Sonsini Shelter Finds New Home

After almost 15 years of operating at the city owned shelter in the Downing Industrial Park, The Berkshire Eagle reports the Friends of Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter has new, but temporary home.

After a few months of delays, the group's contract with the city, entrusting them with the care of stray animals, ended yesterday.  Staff and volunteers for shelter spent the afternoon relocating approximately ten dogs and three cats, to their new home at 857 Crane Ave.

The nonprofit group, Friends of Eleanor Sonsini, in the midst of an ongoing legal battle within itself, was forced to vacate the shelter after the city terminated its contract. The original contract expired March 30th, but was extended for a month, and then by an additional week. The city has declined to say why it ended the contract.

The city will now take over the maintenance of the municipal shelter at the industrial park space at 63 Downing Four.  All stray animals found and placed in the care of the city will be held for the standard seven days.  The Friends of Sonsini will continue to operate as a separate entity, keeping their 501(c)3.

Sonsini staff and volunteers have converted a storage building into a kennel at 875 Crane Avenue, home to Miller's Petroleum Systems, across from Jaeschke Fruit & Flowers.  Owner Dennis Miller cleared out the metal frame building, helped move a Sonsini storage structure from the shelters old home to his property and assisted in preparing the new kennel for the installation of a chain-link fence enclosure for the dogs to roam outside.