Memphis and other animals in the shelter are ALREADY casualties - the fostering program has also been stopped. The Health Department is not working to get animals out of the shelter.

Our Town Council claims that the Health Department and Board of health (BOH) are "autonomous- AND YET - the Town Council appoints the Board of Health, the Town Council approves the hiring or promotion to Health department Director AND the Town Council funds the health Department and Animal Shelter through the budget.

The taxpayers of Bloomfield's money is being spent for this - and the Mayor claims that there is nothing he can do.
We will continue to bring this home to the Bloomfield Town Council- next town council meeting is Monday 9/17 7pm Municipal Building.

~~We are having a walk in support of Memphis~~
Save Memphis NJ is holding the Memphis Mile Dog Walk set for Saturday, September 15 at 11 am. The Memphis Mile will begin in front of Bloomfield Town Hall located at 1 Municipal Plaza in Bloomfield, NJ. Dogs that are leashed are invited to attend, along with their family members, to honor Memphis, who is currently being held at the John A. Bukowski Shelter for Animals in Bloomfield. Renowned dog trainers Jeff and Diana Coltenback, who have asked to adopt Memphis, will be leading the Memphis Mile. After the walk, water will be served for all four-legged participants and their friends in Watsessing Park, across the street from Town Hall.

Please bring signs showing support for Memphis.

and have a petition going
http://www.causes.com/actions/1674225

What a horrible situation! As ususal, the animals suffer while the humans dictate thier fate with ill concieved ideas! Thank everyone there for standing up for Memphis! Lore needs to go! The mayor has the power just not the guts to make the call! What stupidity abounds all around us today!!! Give Memphis back to his rightful humans!!! NOW He's suffered enough because of stupid people!!! Now the center is losing donations and the other animals suffer as well! What a lose - lose situation!!!

This is unfortunate for everyone involved. Sounds to me that the town council is too WIMPISH to stand up for whats right for everyone. This man is willing to take the dog, rehabilitate him, and adopt him; all while charging the town nothing! In an economy like the one we have today, you'd think that the town would be jumping at the chance for some cost saving measures! Seriously, if I was a resident of this town I would be sitting at every meeting telling them to save me tax dollars!! We need to save everywhere we can, because its not getting any better! This man is a SAVIOR, who else would do this for an animal.....FOR FREE!! Come on people, wake up!

Wow. I hope all the animals get out of this shelter and into a new shelter or home that cares because Bloomfield officials obviously have no compassion for animals. And who wants to live in a cold-hearted town? I can't wait to move. First firing all the animal shelter volunteers and now I see they canceled the foster program? And this poor pit bull situation... I think the town officials should live their lives behind bars and see how they like it. IF AN EXPERIENCED DOG TRAINER IS WILLING TO WORK WITH THIS DOG, WHY DENY HIM? They aren't going to let the dog loose on the town. And Jeff really cares about animals. Here he is speaking about shelter animals: http://planetverge.com/2011/09/cupcakefest-2011/

This is nothing more than political retaliation against Jeff. If the town council allows this cause to become a legal financial burden on the township, then we should make sure we VOTE OUT the entire clown council and start from scratch. Include the mayor in this too!l

Memphis needs to be brought home with Jeff and his family he don't belong locked up in that cage and maybe that shelter needs to be closed down and the poor animals at that shelter need to be relocated free Memphis we love you Memphis we are all behind to boy praying Memphis will be home soon

First of all Jim Crosby did not say that Memphis is a potential danger to the public. He did say Memphis was a "soft" dog with two behaviors which needed work and which were easily redirected with treats. And the home he described as being best for Memphis is EXACTLY the home that Jeff and Diana Coltenback can and want to provide. This could all go away, and in fact never would have happened, if Karen Lore was a rational person. We ex volunteers learned over the last two years how stubborn and irrational she really is.

