Community Corner

Animal Amenities Abound at Smithtown Shelter

Custom dog trail, cat lounge and community involvement set shelter apart from other Suffolk pet resources.

The Town of Smithtown Animal Shelter seems out-of-place, hidden in the long strip of car dealerships on Middle Country Road.

Supervisor George Beatty jokes that the location makes more sense than you would think.

"The car dealerships sell used cars, we sell used pets," he said. "The difference is that the cars only come with a five-year warranty, while our pets come with a lifetime warranty of unconditional love."

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The shelter is a Smithtown staple, opening at this very location in the mid 1950's, decades before the car dealerships. Since then, the shelter has expanded considerably. It underwent a major renovation in the 1970's and then again two years ago when the sun room was added.

The shelter currently houses 30 dogs and 80 cats in addition to some chicken, peacocks and other domestic pets like rabbits, ferrets and birds. Each week six cats and three dogs are adopted, on average.

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The shelter is one of five animal shelters in Suffolk County, along with 12 animal hospitals in the Kings Park, Smithtown, St. James area alone. Beatty thinks the volume of animal resources in the area can be credited to the heavy population concentration in suburban Suffolk County.

"The town is fully developed and is primarily residential," Beatty said. "There needs to be places to support the number of pets in those residences."

Amenities like a quarter-mile dog walking trail out back and a cat lounge in the sun room set the shelter apart, in addition to the heavy Smithtown community involvement at the shelter. The local boy scouts and girl scouts visit regularly and the eagle scouts are building a chicken coup and water fountain for the cat lounge.

Beatty and his staff place around 95 percent of the animals into homes, through their listings on the town Web site and through ads in newspapers.  Beatty also credits the shelter's good reputation and steady stream of visitors for the high rate of adoption.

Beatty, who has run the shelter for 25 years, has been integral to creating that reputation.  He studied at Farmingdale College, began working at the Huntington Animal Shelter and then transferred to the Smithtown Animal Shelter.

His favorite part of the job is reuniting lost pets with their owners, a regular occurrence at the shelter.

"We have some repeat customers," Beatty said, in reference to the animals who get loose around town often.

He encourages families to visit the shelter and welcomes volunteers. 

"It's like a trip to the zoo without leaving Smithtown," Beatty said.

To view volunteer opportunities and the pets that need homes visit smithtowninfo.com/animal shelter.


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