The East Haven Animal Shelter continues to work tirelessly to care for abandoned and neglected animals, balancing criticism with a commitment to serving both pets and the community. While some residents have voiced concerns over animal conditions and customer experiences at the town’s animal shelter, staff continue to dedicate long hours to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming animals in need while balancing the growing demands placed on the facility.
Monica Vece, a four-year employee at the shelter, shared some of the behind-the-scenes work at the East Haven Animal Shelter that not everyone may know. Every morning begins with cleaning the shelter, feeding animals, and transporting pets with scheduled appointments or medical procedures to the veterinarian.
The shelter has approximately 20-25 cages available for dogs, and about 30 cages for cats. In addition to dogs and cats, the shelter is equipped to take in a wide variety of domestic animals, which include rabbits, ferrets, parakeets, pigs, sheep, chickens, and many more. However, the shelter cannot accept wildlife due to the lack of specialized training, facilities, and legal authorization required to handle wild animals, so those cases are referred to wildlife rehabilitators.
The majority of the animals brought into the shelter come from difficult situations. Some are found roaming the streets, while others are rescued from hoarding cases or abandoned by previous owners. Vece explained that many owners surrender pets due to illness, eviction, being financially incapable of caring for them, or moving away, with some animals sadly being left behind in homes or on the streets.
Once the shelter takes custody of an animal and confirms it is healthy, staff advertise the pet and hold it for a mandatory seven-day period. If no owner comes forward during that time, the animal is placed up for adoption.
Once the shelter reaches capacity, animal care is outsourced to their veterinarian hospital. If they aren’t able to help, then they reach out to other municipal shelters–shelters that are run by the town and have animal control officers in them at all times–and ask if they’re willing to help with housing. One shelter is the North Haven Animal Shelter because East Haven borders it.
The work does not stop once staff return to the shelter from calls. Employees continue to clean the animals’ run (a small area that separates every dog, where they can lie down, sleep, and use the bathroom) and holding areas while also making sure the animals receive exercise and lots of attention. Dogs are often allowed to run freely on the shelter property after the gates are closed so they can stretch and play while staff cleans their runs. Healthy cats are also let out individually to walk around outdoors for exercise and socialization. At the end of the day, every animal is fed before the staff finishes their shifts.
One of the shelter’s biggest challenges is staffing. As the years have passed, calls for animal control services have steadily increased. Vece explained that there are times when one employee is cleaning at the shelter while another is responding to a call, only for another emergency to come in moments later. “Sometimes it’s difficult because if I’m at the shelter cleaning and Emily is out on a call and another call comes in, we have to pull in all the hoses and go right back out,” Vece explained. She added that the shelter needs “all the help and hands we can get.”
Rising veterinary costs have also placed additional strain on the shelter’s budget. Vece said donations and volunteers would greatly benefit the facility. They accept blankets, towels, treats, and food for all animals (click here to see their Amazon wishlist). They also host fundraisers and events that can help benefit the shelter, such as a tag sale and bake sale event at the end of May 2026. However, certain situations require trained or licensed professionals, especially when animals are under quarantine for bites or illnesses that untrained volunteers are not equipped to handle safely.
Despite these challenges, the shelter continues to make improvements to better care for its animals. The facility recently installed air conditioning to help keep animals comfortable during the summer months and is currently upgrading its dog runs with new dividers. During the cold winter days and nights, they install heated flooring to keep their animals comfortable and even play soft music.
