Long live “Slushy!”

The lovable pit bull mix and 11 other orphaned dogs were adopted or put into foster care this week, saving Jersey City’s Liberty Humane Society from the heart-wrenching task of putting down at least five of them to make kennel space, shelter officials said Friday.

On Monday, the nonprofit Jersey City facility said it was in a race against time to find a new home for at least five of the 44 large dogs residing in their kennels. The animal shelter was desperate to avoid the drastic step of euthanizing some of the dogs.

LHS Executive Director Irene Borngraeber said Friday that an “outpouring of public support” has helped the organization find a place for 12 dogs, some of which are in the process of leaving. “Slushy,” a 10-year-old pit bull terrier mix, is one of the dogs enjoying the belly rubs she loves in foster care.

“We are so grateful for how many members of our community came forward to offer a temporary or permanent home to a large dog in need,” Borngraeber said Friday. “We are still following up with individuals who submitted applications to foster or adopt our remaining large dogs.

“We thank the public for being patient during this process, as staff are first calling potential homes who do not have other pets or children, as this process can move the most quickly with them.”

All fees for dogs, 35 pounds or more, are still being waived for those interested in taking one into their home, Borngraeber added. LHS received roughly 35 applications to adopt large dogs and more than 50 applications to foster large dogs were received.

The executive director told The Jersey Journal earlier this week that many shelters were experiencing trouble moving large dogs since the COVID-19 pandemic ended. Coupled with an annual summer uptick in dogs abandoned and surrendered, the situation at LHS had reached a critical stage.

The LHS shelter can hold 35 to 75 small dogs, but one large dog requires three times the space.

“As more dogs come off of their ‘stray hold’ and are able to be placed for adoption, we will have more dogs in need,” Borngraeber said. “Please continue to visit our website to see available dogs, so that we can keep the momentum going and hopefully prevent another population crisis from occurring.”