Animal shelter proposal stirs New Castle neighbors

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — An animal welfare group wants to build a shelter on 20 wooded acres in the city.

Not in our backyards, say neighbors who live near the property, bordered by Elder, Vine, Ash and Scott streets.

Those neighbors spoke against the proposed 6,000-square-foot no-kill shelter at a city planning board meeting March 5, expressing some fears that Susan Papa, president of Promises for Pets, called “irrational.”

“It’s not a wild kingdom on Scott Street,” she said after neighbors described scenarios in which kindergarten children at nearby Lockley Elementary School would be grabbed by vicious pit bulls dropped off on the property, left cowering in fear as dogs ran loose or even suffered allergy attacks because of the animals.

Papa described the shelter as “a first-rate facility” that would be like many others across the country. The group envisions a building with two wings, one for dogs and the other for cats. The main part of the structure would house offices and a veterinary area. In between the wings would be a courtyard where dogs could exercise.

The property would include dog-walking trails and fenced areas people could rent to exercise their dogs, she said.

The natural beauty of the property would act as a buffer, with trees left standing between it and the neighborhood, she said.

The shelter would be able to house 50 dogs and up to 80 cats, she said.

After taking public comment, planners tabled Promises’ application for a conditional-use permit to build the shelter in the residential area, telling Papa to address as many concerns as she can for the commission’s April 1 meeting. Those concerns fall into areas of security, noise, odors and property values in the area where, neighbors said, people take good care of their properties.

Read more in Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com