Celebrate International Homeless Animals' Day With a Local Shelter Pet

August 21 is more than just one of the last Saturdays of sun, one of the last weekends before school starts, one of the few remaining free days to go fishing, take a walk or jump in a pool before the winter chill begins to set in.

The day marks the 19th anniversary of International Homeless Animals' Day, a holiday typically overlooked by the public but nonetheless important in animal-advocacy circles.

In honor of this day, Montville Patch took a trip to the Montville Animal Shelter on River Road to learn about some the area's abandonered critters

Animal control officer Gail Strumph was busy hosing down dog pens this afternoon. Friday serves as a catch-all day for the shelter keepers and volunteers to clean up and prepare for the following week. With over 50 cats and five dogs under its roof, this is no small feet.

"We do very good with adoptions," Strumph said.

However, with the summer boom in cat populations and many people on vacation, adopting an animal is set on the backburner.

The cats are of all shapes, sizes, histories and domestic backgrounds. Stray kittens play idly next to wisened older tabbies throughout the center. Tiger, an elegant orange-and-white adult, swats affectionately for attention at passerby while Macaroni and Pasta pounce stuffed animals in the cage they share. Unless they are young and related, cats are cages separately, with the bottom cages of each row left empty for play areas.

"I try not to crowd my adoption center," Strumph said. Sometimes adopters will come to see the animals and become so overwhelmed that they can't and leaves emptyhanded.

Tinsel, one of the five dogs at the shelter, is a con courso mix who was dropped off two days before Christmas. She is outwardly affectionate with Strumph and visitors after a brief introduction, though she is afraid of children.

"They're usually not here this long," Strumph said. With an animal as outwardly loving as Tinsel, Strumph can only hope for a quick adoption.

Yesterday afternoon a brother and sister pair of pet rabbits were dropped off. Though the shelter houses primarily cats and dogs, they get all sorts of domesticated and wild animals under their roof.

When animals are dropped off, they are quarantined for several days until they can receive medical attention from a veteranarian. If the cats are over four months, they are sterilized. The animals can be adopted for $75 each, but the shelter is willing to offer a discount for multiple animals.

The shelter, located at 86 River Road, is open Mondays through Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m and 3:30 p.m. To 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to noon. For more information, you can contact the shelter at 973-331-9287.