Kerrie Joyce 
The Liberty Humane Society is gearing up to open a brick-and-mortar nonprofit veterinary clinic in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. The organization was previously an animal shelter that operated at 235 Jersey City Boulevard, Jersey City. Since the shelter’s closure in 2023, the organization has pivoted to in-home veterinary services. Read on for the full timeline and what to expect at the new clinic.
Timeline of Events
From 2004 to 2023, the Liberty Humane Society (LHS) operated a Jersey City shelter that provided animal control services, medical assessments, vaccinations, spaying/neutering, and preparation for adoption. During this time, the City of Jersey City had a contractual agreement with the shelter to provide animal control services.
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In August of 2023, the shelter put out a call to the public for help when it had run out of room for large dogs. It waived adoption fees for dogs over 35lbs, encouraged neighbors to volunteer to foster a dog, and asked for tips on shelters that had space to relocate the dogs. The call was answered and LHS was successfully able to find homes for the large dogs through fostering and adopting.
On October 2nd, 2023, the City of Jersey City terminated its contract with LHS to provide animal control services, effective October 31st, 2023. This termination meant that the shelter would no longer be able to fund its sheltering program or shelter maintenance. At the time of the termination, the City shared the following statement with The Hoboken Girl citing concerns from the public:
“In response to Liberty Humane Society’s continued deficiencies in meeting contractual obligations to provide adequate animal control services, coupled with the increasing amount of public complaints and LHS’s unresponsiveness and disregard for the City’s and the public’s concerns, Mayor Fulop has moved to absorb animal control services in-house under our Department of Health & Human Services to ensure humane treatment for all animals and adequate enforcement of animal control laws to support public health and safety.”
The statement continued, “The people and animals of Jersey City need and deserve responsive and reliable services, and the City will ensure that these are in place. Our Health Department and DPW have already been performing some vital services to fill gaps. Attached is a letter sent in August to the then-head of the Liberty Humane Society.”
The statement also added that the City is “actively working to ensure that we will have shelter services in place. We are committed to working with LHS for a smooth transition, and we will be ready on January 1st.”
In January of 2024, the City of Jersey City took over operations of the shelter under its Department of Health & Human Services. The Liberty Humane Society shared plans to open a new facility in the future with a focus on affordable, low-cost veterinary care.
In December 2024, LHS announced its operations as a mobile, nonprofit veterinary clinic offering spaying and neutering, wellness, and medical services.
As of November 2025, Liberty Humane Society plans to open a brick-and-mortar nonprofit veterinary care facility in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
New Clinic
Liberty Humane Society shared the following announcement about its plans to open the new facility:
“Over the past few years, we’ve been quietly shifting our focus from housing homeless pets to keeping pets healthy and in their homes. Today, Liberty Humane operates as a nonprofit veterinary clinic, continuing our mission of compassion through affordable community care. After delivering more than 4,000 spay/neuter surgeries and vaccines from our mobile veterinary truck, we’re about to take a big step: settling into our first brick-and-mortar clinic in Lyndhurst, NJ. This new medical facility will dramatically increase the number of pets we can help through accessible, essential veterinary care.”
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As it prepares to open the clinic, LHS is hiring multiple roles, including a full-time veterinarian, full-time receptionists, full-time veterinarian technicians, and a per diem veterinarian.
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