Angel's Gate animal hospice in Delhi to close

The Associated Press reports today that the Angel's Gate animal hospice in Delhi is facing legal action from the state Attorney General's office for improperly documented finances, and that owner Susan Marino has decided to shut the hospice down.

Angel's Gate and Marino came under fire last year after the animal-welfare activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filmed disturbing undercover footage at the facility. Marino was later arrested on animal cruelty charges.

Today, the AP reports that Angel's Gate has not properly accounted for over $1 million in donations given to the hospice in the last decade:

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Wednesday that the Angel's Gate hospice, located 60 miles southwest of Albany in rural Delhi, has taken in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from the public without publicly accounting for any of it, and he's seeking its dissolution.

The latest tax return filed by Angel's Gate chief executive Susan Marino is for 2008 and was filed on April 31. It shows Angel's Gate received nearly $1.2 million in donations between 2003 and 2006.

The hospice is currently seeking new homes for the animals that currently live on the property, most of which are chronically ill and have special care requirements. On the hospice's Facebook page, Marino has been posting pleas for adoptive homes for the many cats that are still at the hospice.