As for the shelter hours being cut back, it's not a claim. It's a fact posted on the township website. Public hours were cut from 1-4 PM each day to 12-2 PM Mon-Sat and CLOSED to the public on Sunday, one of the busiest days for shelter visitors and adoptions. What is the "rationale" behind that decision? Certainly not concern for the animals or encouraging adoptions.

F. Michael Fitzpatrick has single-handedly ruined everything we volunteers fought so hard to establish over the years, aided and abetted by his boss Ms. Lore. Poor Memphis is just one symptom of everything that has gone wrong at the shelter since Fitzpatrick's unfortunate arrival.

Why was the dog taken from his owners to begin with? Dont know much about the story.

Memphis was found as a stray and picked up by Animal Control. He cannot tell us his history but Karen Lore and F. Michael Fitzpatrick have made claims that he was a fighting dog (not a mark on him) and that he was a drug den guard dog (his ears are cropped).

Watch the meeting on Friday night at 8pm on WBMA-TV: Channel 35 Comcast or 30 FiOS. Can't wait until then, watch it now in High Definition online: http://cvp.telvue.com/player?id=T00304&video=129622

The dog wasn't taken from his owners, he was found as a stray.

Yes the shelter animals will be the casualty of Mz Lore and Mike Fitzpatrick's ego's,ineptitude, and arrogance. This is morally and ethically wrong. These two have an angenda other than the welfare and well being of the animals and they are complicit in animal suffering. I would think the time has come for the Bloomfield citizens to take a stand and remind the powers that be that they work for the people not the other way around and their voices must no longer be ignored. Perhaps a vote of no confidence might be in order...

sam it's SPITE and POWER

Here's what the Bloomfield health depatment has done for the Shelter do far this year

~in shelter volunteers (including the volunteer dog trainer ) were fired

~ TNR put on Hiaitus ( let those feral cats reproduce!)

~fostering program for animals suspended (there's no need for it according to Animal Attendant supervisor georgeovich)

~ Shelter hours reduced from 1pm-4pm 7 days +holidays to 12n-2pm Mon-sat (when will people be able to go to the shelter to adopt- NEVER!)

~ DRIVERS LICENSES are required to viti the shelter. ALL LICENSES ARE PHOTOCOPIED AND KEPT ON FILE (they refuse to tell us how long record retention is)

viti = visit

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I've been involved with fund raising for privately run shelters. Running shelters is hard work, and my hat is off to the VOLUNTEERS. I feel for your town, because it's being torn apart by a dog issue. However, the example above about somebody buying a car, and then getting drunk and killing someone isn't a good example. Unfortuantely pit bulls have had a bad wrap over the years, because of the destruction they cause to human life. I don't know if it's due to some type of cross breeeding, that causes them to lash out, or what. I'd like to see some kids in Vet School maybe take this on as a project. Evey though they are on the top of the "bite list" Rottweilers, Shepherds, and Huskies are not far behind. Depending on the age of the dog, and how it was raised, that maybe a "clue" as to what's causing some of the problem.
We have 2 small rescue dogs (Daschunds). They both came from 2 different parts of the country. The mini was so scared when we got her, that she shook when the shelter put her in my lap. She'd go to her dish and take one piece of kibble, and run and hide in a corner in the living room. She thought her bed was something to chew. So 3 beds later, she finally got the idea. Anyone who adopts a dog, must have extreme patience. The wait is well worth it, because she's become such a cutie, and loveable animal.

The Bloomfield Health Department, condoned by the Board of Health has:
dismissed at in-shelter volunteers
put the TNR program on hiaitus
stopped the fostering prgram
reduced the shelter hours from 1p-4pm 365 days a year to 12n-2pm mon -sat

This is not jus tabout Memphis. This is about how the shelter is being run, the abuses of power and unethical behavior by the health Department (condoned by the BOH), and how our tax money is being spent.

Let's just say he was a fighting dog......look to HISTORY for the answer! Johhny Justice was a Micheal Vick fighting dog who is now a therapy dog. Memphis would be the same...take time to learn before you cast judgement!