Good News on Patrick

Hey, Sam here. I really wanted to do today's post and Jan says when the coffee is ready, I'm going to lose the chair, so I'll get right to it.

Mayor Booker of Newark New Jersey has a birthday coming up on April 27th and his birthday wish is to help other animals in honor of Patrick, the dog who was starved and then thrown down the trash chute at an apartment building. (We want to be sure to mention that Patrick is doing as well as possible, eating and gaining weight.)  Mayor Booker has opened a Facebook Cause page and has begun fundraising. His goal is to raise $50,000.For those in the US, a donation is tax deductible. As we write this, there is $10,909 in the fund.


If the video doesn't play, click here.

For almost two years, my administration has been working hard to establish a state-of-the-art animal shelter in Newark. Thus far, we have identified and readied a site and have architects working on the design. This facility seeks to serve other New Jersey municipalities in Essex and Hudson counties that desperately need other options for housing and caring for homeless animals. By working to build a modern, state-of-the-art shelter through public and private funding, and by employing innovative policies to improve responsible pet care, decrease birthrates, increase adoptions, and help keep animals with their responsible caretakers, we believe that Newark’s animal shelter operations can become a model for the rest of the nation.

For my birthday, my wish is that you join our Cause to help spread awareness of Patrick’s story and animal abuse, and, if possible, contribute toward the construction of “Patrick’s Place” – the animal shelter which we hope to build in the coming years in Newark. Patrick’s abuser claimed she could no longer care for her dog – it is our hope that by providing this additional facility in our city, more animals can be rescued from unnecessary neglect and abuse. Any money we raise not used for this project will be donated to a local organization for the protection and care of animals.

Newark will be known as a city that cares not only about its people, but its animals, too.

You can read the rest of Mayor Booker's birthday wish here.