If starting the new year off with a new family member piques your interest.

And of course, I'm talking about the four legged kind.

You're in luck.

Pet shelters are inundated right now.

And according to national surveys, rescues are heading into 2024, the most overcrowded they've been in years.

You can chalk that up to the pandemic era pet adoption boom that's now leveled off.

Ted Goldberg visited a Humane Society in Newark today, which just happens to be open for adoptions.

There's a lot of good boys and good girls at the Associated Humane Societies in Newark.

Maybe too many, approximately 450 animals under our care.

You know, if you went back a year and a half ago, we probably had to 50 CEO Jerry Rosenthal says intake has gone up 30% for dogs and cats from this time last year.

It's a problem that is afflicting shelters primarily in major metropolitan areas.

That includes Slim Jim, who's lived at the shelter for almost a year.

He came in extremely emaciated.

He was only a puppy about seven months old.

We didn't think he was going to make it.

His prognosis looked very grim.

We did send him out to the emergency.

They hydrated him, gave him whatever meds he needed.

Some say, good boy.

Slim Jim beat the odds and went after recovering the same way.

He goes after toys and any food within striking distance.

He always had that glimmer in his eye.

Like, I want to fight.

I want to make it through.

Always wagging his tail, no matter how sick he was.

It was slow, but he did eventually get better.

And now you can tell you would never know.

He was once emaciated.

While Slim Jim has become a big, beefy boy.

His energy has made him hard to adopt.

Dog rescue coordinator Sherri Laraway says an ideal household is full of people who can keep up an active family.

Older kids and anybody in that range.

He loves people.

He loves people he's been on meets before.

And he does well meeting people even kids.

But as soon as they go to pet him, he gets all overstimulated and starts jumping and more people like a calmer dog than a energetic dog.

This shelter has too many dogs and cats looking for their next home.

Like Thurman, who has been here for nearly 600 days.

Rosenthal says many of them have been surrendered by their owners which has more and more led to additional animals calling this shelter home.

Everything's more expensive these days, in terms of food, housing, And, you know, people have to make hard choices, you know.

And, you know, unfortunately, it sometimes, you know, if they're moving in their housing arrangements, you don't allow them to, you know, bring an animal there.

There's been a few weeks where we got maybe ten to 15 dogs out between rescues, adoptions and Fosters.

And the very next day, like 15 or 17, sometimes 20 would come in.

Rosenthal says the shelter is now working with community groups to help families who think they might have to give up their beloved pets.

Making it easier to keep their furry friends.

People have made the mental decision to surrender their angel once they come here.

So we need to get to them early.

And we're doing that by partnering with community food banks and also with our animal patrol officers who are out in the field, not just, you know, picking out stray animals, but, you know, stopping them doing educational seminars.

These are pets that have been adopted from this shelter just in December.

Rosenthal hopes to add more pictures soon.

With animals finding their forever homes in Newark.

I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News