ARF moves across street to PetSmart
BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer

EAST BRUSNWICK — After years of adopting out animals from its home at the Route 18 Indoor Market, the Animal Rescue Force (ARF) is moving.

ARF is among the many vendors forced to vacate the flea market, which closed its doors for good last weekend after its lease expired.

But the nonprofit animal adoption center is not going far. On Saturday, it will begin operations out of PetSmart, just across the street on Route 18 south.

The new location may mean less foot traffic than the indoor market had, but the volunteers are pleased to have found a new home and to be able to continue the work ARF has been doing since 1974, according to Linda Kidalowski, ARF's publicity director.

ARF's work began 34 years ago when local animal-lovers started rescuing animals from shelters before they could be euthanized, and used "petmobiles" to find families to adopt the animals.

"We would take animals out on weekends to different mall lots to get them adopted," Kidalowski said.

ARF found a more permanent home at the old Route 1 Flea Market before setting up shop at the Route 18 Indoor Market. For a time, ARF operated a second establishment at the Englishtown Auction Sales.

"We were at the Route 18 flea market for at least 20 years," she said.

Finding a new place that would allow ARF to bring its animals was not an easy task.

"Not everyone wants a lot of animals at their business, but PetSmart does," Kidalowski said. The animals staywith foster parents during the week, she said, and on the weekends with ARF.

"Most of them have been rescued from a shelter," Kidalowski said.

ARF uses a public kennel if there is a shortage of foster parents.

ARF also provides services for people who can no longer care for their pets. They can drop their pets off at the start of the day on Saturdays and Sundays, and give the group a chance to find the animal a new home that same day. If a new home cannot be found, the owner must the pick up the animal at the end of the day. People interested in the service must first make a reservation with ARF.

Kidalowski said people decide to get rid of pets for all sorts of reasons.

"We had a woman tell us she didn't need them anymore," she noted.

In fact, the number of people giving up pets has increased with the housing shortage, she said.

"Some people think the right thing to do is let them loose on streets and they will survive," she said incredulously.

Because all its workers are volunteers, ARF only operates on the weekends, she said.

Before putting an animal up for adoption, ARF makes sure the animal gets a veterinary checkup, and is spayed or neutered. It uses a rigid screening process before adopting out animals, she said, and every adoption has to be approved by a manager.

For each pet adopted, ARF takes another animal out of a shelter. Kidalowski said ARF usually has to pay a small fee to take an animal from a shelter, although some let the animals go for no cost.

The cost of adopting a pet from ARF varies, depending in part on how much ARF had to spend on the animal.

"Some animals need major medical care," Kidalowski said.

To reach ARF, call 732-257-7559 or find its page on www.petfinder.com.