By Cynthia Koons
As the part-time manager at Animal Haven in Flushing, she found herself particularly fond of a chihuahua named Chandler.”I fell in love with him when he was a puppy,” Cox said. Because she had five dogs, Cox sadly had to watch him get adopted by a family in Manhattan.”I called them in Manhattan every two months to see how he's doing,” she said.Animal Haven in Flushing, at 35-22 Prince St., is a home for stray cats and dogs where they live between visits to two Manhattan storefronts.In the windows of doggie day care places in Greenwich Village and Murray Hill, Animal Haven displays its hundreds of cats and dogs that are up for adoption.”One of the first things people always asked me when I got the job was, it must be really sad,” said Jennifer Bristol, the assistant director of Animal Haven in Flushing. “Sometimes you see the homes (where the animals go to live) and you cry, it's such a wonderful home.”Bristol came into the business of animal adoptions after being in entertainment public relations. She was drawn to the field by her love of animals, which is obvious by how comfortable she is in the kitten room and how familiar she is with the cats in the adult rooms.No animals are euthanized at Animal Haven, instead, they live their lives out whether they are terminally ill, disabled or just unwanted by potential adopters.The organization gets animals from shelters, owners who are moving to pet-unfriendly apartments or concerned citizens who find strays on the streets.The group uses its storefronts and a mobile pet adoption van to promote its animals. In the foyer of Animal Haven there is also a video-game-like machine where potential adopters can specify what they are looking for in a pet and find matches around the city.”There are so many abandoned stray animals in this city,” Bristol said. “If someone's coming here and they're looking for a specific type of dog, they can find it.”Bristol said her shelter in Flushing is over capacity and cannot accept any new cats until more are adopted.In addition to finding pet-adopters, Bristol said she is looking for volunteer dog walkers, animal socializers and people to help out at on-the-road adoption events.Pointing out the wall of animals who have been happily adopted, Bristol said, “It's wonderful to find wonderful animals wonderful homes.” Potential pet-adopters can reach Animal Haven online at www.animalhavenshelter.org or by calling 718-886-3683.Reach reporter Cynthia Koons by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 141.
