Huntington touts efforts to find homes for dogs
Town of Huntington officials have announced a new program that will take adoptable dogs from overcrowded shelters in other municipalities, train them and then offer them up for adoption. Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci on Monday said over the years the Huntington Animal Shelter has implemented several programs to increase adoption rates that have often left the 80-kennel shelter with a high vacancy rate.
Huntington officials hailed the success of the town’s shared services program with the Babylon Town animal shelter, launched this year to help find homes for dogs.
The effort was launched recently to help alleviate the overpopulation at the Babylon shelter.
Flanked by a recent success story — a genial mastiff mix named Jameson who was transferred from Babylon to the Huntington shelter and was quickly adopted by a kennel attendant there —
Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said at a news conference at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington on that the program has enabled more dogs to find their homes.
Instead of having dogs languish at overpopulated shelters like Babylon’s, three dogs at a time are instead transferred to Huntington’s shelter and trained for adoption.
“Not only is this a shared service issue but we feel it’s a moral responsibility,” Lupinacci said at the Tuesday news conference.
The Huntington shelter, with about 80 kennels, is “never at maximum capacity” he said.
Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said the program also highlighted how the Huntington shelter operates and offered ideas the Babylon town shelter can implement.
“They allow families to bring their current dogs to the shelter to see how they would match up with dogs currently in the shelter,” he said. Schaeffer said the Babylon shelter will implement those practices in the new facility opening next month.
