One Step Closer Animal Rescue: Cassy

Back in high school, I worked at a local veterinary hospital which hosted several adoption events on location with an organization called One Step Closer Animal Rescue. OSCAR is a non-profit rescue organization based in northern New Jersey that saves dogs and cats from desperate situations. In my time volunteering with them, I met one of the organization's founders, Cassy Mead. I recently reached out to her and she graciously agreed to be interviewed about her experience working in this field. 

Q: Tell me how you came to create OSCAR.

A: My family was always taking in any dogs or cats the neighbors found when I was young so I've always been used to fostering and rescuing animals. Rescuing was taking up a considerable amount of my time and funds so my husband and I founded OSCAR as a way to make it official back in 2010. 

Q: I know for a long time OSCAR was a in-home-only foster organization. Can you tell me a bit about how that worked?

A: Well, it was a real "it takes a village" situation. Since we didn't have a physical kennel to house any dogs or cats in, we operated mostly out of other people's homes. Our foster parents were always amazingly generous. Luckily, we were able to purchase a property in Andover in 2016 that has something like 30 runs for the dogs and a cat room. The property is a nice size so the dogs have room to run around and play.

Q: Are all of the animals under your care housed in the kennel?

A: Mostly, but we still have some dogs that need more specialized care or senior dogs in foster homes. We're able to help more animals that way. I have three foster dogs at home right now with my own two dogs. 

Q: Where do you rescue the dogs and cats from?

A: From a lot of different places, honestly. Owners will sometimes surrender them or they're just found roaming the streets. We also rescue from shelters in states other than New Jersey. We are a no-kill shelter so our animals are able to stay with us for a long time if need be.

Q: What is something you wish more people would do to help animals in need?

A: There's a ton of small things. For example, we have a program here where volunteers come in to walk the dogs and play with them for a few hours each evening. Our staff works really hard to keep this place clean and safe for the dogs and cats, so sometimes the animals don't get as much socialization as they need. Or just donating a bag of litter or some wet food to your local pet food drive is a humongous help. 

Q: What are some upcoming events that you are hosting?

A: We always have at least one adoption event a month, and the next event we have is an adoption event over in Rockaway on the 14th. Our website has a list of all of our upcoming events and supply drives.

If you're interested in what OSCAR does or even adopting from them, all the information you need can be found on their site. From my own experience I can say that OSCAR is run by a group of very compassionate, dedicated people that serve the animals in their community extremely well. I'd like to thank Cassy for lending me some of her time. Be sure to check out OSCAR!