Dogs and Turtles Find Solace at the Zoo

Dogs, cats, birds, elephants and even turtles. The Popcorn Park Zoo in Forked River has become the savior for all animals.

In January, the Humane Society at the Popcorn Park Zoo, was sent photos of about eight dogs who needed to be rescued from high-kill shelters in Georgia. These dogs were all in the age range of two to four years old.

All that was included with the photos were descriptions of their personalities. There was no history of how the dogs came to need homes. John Bergman, the Director of Popcorn Park Zoo, received these bios and his heart went out to these dogs.

“Down south animals are treated very differently than how we treat our pets,” Bergman said.

When the dogs arrived, they had already been vaccinated and deemed adoptable, Bergman said. Now it was time to find them good homes.

Since then, a few of the dogs have been adopted and another group of about eight were received at the zoo. 

“As long as we have the room we will always take them in,” Bergman said.

A rescue of six soft shell turtles were rescued around the same time from the side of the road near the Passaic River.

Although the zoo didn’t know much about the care of this particular type of turtle, they took them in.

Bergman contacted experts from the Turtle Rescue of Long Island and discovered that these turtles are only native to Asia, some species can be found in Florida, but were mostly like brought over from Asia.

The Turtle Rescue speculates that these turtles were shipped over to be sold in the Asian food markets in New York. They are considered a delicacy.

It took about four or five days for the turtles to be able to eat. Once they were stable enough, they were sent to the Turtle Rescue to receive proper care.

To read more about the turtles, click .

To find out how you can adopt any one of the many animals at the zoo, go to www.ahscares.org. For more information regarding the turtles, please go to www.turtlerescues.com.