Secret Photos and Video Footage Show Shocking Conditions, PETA Calls for Criminal Investigation
For Immediate Release:
April 21, 2011
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Delhi, N.Y. — A PETA undercover investigation has found shocking, systemic, severe, and fatal neglect of ailing and debilitated animals kept at Angel's Gate, Inc. (AG), a self-proclaimed animal "hospice and rehabilitation center" in Delhi, N.Y., that promises guardians from all over the U.S. that "special needs animals" will "live out their days in peace, dignity and love." PETA's careful documentation shows that AG executive director Susan Marino has failed to provide vital veterinary care to animals who suffered, sometimes for many weeks, from treatable conditions that became life-threatening, as well as from chronic ailments and terminal illnesses for which they were denied medication and pain relief. In one case, a miniature horse, Mimi—who was at AG because of a permanent limp—was denied veterinary care for severe respiratory distress and finally died. Months after Mimi's death, Marino is still soliciting sponsorship donations for the horse's care on AG's website.
"Angel's Gate is hell on Earth for the sick, injured, handicapped, and dying animals taken there by well-meaning people who have trusted that they would be lovingly cared for," says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "Animals, especially those with special needs, depend on human mercy when they are ill and ailing, and to deny them comfort and care is criminal."
PETA's findings include evidence that Marino kept animals in crowded, inhumane conditions leading to extremely high stress levels, fights over space and food, and injuries, which were then left untreated; denied animals medical treatment and medications for pain, seizures, tumors, open wounds, and respiratory, eye, ear, mouth, gum, and skin infections; left paraplegic dogs to drag themselves around and sustain open wounds despite the availability of wheelchair carts; deprived animals of water and access to adequate shelter from the elements; and left diapers on animals who needed to have their bladders expressed until they urinated on themselves and suffered from urine scald. Please click here to view video footage of the facility.
PETA has submitted a formal complaint to Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup Jr.'s office and is calling for a criminal investigation of Marino and an immediate veterinary assessment of all animals at AG. PETA has also asked the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the New York State Education Department to investigate evidence of Marino's possession of controlled substances and allegedly unauthorized practice of veterinary medicine, respectively.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.