Family Surrenders Emotional Support Dog To Bloomfield Shelter

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A beagle in New Jersey who once served as an emotional support animal is now in need of support of her own.

According to the Bloomfield Animal Shelter, a senior dog named Athena recently had a sad parting of ways with her former owners and is now seeking a new forever home. Earlier this week, shelter staff posted a heartfelt plea on social media.

“Athena is a senior beagle mix available for adoption. Due to unfortunate circumstances with her home, Athena was surrendered at the golden age of 12.5 years old. Athena was taken care of well by her former owners, is in good health, and even became an emotional support animal! Her and her former family recently moved from a house into an apartment and her family’s work schedules changed. According to her owners, these changes caused Athena to develop severe separation anxiety and disrupt the new apartment complex. After trying different remedies to help calm her nervousness and anxiety, the sad decision was made to find her a new home where she could spend most of her days with a human.”

Shelter Manager Jaclyn Mendyk told Patch that staff feel bad for both Athena and her former family.

“Unfortunately, we speak to pet owners faced with these tough decisions all the time, and always applaud the ones who choose to surrender and trust us to find new permanent homes for their loved ones,” Mendyk said.

“It's no secret that animal shelters take in stray dogs and cats, and some are never reclaimed, which makes you wonder if in some cases, did an owner just let them go instead of surrender to a safe place instead?” Mendyk asked.

“It's not fair to judge anyone's reason for surrendering a pet, because at the end of the day there is an owner who made the responsible decision to let us find their pet a better situation,” the shelter manager added. “Athena is a special girl, and we hope she will be adopted soon.”

The Bloomfield Animal Shelter provided the following details about Athena for interested adopters:

“She is approx 45lbs, UTD on vaccines, spayed, HW negative. According to her former owners, she is friendly with people, doesn’t seem to mind smaller dogs, and can live with cats but will chase if she sees any outside. She is currently taking medication for anxiety, but most likely will not have to continue with medications once comfortable in a home. She will do best in a calmer environment with someone who spends most of their time at home.”

Athena can be seen during daily adoption hours: Mon-Tues, 2 to 5 pm; Wed, 2 to 6 pm; Sat-Sun, 1 to 5 pm. Learn more here.

• See related article: Bloomfield Animal Shelter's 'Longest Resident' Cat Needs A Break

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Photo: Bloomfield Animal Shelter (used with permission)