Common Sense for Animals, a shelter located in Stewartsville, NJ, announced they were overbooked on Oct. 3. Animal shelters are prone to becoming overbooked for different reasons: animals are dropped off after their owners let them go, or animals are never adopted and live the rest of their lives in kennels.
“Honestly [it’s] not that surprising; we’ve been overcrowded for a few months now,” Christen Apger, an employee at Common Sense, said. “We have a lot of, especially dogs, coming in from people either losing them or letting them loose and not getting them back.”
People often choose to buy from a breeder for a few reasons: they want a puppy instead of a full-grown dog, they want a specific breed or they want to know the dog’s breeding history. However, when adopting from a shelter, it’s not only an act of saving a life, but it’s also giving animals the love they deserve.
In many cases, animals in shelters who have been there the longest, are older or who have too many health conditions, are euthanized. Common Sense, however, is a no kill shelter, choosing not to euthanize any of the animals. Animals who aren’t adopted live their lives in the shelter or are transferred.
“They stay here,” Apger said. “We try to move them out into rescues if we can, foster out what we can, but, if not, they stay here and wait.”
Another factor to keep in mind when adopting is that dog breeders typically breed their dogs over and over again, which puts the puppy in jeopardy. Breeders also won’t know if they’re giving the puppies to a family who will take care of them or if they’re giving the puppy to people who are part of the problem: people who will eventually get sick of their new dog and give them to a shelter.
“I think breeding, you’re making more of the problem, like overcrowding dogs at shelters,” sophomore Lydia Bagley said.
Buying a dog from a breeder can cost someone from $500 to over $5,000 depending on the breed of the dog. A dog from a shelter will, on average, cost $50 to $300.
Unlike breeders and stores, shelters only want one thing for their animals. They want the animals that they’ve taken care to find a forever home where they will be treated better and spoiled with love, which is why more people need to support these businesses.
Common Sense is located at 2420 NJ-57, Stewartsville, NJ 08886. The shelter can also be reached by phone at (908) 859-3060.
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Klovur, also known as Big Boy, is Emma Haig‘s aunt’s dog. He is a mutt from Common Sense animals shelter.
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Bowie, a Maltese breed, living his best life after an unfortunate situation. Bowie was living with an owner who could no longer take care of him and his siblings, but was saved and living his best life now. (Photo via Nanette Elder)
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Nina, a pit bull mix, rescued from St. Hubert’s animal shelter in April 2017.
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Reeses, a German shepherd, was rescued from Char Wills German Shepherd Rescue. She is sweet and loves to show affection by licking. (Photo via Billy Gregson)
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Carew is named after a famous baseball player. Carew was left with his siblings in a garbage dumped, until saved by Mutts Puppy Rescue. (Photo via Billy Gregson)
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Sadie, a mutt, was rescued from Animal Alliance in Lambertville as a puppy. She loves to snuggle, play with her soccer ball, shed white hair everywhere and going on long walks and car rides. (Photo via Britta Koep)
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June, a seven-year-old Australian Shepard, rescued from a site in Dallas, Texas. She is loving, energetic and loyal. (Photo via Grace Slack)
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Koshka, a black cat adopted back in 2008, was rescued from a house with too many cats. (Photo via Kelly Meise)
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Chimichanga was found as a baby in 2012 walking home from a restaurant covered in worms and dirt. (Photo via Kelly Meise)
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Winston is a seven month old rescue from St. Huberts in Madison, NJ. He’s a mix of Carolina and a Black Mouth Cur. He loves walks and playing with his lamb chop stuffed animal. (Photo via Ryan Murphy)
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Phoebe, a rescue from Trenton Cat Rescue, was found wandering the streets as a kitten in April 2025. She acts like a dog, is very friendly and loves to cuddle. (Photo via Jennifer Terepka)
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Sadie, a rescue dog, is a seven-year-old pit bull mix from South Carolina. Not only does Sadie enjoy playing outside in the sun, but she also loves long walks with her family. (Photo via Nathan Kries)
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Sneaker is a rescue cat and survivor who was pulled from a dumpster three days after his birth. Sneaker is a selective-lover, but, when it comes to his chosen humans, he is loving, sweet and mushy. (Photo via Sage Hason)
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Gizmo was rescued back in Dec. 2018. He’s lazy but loves people, enjoys snooping for scraps and stealing spots on the couch.
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Emeka and Sunny, both under 3-years-old and best friends, love to spend their days playing, cuddling and barking. (Photo via Amelie Nasrallah)
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Piglet is a 5-year-old bulldog and pit bull mix. She was rescued from Texas and loves playing with her toy lobster.
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Frankie is a friendly, protective dog that loves attention and always wants to cuddle. (Photo via Colleen LeBoeuf)
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Cody is not only a well-rounded rescue dog, but he also carries a heavy backstory. Traveling from Georgia to New Jersey in a truck filled with lost dogs, homeless dogs and his siblings, Cody and the other dogs underwent sickness and difficult conditions. After this, Cody went to a shelter where the Hatch family had adopted him. Now, Cody is living his best life. He won best in show for the 4H New Jersey state obedience show, is a certified therapy dog and is living with a loving family. (Photo via Owen Hatch)
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Reuben is a rescue horse from Virginia. Rueben is 25 years old and has only one eye. (Photo via Grace Slack)
