Woman’s fight for her dogs continues

By CHARLIE BUTERBAUGH

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY —During a tour of Gloria Smith’s animal shelter on Pinewood Road, Smith pointed out clean kennels, a layer of new stone, draped tarps that protect the dogs from the sun and raised basins that keep their drinking water and premium dog food clean.

Others in the Town of Cochecton, however, see a less rosy scene of too many noisy dogs and code violations. The town continues to press Smith to get rid of half of her dogs, and Smith, unruffled, continues to refuse.

At a July 31 meeting, the Cochecton Planning Board granted Smith a special use permit to operate her shelter with the condition that she pay attorney fees, obtain a kennel license and limit her shelter to 36 dogs, a number determined on the grounds that she had that many in 1998 when the zoning law was written.

At least 70 dogs now live at the shelter, a few strays found in Sullivan County and the rest wandering New York City streets. Just what will happen to the extra dogs remains yet unknown; the town has established a limit, and Smith said she will fight it, based on the grounds that she had more than 36 dogs in 1998. To that end, she has hired two new lawyers.

“If she does not pay the fees to obtain her special use or if she does not get rid of the extra dogs, there may be a nuisance, which is a Supreme Court case,” Town Attorney John Keating said at an August 13 town board meeting. The board expressed unanimous support of pursuing the case that far if Smith fails to comply.

The fate of the dogs has been left to Gloria Smith, who brought many of the animals to Lake Huntington when she opened in February of 1997. “My aim is to rescue the animals,” she said.

Code Enforcement Officer John Drobysh said that a nearby shelter, owned by Brother Victorian of the Lazarian Society, could handle the overflow of dogs. “It’s resolvable if they choose to resolve it,” he said.

But Victorian said he does not have enough space for the transfer.

“If I was Gloria, I would try to get the animals adopted. She’s going to wait until the last minute, and then they may have to be put down. I don’t adopt to anyone who comes here, but we get a lot of calls,” Victorian said.

Smith said the adoption route has not worked for her.

“When I tried to adopt dogs in the past, nobody would take them because they are all big. Just feeding them costs a lot of money. I haven’t tried to adopt any dogs out in the last few months.

“I spent $50,000 on excavation, plumbing and electricity. My aim is to rescue the animals,” she said.

For now, the town will wait to hear Smith’s intentions at her next Justice Court date on September 15.