Program offers free adoptions & lifetime grooming, vaccinations, and food for dogs and cats over the age of 10

Farmingville, NY – Supervisor Mark Lesko and Councilwoman Jane Bonner have announced that the Town of Brookhaven’s Animal Shelter is encouraging residents to adopt older dogs and cats through the “Old Friends with Benefits” program, which will run through September 1st. The Animal Shelter is offering free adoptions, lifetime grooming, lifetime vaccinations, and lifetime food for those dogs and cats over the age of ten that are adopted at the shelter. All animals are vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and microchipped. The Animal Shelter is currently home to approximately fifteen dogs and cats that are over the age of ten.

“Our Town Animal Shelter continues to impress with their extraordinary programs encouraging our residents to adopt a new furry family member,” said Supervisor Lesko, “It is so sad that many of the older dogs and cats in the animal shelter would make excellent companions, but are usually passed over for the younger ones. The ‘Old Friends with Benefits’ program provides a great opportunity for our residents to adopt an elder dog or cat at almost no cost.”

Councilwoman Jane Bonner, liaison to the Animal Shelter, said, “The ‘Old Friends with Benefits’ program is a great example of the fantastic initiatives that Director Dori Scofield and the Animal Shelter continue to run to make sure our Town’s pets have loving homes. I encourage our residents to come out to find an older, wiser new best friend.”

The Brookhaven Town Animal Shelter has been very progressive in launching programs to increase adoption rates and pet retention, and to get animals spayed and neutered, especially focusing on the large population of Pit Bulls and Pit Mixes at their facility. Together these programs have helped over 200 Pit Bulls.

Last year, the Animal Shelter introduced “Spay it Forward”, a program that offers incentives to get animals spayed and neutered. For every Pit Bull that a resident gets spayed or neutered, the owner will receive a voucher to help another needy Pit Bull to receive the same services. The Animal Shelter is also providing free micro-chipping, vaccines, heartworm testing, and collars for anyone who gets their Pit Bull spayed or neutered.

The Brookhaven Bully Alliance (BBA) encourages other animal rescues to adopt Pit Bulls from the Brookhaven animal shelter and find homes for them. Every shelter dog that enters the BBA program is professionally evaluated, spayed or neutered, vaccinated and micro-chipped. $250 goes to each participating organization for the care of the animal.

These programs are made possible by the Help the Animals Fund, an affiliate of the Town of Brookhaven Animal and Adoption Center. The mission of the Help the Animals Fund is to prevent cruelty to animals and to provide sick, neglected and injured stray animals at the Brookhaven Animal Shelter the much needed and deserved medical care that they would otherwise not receive. This fund is supported 100% by voluntary donations, which are tax deductible.

The Animal Shelter is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. It is located at 300 Horseblock Road in Brookhaven, New York, 11719. For more information, call the Brookhaven Animal Shelter and Adoption Center at 631-286-4940 or visit www.brookhaven.org/animalshelter.

Division of Public Information * Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6595 • Fax (631) 451-6258