Hour Rescue or Lost Paws Animal shelters. Lost Paws is all about cats and I know they have some permanent fosters in their care.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Oh...you can find the shelter details on petfinder.com.
Also, JP - you are NOT a former employee of the shelter. You are an ex-volunteer who tried to take over the shelter and run things your own way and when you weren't allowed to do so you got angry and started this trouble... you and at least one other vicious cohort of yours. You are drama queens who need to clean up your own pathetic lives. You are sick sick sick people without anything better to do than hurt others. You have nothing in your own lives so you try to fill your lives this way. Get out of your junior-highschool mentalities, join the adult world, and stop the harassment of the animal shelter.
Michelle is the most caring, self-sacrificing person I have ever met. Her love of those animals is boundless. You, on the other hand, have only your own twisted agenda at heart. The minute I met you, I knew you were crazy. Now, you've proven it over and over. GET A LIFE!
please please stop arguing about what people say, about other people its our poor angels cats and dogs that we should worry about right now, they depend on us and no matter what we ever disagry on in life or how we not get along as people we have to agree on one inportant and the only inportant thing is we have to take care of these animals they need us and therefore we need them more,as far as poor dogs that bite and misbehave to people well thats because some people are the most cruel living biengs in this world and you can't blame animals for not bieng nice sometimes to people, maybe if the dogs were treated right from the start then we wouldent have to complain about how they act theyre just hurting from pain that people cauosed them, so good luck finding all angels theyre homes and i will touch base.god bless all of our pets and all of us that love them.
please please stop arguing about what people say, about other people its our poor angels cats and dogs that we should worry about right now, they depend on us and no matter what we ever disagry on in life or how we not get along as people we have to agree on one inportant and the only inportant thing is we have to take care of these animals they need us and therefore we need them more,as far as poor dogs that bite and misbehave to people well thats because some people are the most cruel living biengs in this world and you can't blame animals for not bieng nice sometimes to people, maybe if the dogs were treated right from the start then we wouldent have to complain about how they act theyre just hurting from pain that people cauosed them, so good luck finding all angels theyre homes and i will touch base.god bless all of our pets and all of us that love them.
please please stop arguing about what people say, about other people its our poor angels cats and dogs that we should worry about right now, they depend on us and no matter what we ever disagry on in life or how we not get along as people we have to agree on one inportant and the only inportant thing is we have to take care of these animals they need us and therefore we need them more,as far as poor dogs that bite and misbehave to people well thats because some people are the most cruel living biengs in this world and you can't blame animals for not bieng nice sometimes to people, maybe if the dogs were treated right from the start then we wouldent have to complain about how they act theyre just hurting from pain that people cauosed them, so good luck finding all angels theyre homes and i will touch base.god bless all of our pets and all of us that love them.
Sam:
Thank you for your kind words and reminding everyone what this is about, the animals. It is unfortunate that any animal, whether it be a cat or dog, can become aggressive because of the environment they came from. It is a cruel cruel world and somewhere down the line,in our journeys in life, people forget that helping each other is what makes our lives worth while. Sometimes it take a kind soul like you to remind to us!
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