Dozens of animals at a no-kill animal shelter near Parlier were being sent to new homes Thursday after the shelter's manager decided she will likely have to close due to funding.
The Animal Lovers of Parlier has housed about 200 cats and dogs outside city limits, the manager said. Since it opened about two years ago, it's relied on funding from the city of Parlier to operate. But city cuts have put a strain on the shelter's available funding to operate.
Many of the shelter's animals were picked up by various animal rescue groups across the valley and state on Thursday. Some will be sent to other states, the manager said.
The animals have been a labor of love for Juanita Moreno.
"Yes, it's emotional. But they're safe. I'm happy. I'm happy. These wonderful people. They're taking animals," Moreno said.
Because of cuts in revenue, the City of Parlier reduced its monthly funding for the shelter last May from $5,000 down to $1,000. That forced the shelter to rely more on donations and volunteers to continue to operate, Moreno said.
City Manager Lou Martinez told CBS47 on Thursday that the city held an account that was used to collect donations to help the shelter pay its bills. But after the city's former finance director was gone, employees discovered the account was $18,000 short.
Martinez says receipts show all of the money was spent on legitimate animal services. Now, the city is asking Moreno to pay the money back even though she claims she wasn't the person writing the checks.
"It's just that it was city money that was spent and not donation money. And we want to make sure that we're not... it wasn't placed some place else that... we need to find it," said Martinez.
Moreno told CBS47 that without city money, she can't survive on her own while the $18,000 is paid back each month using the $1,000 the shelter gets from the city. She's decided she will likely have to close the shelter down.
Volunteers with several animal rescue groups say they're more than willing to step in and help take the animals off Moreno's hands. They just wish it never had to come to this.
"I think it's very sad that the community is allowing this to happen. You know, we need to be taking care of our animals and it's just sad," said Linda Guthrie, Animal Rescue of Fresno.
Martinez says Parlier's new finance director started on Wednesday. If city leaders are able to find the $18,000 somewhere in the city's budget then the shelter would be off the hook to pay it back, he said.
If the shelter closes, some wonder how the decision will affect the city's stray animal population. The city is only controlled by one animal control officer, leaders said.