our mission and history

our mission:

our home in Lindenwold, NJ

To rescue and welcome abandoned and unwanted companion animals in a No-Kill environment.
To shelter, nurture, and support all loving animals until they find their families and can leave us for safe, caring homes.
To give care with compassion.
To gently and lovingly end the suffering of an animal if it is too ill or injured to recover.
To provide spay and neuter services to ensure that our animals cannot create other unwanted animals.
To take our mission out into the community to teach people about humane treatment and kindness toward animals and the importance of spay/neutering.
To be loving and supportive: with the animals, in our community, and to each other.

about us:

Our organization is registered as FOCAS (Friends of Camden Animal Shelter). We formed in 1990 to try to do something about the animal problem in Camden County. When the old SPCA shelter in Lindenwold became available, we pooled our resources and opened the Animal Adoption Center in July, 1991.

some of our special "community rooms"

Since then, we have taken in and adopted out thousands of animals. We see to it that every animal gets food and medical care, love and attention. We are committed to giving these waifs a happy future - but it is an expensive project and we are really struggling to make ends meet. Many months our veterinary bills alone exceed $4000.00.

Our aggressive adoption policy makes every effort to find loving families for all our pets and all applications are carefully screened, but we are no-kill – there are so many animals and so few homes.

Our cages are all full. We have some of the gentlest, sweetest animals in the world - throw aways who only need someone to love.

Is there room in your home and heart for one of our orphans? If you are full up, can you support us in other ways? We need people to work with the animals and to help in our fund-raising efforts. Come join us, the animals need you desperately. Thank you and bless you for your generosity.

The trustees and members of the Animal Adoption Center

In Case You Were Wondering...

Have you been reading about charity scandals? About folks skimming off the top? About shelters that are not doing their best for their animals or the people who support them with time and money? We want you to know what happens to the dollars you give it to the Animal Adoption Center and how we manage to stay open.

Some Statistics

Because of our No-Kill policy, we get no assistance from state, county, or city agencies; we are totally self-supporting in that our income comes from adoptions, donations (and some matching funds), and our own fund raising efforts. 90% of all income goes directly to the care, health, and support of our animals. Another 7% is used for building upkeep and unavoidable expenses such as maintenance and insurance, and the remaining 3% goes into our fund raising efforts. Our contributors (YOU) pay for pet food, utilities, the salaries of our employees, and our annual vet bill—which is over $38,000.00. (You see, animals in a no-kill facility can require expensive veterinary care. Some animals come to us with wounds or broken bones, some need treatments and special medicines, and the weak and starving ones require special foods and nutrients.) Big vet bills are a fact of life for us.

What about the items that are too expensive for AAC to handle? We have a special group of people who comprise the Center—Board, employees, volunteers and supporters who privately go “above and beyond” when needs demand. For instance:

A cat named Amber couldn’t eat. Two Board members paid for the tests and X-rays needed to diagnose the growths on her throat and tongue.
Lizzy kept falling over. A volunteer made three special trips to the U of P, sat with her, brought her back and refused reimbursement for time and travel expense.
Uno’s life-threatening allergies required visits to three different vets and costly medications—undertaken by one family.
Our Board members provide all postage, the calendars sent to our sponsors, signage, graphic design, office forms and supplies, meeting expenses, special treats, landscaping, outdoor furniture, cameras and photographs, and internet service free of charge to AAC. Individuals have also donated new floors, office furniture, the washer and dryer, and storage sheds.

This year over 1250 cats and dogs, puppies and kittens are now loved and safe at home with their families. Thanks to you, thanks to us.

But the animals keep showing up. Can we say, “There is no room at the Inn?”

With your help our “inn” stays open. Without you there is no us.

Click here to find out more about making a donation to the Animal Adoption Center.

We participate on GuideStar, the on-line standard for nonprofit accountability. Click here to read our listing.

A No-Kill Shelter for Companion Animals | 501 N. Berlin Rd., Lindenwold, NJ 08021

phone: 856-435-9116 | email: info@animaladoption.com | privacy policy | return to our home page