- About PFA
- Mission
Learn about our mission and how you can help.
- Success Stories
Animals PFA has helped, as well as testimonials from patrons and supporters.
- Meet our Veterinarians
Learn about our passionate and highly-skilled team.
- Newsletter
Discover our educational resources and events.
- Jobs
PFA is always on the lookout for team players who have a positive attitude.
- Contact us
Find out how to contact us and get in touch.
- Mission
- Services & Programs
- Get Involved
- Make Appointment
Learn about People for Animals and how we are dedicated to animal welfare.
Mission & Vision
The mission of People for Animals, Inc. is to prevent animal suffering through affordable essential healthcare, public policy advocacy, and community programs.
Our vision is a healthy, happy life for every animal.
People for Animals, Inc. has been providing low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter services in New Jersey since 1983. Over the years, PFA has grown to become the leading provider of spay/neuter services with clinics in Hillside, Robbinsville, and Millville. Our three clinics employ 13 licensed veterinarians who care for over 30,000 of our state’s animal companions every year.
People for Animals is a registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization
Federal Tax ID #22-2331492.
NJ Charitable Registration # CHO244300-20
What We Do
Our key service to the public and animal welfare groups is affordable, routine pet care which is aimed at specifically driving more animals to early spay/neuter procedures to prevent accidental pregnancies, make pet ownership more affordable, and reduce the numbers of homeless animals in local shelters.
Low Cost Spay/Neuter: PFA performs more spay/neuter procedures in our clean, professional and well equipped facilities each year than any other provider in NJ. Because of our surgeons’ expertise utilizing the latest techniques, smaller incisions, and shorter anesthesia time, our patients suffer very little pain and have a fast recovery.
Walk-in Wellness Services: PFA’s Wellness Services offer affordable pet care such as vaccines, preventatives, and microchips to the general public and animal welfare groups. This program has the added benefit of providing revenue, assisting the organization to be self-supporting.
Veterinarian training in HVHQSN: PFA also partners with Neighborhood Cats, Inc. to provide intensive training in High Volume, High Quality Spay and Neuter (HVHQSN) techniques for licensed veterinarians interested in improving their skills.
Public Policy Advocacy: PFA offers expert consultation to promote humane public policy to elected officials at every level of government. We have successfully advocated for Humane Feral Cat Population Control (TNR) in many NJ counties and municipalities. We also actively advocate for humane legislation in our State Legislature.
Humane Education: The goal of PFA’s Humane Education Program is to engage school-age youths in age-appropriate discussions on topics that relate to how we interact with each other, with animals, and with our environment. The program, Living Harmoniously with Animals, aligns with NJ Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) and includes critical thinking, collaboration, personal safety, problem solving, making the right choices and how we can be agents of change. We encourage students to think critically, focusing on kindness and social responsibility. Our volunteer and staff facilitators visit classrooms, youth camps and other venues to present curricula and activities that are designed by experienced professional educators. We also host tours at our clinic for the students, allowing them to see humane work in action.
Access to Veterinary Care: PFA is committed to ensuring that all families have access to affordable veterinary care for their non-human family members regardless of ability to pay. By expanding our diagnostic capabilities as well as increasing the scope of veterinary services available at our clinics, PFA is working toward the vision of a healthy life for all animals.
Whole Families Program (WFP): PFA embraces the One Health approach, which recognizes that the health of people, animals and our shared environment are interdependent. This philosophy informed the creation of our Whole Families Program. The WFP expands the traditional veterinary focus on the animal to include
the human family members and their life circumstances. The program engages with NJ’s most at-risk communities by conducting free vaccination clinics providing basic preventative care. Talking to pet parents about their family’s needs and worries allows early intervention and helps keep Whole Families together.
Partnerships: PFA believes strongly in forming partnerships and fostering cooperative relationships with other animal welfare groups in the state. We have had numerous successful partnerships and we actively seek opportunities to collaborate. We feel that it is critical for animal welfare groups to find the common ground on which we can combine our resources to accomplish mutual goals. Together, we can achieve so much more than when we work alone.
Position Statements
- PFA endeavors to overcome obstacles to essential veterinary care whenever and wherever they are encountered. Our programs are directed toward educating pet owners as well as making veterinary services affordable and accessible to all pet caretakers, both animal welfare professionals and the general public.
- PFA believes that all pets adopted through rescues and shelters should be neutered prior to adoption. PFA does not believe contracts and/or deposits are adequate to ensure timely spay/neuter compliance by adopters.
- PFA advocates adoption of pets from rescues and shelters and discourages purchasing animals from breeders or pet stores.
- PFA does not support cat or dog breeding of any kind, especially when conducted by non-professional pet owners, “backyard breeders” and puppy mills.
- PFA advocates pediatric spay/neuter and will alter animals which are at least 2 months of age and weigh at least 2 lbs. PFA advocates neutering cats and dogs at 4 months of age. Recommendations on the proper age to sterilize a particular pet will consider the totality of the individual animal’s circumstance and current veterinary knowledge.
- PFA promotes Trap-Neuter-Return as the most effective and humane means of feral cat population control currently available.
- PFA believes in compassionate euthanasia to relieve suffering related to medical and/or behavioral causes.
- PFA seeks to promote cooperation and collaboration between animal welfare professionals. PFA employees, volunteers and Board Members are expected to refrain from making disparaging remarks concerning any other animal welfare group or veterinary provider, publicly or to anyone outside of the organization.
- PFA does not declaw cats at our clinics. Clients are offered alternative solutions such as nail caps or scratching posts.
