Angels for animals hopes to build a veterinary clinic

August 7, 2015 at 12:09a.m.

POLAND

Diane Less isn’t shy about putting forth the message that when it comes to being responsible for companion animals’ welfare, low-cost spaying and neutering yields high-end benefits.

“Neutered animals have longer, healthier lives,” said Less of Greenford, who co-founded Angels for Animals Inc., a nonprofit organization that opened in 1990 in Green Township. “It’s the cheapest insurance you can buy for your pet.”

That is one of many ways Angels has sought to help companion animals, Less told hundreds of animal-rights advocates, law-enforcement personnel, elected officials and others during a gathering Thursday at The Lake Club, 1140 Paulin Road, to celebrate Angels’ 25th anniversary. The event also was to kick off a fund-raising campaign to add a 25,000-square-foot, full-service emergency veterinary clinic and safe haven for animals to the shelter.

The Angel Wing addition, which would serve Mahoning and four other counties, would provide round-the-clock services to help and save abandoned, abused and injured animals as well as owned pets in need.

Angels for Animals relies heavily on volunteers and receives no government funds. The organization strives to educate the public on the pet-overpopulation problem and the importance of regular veterinary care, cultivate greater awareness of companion animals’ needs and provide for the well-being of abandoned animals and those in need, its mission statement says.

Less noted that the facility spayed and neutered 9,750 dogs and cats last year, a move that will make it easier for them to be adopted and will help to reduce the number of unwanted pets.

In addition, an estimated 2,700 animals were dropped off in Angels for Animals’ drop-off box then cared for at the shelter, which is fewer than in 2008 when the recession began, she continued.

“Love, passion and a lot of hard work are what make Angels,” she added.

To make a donation toward the new wing, contact Less at 330-502-5352.

Also speaking at the dinner was Atty. Jeff Holland of Medina County, an expert on animal-cruelty laws.

Abuse and neglect are relatively easy to detect, but determining if shelter provided to a given animal is appropriate can be trickier, noted Holland, an adjunct animal-law professor at Case Western Reserve University who also has served 24 years as a special prosecutor in hundreds of such cases statewide.

For example, a doghouse may offer adequate shelter – the benchmark standard under Ohio law – to protect a dog that can withstand severe winter cold, but may not be enough under the same conditions for one that is thin with little fur, Holland explained.

During the question-and-answer portion, one man expressed concern about being sued if he intervened on behalf of a dog left alone in a vehicle with the windows rolled up in hot weather. Holland said that’s a possibility but also cited a liability shield in the Ohio Revised Code – and didn’t hesitate to mention what he would do in such a situation, if necessary.

“Frankly, I would break the window,” he said to applause.