CHARTIERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The owner of a Washington County shelter cited for keeping its animals in inhumane conditions spoke out Wednesday, saying she didn’t mean to do anything wrong.
Last week, dog wardens from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture discovered dogs living in dirty and cold conditions at the Angel Ridge Animal Rescue in Chartiers Township and issued more than a dozen of citations.
The shelter’s owner, Nancy Shannon, told Channel 11 that the inspection came one day after the gas line froze, and workers were in the process of fixing the line during the inspection. Shannon said volunteers took action to help the animals.
“They brought blankets in. One volunteer purchased sweaters,” she said.
Among the 15 citations issued was for waste from a bird infestation, which Shannon does not deny is an issue.
“You see the birds, there's no way to keep them out. (We have) plastic owls, (and) we have a screaming eagle machine on the wall that is supposed to deter them,” said Shannon. “During this crisis, our worker was unable to get to scrubbing the bird poop, and we were cited for that.”
Channel 11’s Cara Sapida also questioned Shannon about the money people have suggested that the shelter gets from donations to build a new structure to house the animals.
Shannon explained that the shelter doesn’t get much money, saying, “We don’t get that much in donations.”
Channel 11 though uncovered that last year, Angel Ridge Animal Rescue got a major estate donation of nearly $200,000.
“Well, we got an endowment for $188,000,” said Shannon. “It’s in savings (and) goes to unexpected vet expenses.”
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