Jefferson Volunteer Shows Some Love to Dogs

It’s not that Michelle Cilurso doesn’t love her day job at the Picatinny Federal Credit Union. It’s just that if she could volunteer with Eleventh Hour Rescue full-time and still pay her mortgage, she would be glad to.

Cilurso volunteers at the shelter, walking the dogs and “playing with them, hugging and kissing them.They are alone so much, including overnight,” she said. She sometimes takes them home overnight or to a park or over a weekend, but can’t do any long-term fostering because of a dog-aggressive dog at home. She is delighted 11th Hour allows overnight stays.

The shelter holds adoptions every Saturday at the Pet Smart store in Rockaway and adopts out a few dogs each week, more now with the warm weather. Sometimes they schedule another adoption on Sundays at another location.

About 25 people are regular volunteers with others coming and going, but Cilurso said 11th Hour can always use more volunteers.

“We never have enough fosters,” she said.

The shelter has a capacity of 50 dogs and is always full.

“We get some owner-surrenders, but a lot come up from the South, Georgia and Tennessee,” she said.

The then-president of 11th Hour spoke to the Pet Adoption League of Hackettstown when Cilurso lived there and volunteered with that group.

“It was hearing about the dogs from the South that made me want to volunteer with 11th Hour,” she explained.

That was about four years ago, before her marriage. She and her husband, Matthew, moved to Jefferson about one and one-half years ago.  Matthew helps on dog walks and comes to some events, but is not as involved as Michelle.

They have no children yet, “just the furry one,” she laughed.

Cilurso’s work doesn’t end at home. She has enlisted her workplace to help by holding a drive for food and dog toys at the credit union’s main branch at the Arsenal.