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Queens Animal Rescue Shelter Racing To Raise Money Before Lease Runs Out

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It's a race against the clock.

A Queens animal shelter forced to close its doors is searching for a new home for its business and the dozens of animals in its care, CBS 2's Diane Macedo reported Friday.

For nearly three years the Heavenly Angels Animal Rescue in Ozone Park has helped stranded animals find new homes. Now the shelter needs a new home of its own.

"Our landlord doesn't want to renew our lease, so we're in the process of trying to find a new place to go to, but it's hard to find the right amount of space for what we can afford as a non-profit," owner Lori Carpino said.

The rescue currently houses close to 100 dogs and cats that were abandoned or removed from abusive owners, breeders or kill shelters, Macedo reported.

"They take dogs that are all messed up. They bring them down here and these people get them straight," volunteer John Pickle said.

Once brought to the shelter the animals are then checked by a vet, spayed or neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and then tended to for any other medical care they might need.

"Here our overhead is roughly $7,000 a month and that's just for our rent and utilities and stuff like that, not including vetting and other stuff that the animals need," Carpino said.

The place makes ends meet with the help of donations and a constant influx of volunteers that clean cages, walk dogs, and do a variety of other jobs.

"Every month I bring 30 to 40 feet of newspaper," one volunteer said.

The shelter now aims to raise $10,000 to help fund the pending move.

"Five dollars from a hundred people really adds up and we need it. We need it to find the animals that we currently have homes and we need to move forward for the rest of the animals that we haven't saved yet," Carpino said.

In the meantime, the rescue will continue to search for an affordable new space, before its current lease expires at the end of the month.

Those interested in donating to Heavenly Angels can send a check to 97-14 Liberty Avenue, Ozone Park, NY 11417, or transfer funds via PayPal to harescue1@aol.com.

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