Animal Haven Acres Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Center

In the fall of 2001 Animal Haven's Board of Directors voted to purchase a piece of property in New York's Delaware County about two and one-half hours northwest of the George Washington Bridge. The property includes a house, a large barn and an additional two-story wooden structure.

The original concept of the Sanctuary was as a retirement place for dogs who seemed hard to place and were spending too many months and even years at the Flushing shelter.

As this concept evolved it was decided to look for a Sanctuary Director who was not just a caretaker for difficult dogs, but a certified trainer and behavior specialist.

So Susan Smith came to the Sanctuary and began work to make some of these difficult to place dogs adoptable. At the very least they would be better socialized and their lives would be happier and less stressful. Thus Animal Haven Acres became the Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Center.

During her time at AH Acres, Director Susan Smith worked to help make AH Acres an integral part of the local community. In collaboration with the Humane Society of Delaware County, she developed weekly group training classes for dog owners in the community. The aim of these classes was to help keep all dogs in their original homes so they will never end up in a shelter.

As for cats: although living conditions for the cats at the Flushing shelter is virtually cage free, we are still planning a much nicer environment for some of our special needs cats at the Sanctuary. A two story building adjacent to the house is the planned site of a new home for the Felv and FIV positive cats. Construction costs and one year's operating expenses for this Cat Sanctuary will total about $50,000. Currently we raised $5,000 for this project from our spring auction and a generous supporter Phyllis Ann Katock has contributed $5,000 for the creation of the area for the leukemia cats. As a small show of gratitude for this generous gift, the leukemia area will be named in her honor.

In August 2004, Animal Haven Acres welcomed Karen Miller. After two dedicated years with Animal Haven, Karen Miller has moved on to pursue other animal-related ventures. We are thrilled to report though that her partner and dear friend of Animal Haven’s Maggie Cullen has filled her post. Maggie has lived at Animal Haven Acres for over two years and therefore has a complex understanding of the dogs' needs. Armed with this knowledge, she is lifting Animal Haven Acres to the next level.