Helmetta Regional Animal Shelter ordered quarantined

• NJSPCA and county health officials arrived at the Helmetta Regional Animal Shelter around 11 a.m. Thursday.
• Councilwoman Yvette Bruno%2C along with animal activists from the Reform Helmetta Regional Animal shelter group%2C have been staking out the facility for two days waiting for authorities to step in.
• Three cats and one dog have been removed and authorities are going through the trash.
• Animal activists have been calling for reforms at the shelter for months.

HELMETTA – Several animals have been removed from the Helmetta Regional Animal Shelter following a Thursday morning joint inspection by the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Middlesex County health officials.

In a news conference held in the back of the shelter Thursday afternoon, Chief Frank Rizzo with the NJSPCA said the shelter was placed in quarantine by the county Department of Health.

"No animals in and no animals out," Rizzo said.

The NJSPCA returned to the shelter as a result of an earlier inspection in which six areas of concern needed to be addressed, but were not, he said.

The six areas that needed correction dealt with disease control, such as the commingling of sick animals with healthy animals and those types of health issues, Rizzo said.

"There was one area of procedural issue and that related directly to disease control as well," he said.

Rizzo said every shelter is treated the same and this one is no different.

The inspection

When authorities arrived at the shelter at about 11 a.m. Thursday, Rizzo said there were 170 cats at the facility. Of those 129 were being kept in the general population and 41 were in isolation.

Of the 30 dogs at the shelter, four were in isolation, he said.

RELATED:Helmetta animal shelter conditions spark scrutiny

Three cats and one dog were removed from the shelter because they were in critical condition, Rizzo said. One cat died on the way to the veterinarian office in nearby Jamesburg. One animal had to be euthanized at the vet's office. The animals that died have been taken as evidence, he said.

One dog and one cat remained at the vet Thursday afternoon in critical condition.

"One cat had 105 degree fever," NJSPCA spokesman Matthew Stanton said.

The borough has 24 hours to have a certified veterinarian come and assess all of the animals, Rizzo said.

Officials stressed that there is no time line for the reopening of the shelter.

"The shelter cannot be re-opened until the quarantine is lifted and there is no evidence of disease," he said. "It needs to be checked and certified. When that is complete, it will be re-opened."

While the choice of veterinarian for the immediate assessment is up to the borough, Rizzo said he believes the council will consult the NJSPCA and county DOH during the process.

When questioned about the administration of the shelter, namely director Michal Cielesz and assistant director Richard Cielesz, Rizzo responded that Thursday's focus is on the animals and to get them help. Capt. Richard Yocum, NJSPCA President, said that an in-depth investigation on the shelter had been conducted for the past two weeks.

"Several different organizations have been working together and it all came together today," he said. "The love of the animals is what this is all about. We do what we do for the animals."

"We have no opinion on the management of the facility. That is up to the municipality," he added. "I am disturbed by what I found here today."

Rizzo said the mayor (Nancy Martin) needs to meet with the borough council to decide what needs to be done.

"I am sure that something that will be considered will be different leadership," he said. "Our job today was to address Title 4 violations. We did not come because of what was on TV. We have been here for more than a month and a half. We have to plan a course of corrective action."

According to Rizzo, who brought a team of 15 officers and veterinarian Dr. Heather Lingley, several animals were found to be suffering from respiratory and eye issues. They identified who needed immediate help and who could be seen in the 24 hour assessment.

Stanton said of the 170 cats on the second floor, at least 120 didn't have water in the cage.

"That's a basic," he said. "You need to reconstitute the facility. You need to put the proper procedures and policies in place."

The mayor did not return calls by press time.

Several members of the Reform HRAS group and concerned citizens waited most of the day outside the shelter. Many voiced their concerns about the future of the shelter and the animals still inside. When they asked if they could help, Rizzo suggested they continue to enlist volunteers to help the shelter in the future. Yocum assured them that everything that could be done was being done for the animals.

"That is why we all are here," he said. "There are many unknowns here and we don't have all the answers. We will get all the answers. We will."

"We have been pulling animals from this shelter since 2012," said Michelle Callan, president of Homeless Animal Lifeline in Manalapan. "We have foster homes throughout New Jersey and New York. We will be happy to help with whatever they need. We have been trying to get people to listen to us about this shelter for years. Finally, people are listening."

Councilwoman Yvette Bruno, along with animal activists from the Reform Helmetta Regional Animal Shelter Group, have been staking out the facility for two days waiting for authorities to step in.

"It's being raided now," Bruno said early in the day. "The SPCA and county are here, but Michal (Cielesz) wouldn't open the doors for the officials. Finally the doors were open. They are all inside. They have already carried out two cats. They are going through the trash. They have set up a tent outside."

Bruno said she expects the SPCA to take over the facility temporarily.

"This is what I have been fighting for since the beginning," Bruno said. "We knew it was only a matter of time."

Inspections and complaints

The Helmetta Regional Animal Shelter, which services numerous communities in Middlesex and Monmouth counties, has come under scrutiny in recent months.

The shelter was cited for various violations in past inspections by state and county health officials and received six warnings from the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The shelter was given a "conditionally satisfactory" rating as a result of a July 16 inspection by the state Department of Health and the Middlesex County Department of Public Safety and Health.

A state Department of Health spokesman had said the most significant violations were outside animal enclosure was not waterproof and could not be properly cleaned and sanitized, a sick cat was not isolated from healthy cats, incomplete record keeping and inadequate sanitation.

Other violations included dogs that were being imported from other states without health certificates and cans that were being used as water bowls in cat rooms.

The latter issue was corrected while inspectors were at the site.

A Sept. 26, county reinspection report cited failure to isolate animals with communicable diseases and out-of-state dogs without required documentation, as well as issues with cleanliness and record keeping, which included failure to document the results of parvovirus testing. It also cited issues with the facility itself.

Conditions also have prompted Facebook pages dedicated to reforming the shelter. Vigils and protests ave been held outside of the shelter in recent weeks.

Two communities, Spotswood and Monroe, have severed ties with the facility.

The shelter also has been the topic at recent meetings in which public speakers, that included members of the Reform Helmetta Regional Animal Shelter Group, as well as others, including former volunteers and local animal rights activists, gave often brutal tales of animal cruelty.

Photos of animal bowls used as litter boxes, feces and urine remaining in cages for days, infectious diseases allowed to run rampant and unreported, cage confinement and animals in various stages of neglect were introduced as evidence. Tales of severely limited food, litter and cleaning supplies, as well as ignorance of sick or injured animals, were introduced by two former volunteers. The volunteers said when they questioned the management of the shelter, they received emails telling them their services no longer were needed.

Sen. Linda Greenstein, D-14th District, said she is glad to see that action is being taken.

"I certainly listened and have heard all the comments that my constituents and others have been making to me about the shelter and what the problems are and from what it looks like, at least at this point, many of the things that they talked about are going to indeed be proven to be the case," she said. "I am glad something is finally being done."

In October, Greenstein was invited by two constituents to attend a protest and vigil outside the facility. While Helmetta is not in her district, Greenstein said a few of the municipalities in her district contract with Helmetta for animal services.

When she arrived, the shelter had closed, and she was denied access to the facility.

Mayor Nancy Martin had said she was told by the council president, who was there at the time, "that the shelter was closed early Saturday because a handful of protestors came into the shelter and intimidated the employees."

Greenstein said she will be taking a close look at state regulations governing shelters.

Staff Writer Cheryl Makin; 732-565-7256; cmakin@mycentraljersey.com

Staff Writer Susan Loyer; 732-565-7243; sloyer@mycentraljersey.com