Shelter Me: Pennsville Animal Shelter

PENNSVILLE, N.J. -- In this week's "Shelter Me" meet Belle, a dog who regained trust in her forever home.

Her journey began five years ago when Laura Stanley was looking for a companion for her border collie, Zeppelin.

"He was a little crazy so I figured I'd get a dog to calm him down," she said.

She found Belle in the back of Pennsville Animal Shelter

"All forlorn, missing hair, been abused," Laura recalled. "She was my diamond in the rough."

"She just has a lost look in her eye and she just needed somebody," Laura said.

And that person was Laura.

"When she had bad dreams at night, I would get up and come and pet her and wake her up, and she'd have this terrible look on her face - and I'd be like 'Okay, you're home now,'" said Laura.

With love and patience, Belle came out of her shell.

"She's very sweet very spoiled," Laura said. Whe will go belly up for belly rubs."

The Pennsville Animal Shelter and Adoption Center in Pennsville, New Jersey has worked tirelessly to change what was once an intake pound into a safe haven for animals.

"Many years ago this was known as a kill shelter," said adoption coordinator Jean Savidge. "We've completely turned that around we don't euthanize animals we find places for all of them to go."

While it's a job that takes a village, it's a four person team at Pennsville.

"Not too many people actually knew about Pennsville shelter, so we've been working on that really hard," Savidge said.

They also practice trap, neuter, release to help the feral cat situation.

"For every cat that goes unspayed or unneutered, every season the numbers just multiply drastically," Savidge said.

The cats that are not feral, go up for adoption, like Big Daddy.

"He's a really great cat," Savidge said.

Casey Boy is an eight-week-old kitten, who came to the shelter with two of his siblings

"He just needs a little bit of love and a soft voice and a good family," Savidge said.

Dexter is about 3 years old and a bit of a lazy cat.

"He's a very lovable cat, he just loves to rub up against you," Savidge said.

Jojo is a young pit bull who would do well in a home with older kids.

"He's super friendly, not really high energy," Savidge said.

Buddy is a 3 year old hound and would prefer an active family

"He just needs a little bit of training manner training and a lot of exercise," Savidge said.

If you're interested in any of the animals you've met today you can visit the Pennsville Animal Shelter Facebook page.

And, if you'd like us to share your shelter success stories, post a picture to the FYI Philly Facebook page using the hashtag 6abc shelter me and tell us where you adopted your pet and how much they mean to you.

We'll be featuring your stories on upcoming Shelter Me segments.