Animal Rescue Group “Suddenly” Moving from Johnson City Petco
A Southern Tier animal adoption center will soon leave the place it has called home for the past decade.
Every Cat's Dream - which originally was called Every Dog's Dream - has announced it will be moving out of the Petco store on Harry L Drive in Johnson City.
In a Facebook post, the organization said: "We are suddenly faced with the need to adopt out all or most of our cats, as we are moving to a new smaller location, which will better serve our new mission, in the very near future."
The post did not explain the reason for the hasty departure from the Petco site but people familiar with the situation said they understood the group was given 30 days to leave.
Audrey Woerter, who heads the organization she founded to help animals, could not be reached for comment on the matter.
An employee at the Johnson City Petco store was unable to discuss the situation and the manager was not available.
Responding to a reply to the original Facebook announcement, Every Cat's Dream said: "We are moving to a smaller location and plan on focusing more on TNR and continue to help the sick and injured." TNR refers to the practice of "Trap Neuter Release" for feral cats.
The response noted "a lot of people would show up at Petco with injured or sick animals and we could not house them there which is one of the reasons for our move."
The note added: "We need a month to get our ducks in a row." It indicated the group is waiving its adoption fees until further notice in an effort to place the center's cats in "their forever homes."
The post indicated Every Cat's Dream will move to the store front at Dickin Memorial Animal Hospital on East Main Street in Endicott. Dickin Memorial representatives did not return a call seeking comment.
Petco received harsh criticism after about 100 animals in the Johnson City store died in the September 2011 flooding.
Broome County residents and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for a criminal investigation into the actions of Petco management.
The company searched for another area location following the flood disaster but decided to reopen at the same site about seven months later.
After the flood, Petco's CEO said the company planned to donate money to area animal welfare groups. Petco allowed Every Dog's Dream to set up an adoption center inside the Johnson City store when it resumed operations.
Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.
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