No kill shelter needs 50 dogs adopted

MONROE, Conn. (WTNH) - The owner of a Monroe animal shelter says because of a zoning battle with the town he needs to find homes for dozens of dogs fast.

The SPCA of Connecticut has been ordered to reduce the number of animals in their kennels and now they're scrambling to get the dogs adopted.

The shelter is forced to cut the number of dogs down to 29 by April 30th.

"They have attempted to zone us out of business," said owner Fred Acker.

Acker says the town has rezoned his neighborhood and after lengthy court battles he has finally given up and settled.

"We've been zoned down to 29 dogs in the court agreement," Acker said. "That means we have to reduce our population and the closer we get to the 29 dog limit, the less adoptable these pets are."

Mikey, 12-year-old sheltie mix is one of those dogs that will be up for adoption. Mikey has cancer and needs an operation. Some of the other dogs can't be around children, and some can't be around other pets.

Acker says his kennel is a no kill shelter and they take even the toughest cases. He is worried that when the town comes to inspect in April he won't be able to get under the limit.

"If we have any dogs in excess of 29 on this property after April 30th they can levy fines," said Acker. "They might even make arrests and they have power to seize any of these animals."

The town's First Selectman says they don't comment on ongoing court cases, but they did release a statement:

"The neighbors surrounding Mr. Acker's property have been complaining for years about Mr. Acker's rescue operations and he is now under the orders of two different judges to reduce the scale of his operation."

This means Acker now needs to find good homes for approximately 50 dogs.

When asked how he planned to get down from 79 to 29 dogs at his shelter Acker replied, "Channel 8 baby! We are reaching out to the public. We are looking for angels who want to help animals. If we get a huge turnout we can place a lot of these animals and get down to a number we can manage off site."

If you are interested in adopting one of these dogs you can visit SPCA of Connecticut's website.