- PFA does not judge the decisions our clients may make regarding the care of their pets. Instead, we seek to understand and provide information in a respectful, non-judgmental way.
- PFA does not import dogs from outside of NJ for any adoption programs. We do not encourage or discourage this practice among other animal welfare groups; however, we do believe that whenever animals are imported from outside of NJ, it is critically important that these pets are spayed/neutered prior to adoption to prevent future population problems that could result from this practice.
PFA 2023 in Review
These numbers reflect our commitment to improving animal welfare and the community, showing the tangible difference we’ve made in the lives of animals and those who support our cause.
41,562
animals served across our 3 clinics
22,271
spay/neuter surgeries
7,223
animals microchipped
116
pets kept with their families through crisis
Photo Gallery
Take a visual journey through our story and mission with our captivating photo gallery.
Success Stories
Experience the heartwarming stories of transformation and triumph in our collection of inspiring success stories.
Meet our Veterinarians
Our team of passionate and highly skilled veterinarians is the heart and soul of People for Animals (PFA). Get to know the individuals who work tirelessly to provide top-notch care and expertise to the animals we serve. Their unwavering commitment to animal welfare and health sets the standard for excellence in our organization.
Dr. David Croman
Director of Veterinary Services
Dr. David Croman is a 1999 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and is currently the Director of Veterinary Services at People For Animals (PFA). Prior to working at PFA, Dr. Croman worked in private practice and provided veterinary services for South Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and the Jersey Animal Coalition. When not involved in veterinary medicine, Dr. Croman enjoys hiking with his dog, Jessica, sailing, skiing, and other outdoor sports.
Dr. Iris Biely
Veterinarian
Dr. Iris Biely is a 1979 graduate of Rutgers University – Cook College and a 1983 graduate of Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. She spent her first 8 years as a veterinarian caring for patients at Antelman’s Animal Hospital in Clifton, NJ. Dr. Biely spent the next 8 years as a surgeon at the Popcorn Park Animal Hospital. Dr. Biely has been performing spay/neuter surgery at People for Animals since the early 1990s, first on a part-time basis and then full-time beginning in 1999.
Dr. Biely is very involved in her local church singing every Saturday at mass in the choir. She is also very involved in the riding, training and showing of horses in the sport of dressage and has received numerous local and national awards. Dr. Biely is the companion to four horses: two Hanoverians named Randy and Cooper; Millie, a Dutch Warmblood; and Guy, a Standardbred.
Dr. Laurie Heeb
Veterinarian
Dr. Laurie Heeb is a 1992 graduate of Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. One of her proudest moments in veterinary school was when she became the very first student at Kansas State to receive the “Gentle Doctor” Award. This award is given to veterinary students who demonstrate an extraordinary degree of compassion for animals. Dr. Heeb received her Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She worked for several years in the human medical field before pursuing her career in veterinary medicine. Following her graduation from Kansas State, Dr. Heeb completed a 3-year internship and residency in Clinical Pathology at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. She was a Clinical Pathologist with Antech Diagnostics for 15 years before joining People for Animals in 2011. In addition to being a veterinarian, Dr. Heeb is a Certified Animal Control Officer and Animal Cruelty Investigator. When she’s not helping animals at PFA, Dr. Heeb enjoys spending time with friends and relaxing at home with her cats.
Dr. Laura Acosta
Veterinarian
Dr. Laura Acosta grew up in South America graduating with her veterinary degree from The Central University of Venezuela in 2000. She came to the United States to complete a year at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in 2005 after which she obtained her US veterinary license.
Early in her career, Dr. Acosta worked at wildlife rehabilitation centers and then with small animals and exotics where she adopted her first rescue, a parrot named Alejandro. Dr. Acosta joined PFA’s Hillside Clinic surgical team in 2009. She loves that her work at PFA allows her to perform high volume spay neuter, reduce pet overpopulation, prevent animals entering the shelter system and reduce the euthanasia rate in NJ. Dr. Acosta is proud that she is able to help animals by performing many soft tissue surgeries as PFA continues to expand the number of services available to its patients.
At home Dr. Acosta and her family enjoy spending time outdoors, hiking, kayaking, and spending time with their menagerie of rescued animals, Alice, their dog, two cats Willow and Spotted Leaf and her parrot Alejandro.
Dr. Anne Pierok
Veterinarian
Dr. Anne Pierok, a graduate of Rutgers University – Cook College and Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, has worked for People for Animals for at least 20 years performing presurgical examinations and providing basic veterinary care at PFA’s Wellness Clinic. Dr. Pierok’s veterinary interests include infectious disease control, cardiology, neurology, emergency medicine, and geriatric care. She has been the companion to numerous shelter cats and dogs over the years, giving them very happy and long lives. Dr. Pierok is currently the companion to an incorrigibly hyperactive but adorable 11-year-old Parson Russell Terrier and a 15-year-old Pit/Boxer/Poodle/Terrier mix who also happens to be one of her most challenging cardiology patients ever.
Dr. Pierok encourages people to adopt their companion animals from shelters, get them spayed or neutered, give them loving homes and proper training, and to take good care of them for the rest of their lives. In return, they will give you many years of unconditional love and joy.
We're hiring!
Are you passionate about animal welfare and eager to make a positive impact? Explore our current job opportunities and be a part of the PfA team dedicated to creating a better world for animals and our community.
Board of Directors
President – Linda Nardone
Vice President & Executive Director – Jane Guillaume
Treasurer & Associate Executive Director – Kevin Moore
Secretary – Laurie Heeb, DVM
Board Members – Brian Hackett, Elda Hubbard, and MaryAnn Orapello