APL celebrates completed renovations
Oct. 13—KINGSVILLE — Members of the community gathered at the Ashtabula County Animal Protective League on Thursday to celebrate renovations made to the facility.
Mary Glauser, executive director of the APL, said the APL is now acting as the county's humane agent, and has taken care of a number of different kinds of animals since
"We are always learning and growing, new animal care things here every day," Glauser said. "We've created a space that's very flexible, so that now, we can accomodate all those animals safely."
The APL also started coordinating spay and neuter services for the community in 2022, she said.
"This year, we are on-track to do 2,000 spays and neuters for the community," Glauser said. "That's another brand-new thing we took on, because it is a desperate need in the community. We always hope the more we fix, the fewer that come in."
The APL now has a quarantine area for dogs that may be contagious, she said. The shelter was previously unable to house any animals with potentially contagious diseases, but now they can.
"We have also started treating heartworm-positive dogs, that was something that was not possible," Glauser said. "We just had one complete treatment yesterday.
The APL was originally built as a 72-hour hold shelter, she said.
"We don't euthanize for space or for time," Glauser said. "In doing so, we really have to be creative about how we use our space."
Kennels for dogs at the shelter have been expanded, and the renovations created a new dog living room for dogs that struggle in kennels, she said.
She said the APL was selected as the recipient of a community grant from INEOS.
"When they do that, they work with us to build a budget, kind of help us fulfil the vision of what we could do with a service model," Glauser said. "They went out and got donations for much of what you see, and probably 30 to 40 employees came here on a Saturday and labored all day on their day off to implement some of those changes."
Some of the changes to the APL include improvements to the APL's cat area, the creation of a volunteer area, creation of a sensory walk for dogs on the APL grounds, and renovations to the APL's memorial garden.
"I hope that, as people see what we've done, ... that they're willing to invest in us, because we're investing in them," Glauser said. "Our hope is it's kind of a catalyst for bigger changes."
She said she thinks the changes enable the APL to get animals out of the shelter faster, which will allow them to bring in more animals.
"Since we brought on humane services, we've taken in 220 animals from humane cases, on top of our normal intake," she said.
Greg Church, executive director of the Ashtabula Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is excited for the APL.
"Not only is it a celebration of what they've done with the space, which was beautifully done and makes it very accessible for the public, they're rethinking their mission, and, really being the sole provider here in the county, they're serving a lot of animals of all different kinds," he said.
