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Animal Welfare League opens new Vienna complex
By Ed Runyan
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, cats and other animals.
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, and there also is a large, padded, indoor play area for dogs and a smaller one for puppies.
There’s an intake area to treat the animals for any illnesses, and there are several bonding suites where people can spend time alone with an animal “so they can see how things work out without the commotion,” Pettit said.
The first thing visitors see when they walk in the door is the large Marjorie Hartman “Have A Hart Pet Store,” which is open to the public and operated by volunteers.
Education programs are offered to reduce the number of animals needing to be adopted. Puppy training, basic obedience and “Kid’s Kindness” classes also will be offered.
The facility, which cost about $5 million, isn’t finished because more money will be needed to complete the education center, more dog areas and surgery center associated with the Kent State At Trumbull two-year veterinary-technician program.
Students already have been working with animals at the facility since January, however.
The facility’s other personnel moved in at the end of April and now care for about 60 animals, though it will hold many more than that.
“We’ve had such great adoptions since we moved into the facility,” Pettit said. “It’s nice we have this much room because it’s calmer and allows people to see the animal in the best environment.”
Two outdoor baseball fields are being used as the “Bark Park” dog parks, which are available to members to use. One is a Frisbee park, the other is for dogs under 25 pounds. A third one will be for livestock such as horses, cows, goats and pigs. And the former miniature golf course is now the “Pup Pup” play area.