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Animal Welfare League features one-of-a-kind facility

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The first time you visit the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County, it makes an impression. 

It's a one-of-a-kind shelter that stands out in the Valley, even though it is still technically a work in progress.

On the grounds, you can still see reminders of a past life; softball fields from the old Thunderplex in Vienna. But inside, it's been transformed into pet paradise.

"This is spectacular," said Gary Pilcher, the AWL executive director. "This is like the aircraft carrier in this area of animal shelters. They have better quarters than I remember when I was in college."

"Each cat has four rooms and we call them condominiums," said Dr. Rufus Sparks, the treasurer on the board of directors.

It's been more than a decade in the making. Planning every room and filling more than 40,000 square feet with ways to give animals, big and small, a better life.

"We spent a lot of time going to different shelters and we picked out what we liked and of course we had some ideas, to begin with," said Sparks. "When we moved all these cats over from the other shelter, they were all stressed. You could see it on their faces, I could. I could walk along their faces and I could see the stress in these cats that were in small, stainless steel cages. Now, you walk by, these cats are bright, they're alert, they're relaxed."

"These animals can go outside, get fresh air, see the sunshine, interact with people. It's just amazing," said board member Caryn Covelli. "Their runs are much bigger right now. They're not on cement floors like they were before."

But the work is far from done. Each wing has an unfinished section, waiting for donations to come in to bring it to life.

"We can do so much more and even going, talking to many universities, they would love to bring their students here to do rotations and whatnot, but we have to finish the building," said Covelli. 

"The room on my left is the medical/surgical area. It has a two-table surgery area. It has x-ray and ultrasound area. It has a pharmacy and a recovery area. It'll have six exam tables in the center of it," said Sparks.

You can see the vision. It's already a spot unlike just about any other, with a chance to turn into a world-class facility right here in the Valley.

"I just get chills when I walk in the building all the time. I'm just so proud of it. I'm so thankful for the people that helped all of us do this. Every room is wonderful. I just want to get it finished if we can, hopefully before too long," said Covelli.

Finishing up that forever home, while the animals wait to find theirs.

The AWL has a fundraising golf outing this Friday, August 11th at Squaw Creek Country Club. You can learn more about the AWL's mission or get information on the golf outing on the AWL website.


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