Avalon, N.J. Creates Mass Shelter For Pets Displaced By Evacuations
By David Madden
AVALON, N.J. (CBS) -- One South Jersey shore town has come up with a plan to help people evacuate -- with their pets -- in the event of an emergency.
In Avalon, a tractor-trailer has been converted into a rolling shelter for dogs and cats, to be used when residents and visitors are required to evacuate.
More than a hundred pets could stay in the unit for about two weeks, according to Avalon mayor Marty Pagliughi (below), who says this is the first of its kind in New Jersey.
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"This trailer is not to transport animals," Pagliughi explains. "If we have an evacuation, either localized or out of the county, this trailer will be taken to the shelter designated for Avalon."
Or, if not required for Avalon, to any other municipality in the state that does.
It has heat and air conditioning, food and water and, perhaps most important, the animal's owners are nearby.
The cost of the animal shelter was about $24,000, most of it donated to the borough.
Officials hope this will eliminate one major excuse when people refuse to get out of the way of a storm.
Read a recent KYW Regional Affairs Council report, "The Next Jersey Shore Superstorm"
