Dozens of animals are in need of homes after a Doraville animal shelter was told that it needs to find a new place to do business.
The no-kill shelter has to close its doors because of confusion over zoning laws.
Animal Savers Rescue is home to dozens of cats and a handful of dogs who now need homes quickly.
Many of the 64 cats and three dogs currently cared for by the shelter ended up there because they had no place else to go. They were sent there as a last resort from high-kill shelters in metro Atlanta.
"They'll call us when they've got animals that are scheduled to be put down, usually the emergency cases," shelter director Margarita Robertson said.
She said a dog named Spalding was scheduled to be euthanized the day that Animal Savers got him.
Vets had to remove the eye of a dog named Bella after rescuers found her sick and abandoned.
"She had an infection and was abandoned and neglected on a farm," volunteer Jennifer Simmons told Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri.
The animals are now facing another deadline. The facility has to stop operating by the end of the month.
The shelter opened in 2012, believing that it could operate as a shelter. About three months ago, officials learned that they misunderstood city leaders.
"We could be an animal clinic but not a shelter," Robertson said.
Now Robertson and volunteers like Simmons are rushing to find people to adopt or foster the animals or other organizations that can take them in.
"It's very tough. I think about it all the time," Robertson said.
Shelter workers said it's difficult closing the doors when there's such a need for no-kill facilities to house animals. However, they are hopeful that they can find a place for the animals before the end of the month.
"It takes a whole community to do this, and to have one fewer of us, it's not a great thing for the animals," Simmons said.
Shelter workers said they already have one organization lined up to take in about 20 cats, and they're hoping for more help by the end of the month.
The organization said it will look for a new location and hopes to reopen the facility at some point.
For more information on adopting the animals, visit their website or Facebook page.
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