Rescue Buffalo restructuring, closing shelter in April

GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. (WIVB) — Kelli Swagel has been working with dogs for more than 18 years. She told WIVB News 4 she’s decided to restructure her business — Rescue Buffalo, which is located on Grand Island — by closing its municipal sheltering portion due to New York State changing a law in December.

“The rise of animal cruelty, animal abandonment, strays is getting really scary around here,” Swagel said. “There’s a lot of dogs coming from out of state too, and as much as we know that we need to help those high-kill shelters, it’s forcing New York to have to make decisions for space, which is something we will never align with.”

Swagel, the president and founder of Rescue Buffalo, as well as The Pit Chic, said the business will go back to its roots while continuing to work with local animal controls and local rescues and work with animals and their behaviors.

“What we will be able to do is take those dogs that are at risk and we will be able to put them through a board and train program — whether we prepare them for our rescue, or prepare them for another rescue, and then get them adopted that way,” Swagel said.

Swagel is hoping to have all of the dogs that are currently sheltered there adopted by the end of April. They are dropping adoption fees by 50%, and if you would like to adopt you can visit their website.

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Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.

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