Toms River Breaks Ground On Animal Shelter

After years of talking about it, there’s finally some action. Toms River Township gets set to build a new animal shelter. It would be constructed on Oak Avenue right near police headquarters and the justice complex.

The proposed 7,000-square-foot facility is bigger than the existing one on Whitesville Road, which officials say has been too small to accomplish their goals during the last few years. The council awarded a $6.4 million dollar contract to Kelso Construction at last month’s meeting.

PREVIOUS: Toms River Builds New Animal Shelter

Armed with shovels and donning hardhats, several Toms River officials broke ground during a ceremony yesterday morning. A bulldozer was also on site along with a construction fence.

Toms River Mayor Tom Kelaher was smiling from ear to ear. He says “this is a long time coming. They were talking about a new animal shelter way before I was elected into my first term. This is happening. We couldn’t be happier and it’s gonna mean big benefits to animal adoptions in the community.

For years, the biggest complaint about the existing facility was how far it was from the main area of the town. Kelaher says “it’s closer to Jackson than our own town. The new site is centrally located which should help these poor animals get a loving home.”

Jim Bowen, the director of the facility says “the current animal shelter has very little room for cats. Right now, there are cats in cages wedged in hallways. They really should be segregated away from the dogs. The new facility will let us do that. We are excited about this. It’s fully state of the art and we will have a surgical department on site for spay and neutering.”

Construction is expected to begin this week and last for about 15 – 18 months.