New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and his family were among those who literally helped "Clear the Shelters," adopting a beagle from a shelter after it was rescued from alleged criminal conditions two weeks ago as the 2022 campaign entered its home stretch. And now another 140-plus dogs and cats in need are arriving in the Garden State looking for forever homes.
NBCUniversal Local, Greater Good Charities, The Animal Rescue Site and Hill's Pet Nutrition are partnering on the second life-saving pet airlift of NBC and Telemundo stations’ 2022 Clear The Shelters pet adoption and donation campaign. The first such flight helped kick off the start of this year's campaign earlier this month and the second landed in Morristown on Tuesday.
New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy was on hand when the pets arrived in the Garden State, saying she was "really thrilled for the 141 (pets) who have been so carefully tended to, and I think whoever adopts them obviously is going to take great care of them."
The at-risk dogs and cats from overcrowded shelters in Louisiana and Alabama will head to nine shelters in several states, including Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the First Family added a shelter pup to its family two weeks back. Their beagle, named Morty, was among 4,000 saved from a Cumberland, Virginia, facility being investigated in a criminal probe.
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New Jersey locations for the incoming pets include St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in Madison; Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees; and SAVE, A Friend to Homeless Animals in Skillman. The Dutchess County SPCA in Hyde Park, New York, will also receive some of the pets.
The 8th annual Clear the Shelters campaign was kicked off by the first "Good Flights" mission, which brought 155 cats from South Florida to Massachusetts, on Aug. 2. As part of the monthlong campaign, which concludes Aug. 31, NBC and Telemundo-owned and affiliated stations are partnering with nearly 1,400 shelters and rescues in their communities to promote pet adoption and raise funds. Since its 2015 inception, Clear The Shelters has helped more than 700,000 pets find new homes.
