Animal Welfare's new facility, unveiled today, shows animals at their best

VIENNA

Friday’s official opening of the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County’s new adoption center, dog park and retail store on Youngstown-Kingsville Road marked the completion of a two-year process to raise funds and renovate the former indoor/outdoor baseball complex.

A ribbon-cutting Friday at the 47,000-square-foot complex celebrated the temperature-controlled, well-built and sparkling-clean facility for dogs and cats.

It replaces the 1,808-square-foot facility on Brunstetter Road in Lordstown in dramatic fashion, visitors said after taking a tour.

“What a difference from that place on Brunstetter,” said Marjorie Mognet of Warren. “It’s beautiful. They needed this for the animals,” Andrea Beck said. “You can tell they care about the way they [animals] are being taken care of.”

Carol Edwards of Warren said she thinks the animals behave better as a result of their new surroundings.

“Even though the dogs are penned, they’re so darned friendly. It makes it more adoption-friendly because they’re not all standoffish. It’s amazing,” Edwards said.

A walk through the facility, which is across the street from Squaw Creek Country Club, reveals “cat community rooms” that allow cats to travel through four levels and interact, which executive director Kerry Pettit says will enable people to better judge each cat’s personality.

Two indoor areas for dogs — those ready for adoption and those being prepared — are in a 65-degree, indoor area. Each area has a separate air system to ensure that airborne infections don’t transfer between the two groups.

Each area also has access to its own outdoor play area.

Read more about the new facility in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.