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1. Can I donate to the animal shelter?

Yes! The Animal Shelter accepts donations from our donation list of needed physical items. More importantly, you can donate to the Animal Shelter with monetary funds at any time even as a remembrance for a loved one or through your will / estate. Any amount donated is appreciated. All funds directly benefit the animals and are not used in the shelter’s general fund. Your donations make a great difference in the lives of these animals and they are tax deductible.

Monetary donations can be mailed to:
Burlington County Animal Shelter
P.O. Box 6000
Westampton, NJ 08060

Monetary Donations can also be delivered in person to:
Burlington County Animal Shelter
35 Academy Drive
Westampton, NJ 08060

2. Can I foster an animal?

Rescue groups are always looking for new members to foster. You can contact them through the PetFinder website, or our staff can refer you to rescue groups. Your efforts in helping rescue groups help Burlington County Animal Shelter (BCAS), but even more importantly the animals that need care. 

3. How can I help the shelter by volunteering?

The shelter has a very large volunteer base and we are very grateful of the public support and those who donate to the shelter on a regular basis. If you are interested in donating to the shelter or volunteering please see information below on how to do so.

Under 18 years of age - Unfortunately you have to be at least 18 years of age. For those under 18 wishing to help the shelter, donations are always accepted. Bake sales are also a great way to raise money for shelter animals.

18 years of age and older - to volunteer, visit Friends of the Burlington County Animal Shelter where you can find information on how to volunteer at the shelter. For other information on volunteering, you can contact the shelter manager, Jackie Dennis 609-265- 5501.

4. How can rescue organizations help?

The shelter needs positive, knowledgeable and cooperative rescue groups, most importantly for cats. We do a great job with dogs, but there is room for improvement with cats. For more information on how to become a successful rescue organization, please speak with an Adoption Advocate.

5. What about more volunteers, prisoners and community service staff?

We have always taken community service workers assigned by the courts and we also have people from the Community Work Experience Program (CWEP), but the areas where they can help are limited due to a number of reasons (rabies, security, pre immunization, animal handling, etc.) so we can only take so many.

Shelters run best when staffed by trained and accountable staff. Volunteers by the nature of volunteering often want to do what they think is best. It does not work as well as one may expect unless there is an extraordinarily tight volunteer system with extensive training and clear limits set on what people can get involved in, or areas they can enter, and they readily accept policy and protocol. We typically direct individual persons who call about volunteering to an already existing rescue or animal advocacy group. Such groups already know the operations of the animal shelter and working with an existing and dedicated group is much more productive than trying to go it alone. It's similar to the effectiveness of a volunteer handing out band aids at a disaster site or joining the American Red Cross as a team.

Lastly, working with animals of unknown vaccine status for rabies would be a liability issue BCAS could not accept. It's not the fact that volunteers are not needed because they are, but they need to be working and managed in areas most useful to the shelter and it's limitations on being able to work with animals.

6. Where and when can shelter supplies donations be dropped off?

Shelter supplies can be dropped off at:
35 Academy Drive
Westampton, NJ 08060

Supplies can be dropped off during our hours of operation:

• Monday - Wednesday
  12-4 p.m.
• Thursday
  12-7 p.m.
• Friday - Sunday
  12-4 p.m.

We are closed on holidays.

If you miss our hours of operation, you are still able to drop off shelter supplies! Supplies can be dropped off by the front entrance doors under the overhang. Thank you for your generosity!