A Call For Support From Angel's Gate! Please Read!

Artwork by Liv Carson

Dear Friend of Angel's Gate,

The following article appears in today's Sunday, NY Times. As it is hard to locate on line I have reprinted it below.

As the legal battle is heating up, our finances are severely strained.   This would be a good time to send a donation.

An Animal Sanctuary Is Under Pressure to Move

The New York Times  Sunday, August 20.2006
By LINDA F. BURGHARDT
Published: August 19, 2006

THE more than 200 animals living at 18 Josephine Lane in the hamlet of Fort Salonga, NY, are there because they are sick or disabled. They are also there illegally, the town of Smithtown ruled recently, but their owners are not giving up without a fight.


The birds and beasts live in a residential animal hospice on Long Island, and their owners, Susan Marino and Victor LaBruna, are fighting an amendment to the towns zoning code that may have the muscle to close it.

“This is discrimination, pure and simple, and well take it to the highest court before we let them shut us down,” said Ms. Marino, who has operated the hospice, called Angel’s Gate, for 13 years.

People who can no longer care for their ailing pets take them to the hospice, and Ms. Marino and Mr. LaBruna take them in. The dogs, cats, ducks, geese, chickens, goats, ponies and pigeons live at the couple's home, a 2,500-square-foot ranch house, which is on an acre and a third.

Patrick Vecchio, the town supervisor, insisted that no decision had been made on whether to shut down the hospice but that the town wanted it moved.

“We're not critical of the service, but we believe a home in a residential zone is not an apt place for this facility,” he said. “Volunteers come and go. Parking is an issue. Twelve cans of garbage every pickup day; that can be hard on the neighbors.”

The amended law, adopted July 11, bans animal hospices in residential zones but not in commercial districts.

“The amendment was necessary because the town never had a category for animal hospices before,” Mr. Vecchio said. “Angel’s Gate will have to comply.”

But Dan Dillon, a lawyer for the hospice, said he had appealed the zoning change and would sue the village if he loses. Mr. LaBruna said that more than 5,000 people had signed a petition asking the town not to amend its law to make the hospice illegal.

“The town board says the hospice belongs in an industrial park, but why should Ms. Marino have to live in a warehouse?” Mr. Dillon said. “The amendment lumps the nonprofit hospice with moneymaking enterprises like veterinary clinics. But these are her pets, and there's no legal limit on the number she's allowed to have.”

Mr. LaBruna said that he and Ms. Marino moved to Smithtown because the area was zoned for agricultural use and animals would be allowed.

In May, Leonard and Shirley Samansky drove to Angel’s Gate from their home in Great Neck to see if it was the right place for their beloved but incontinent 17-year-old Jack Russell terrier, Sam.

“There was no garbage, no odor, just happy, thriving animals and the magnificent people who care for them,” Mr. Samansky said.

Today Sam is being cared for by Mr. LaBruna and Ms. Marino.

ABOUT US  Read about Angel's Gate and the work they are doing!