QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. - A land fight in Queen Creek is putting a dog shelter out of business and now the race is on to find new homes for all of the resident pups.
Sheila Lyengar owns Lotus Dog Training and Boarding, and the adjacent rescue shelter.
Over the last seven years, she’s placed 600 rescued dogs in new homes in the East Valley.
Last winter, Lyengar bought a three acre dilapidated foreclosure near Sossaman and Power roads in Queen Creek, and converted it into a sprawling dog training, boarding, and rehabilitation facility.
Now after a zoning dispute, the dogs’ adoptions are more urgent than ever.
While city records show most of the shelter’s neighbors support and welcome Lyengar and her rescue dogs, a couple complained to the Queen Creek Town Council.
Wednesday night, the council decided Lyengar didn't’t get the proper permits to build an animal shelter on her new property, and voted to close it down.
“I don’t know where they’ll go,” Lyengar said of her rescue dogs. “Will they be euthanized? Turned over to the county? I’m not sure. But they’re my main concern right now. I never foresaw a problem with the town.”
One of the dogs is recovering from a gunshot wound to the face, a few are foreclosure rescues, and several others have been found wandering around the far East Valley.
Town officials tell 3TV, it’s nothing personal.
“She’s a great person with a great operation, said Tom Condit, a development official, "it’s just the wrong location, and we hope Sheila finds a better spot in Queen Creek.”
The Town of Queen Creek is giving Lyengar 45 days to move her boarding business and the rescue dogs off of the property.
For more information on the Lotus Dog Shelter visit Lotusdogtrainingandboarding.com.
