Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary, contracted to do dog control in Kent County, has filed for bankruptcy, leaving several creditors, including veterinary hospitals and kennels, with their own crushing financial losses, as reported by Delaware Online.
Most of the money is owed to companies that aided Safe Haven in their efforts to care for the sick and unwanted pets in Delaware.
Safe Haven, known as a no-kill shelter, made a move against several of its supporters when they euthanized 19 dogs before they shuttered in November.
Reportedly Safe Haven has tens of thousands of dollars in debt.
First State Animal Center and the SPCA are two of the creditors listed in the bankruptcy filing. The SPCA is the state's biggest animal control organization.
Safe Haven hoped that they could have been a leader in rescuing pets without performing euthanasia.
Wilmington-based shelter Faithful Friends is also listed in the bankruptcy documents. Faithful Friends is another shelter that works under a no-kill policy.
Safe Haven is a non-profit organization. Their bankruptcy was filed on January 28, just one day before the sheriff was due to sell off some of their property. A lawsuit filed by the construction company that built Safe Haven was also stopped with the bankruptcy filing.
The contractor that built Safe Haven's $3 million building is owed $148,000. They hoped that in filing the civil action they would stand a chance of getting the balance due.
According to meetings Safe Haven had with county officials, the shelter's managers told the county that they had ran out of funds because they had acquired more dogs than they were prepared for, including their new responsibility for taking in stray dogs for all of Kent County.
The owner of Selbyville's Delmarva Pet Resort, T.C., said, "I'm having a hard time paying my bills, because I didn't get paid. They owe me $62,000. I've got the bills. I held 70 dogs for them for four months, and they didn't pay." Delmarva is one of the unsecured creditors and is listed as being owed $28,094 from Safe Haven.
In Safe Haven's bankruptcy report there are debts listed for 20 other entities that total $386,300. There is another list, of all the creditors owed, however it doesn't list the monies owed to each. That list totals 130 companies and people that include volunteers, an executive director, the state's unemployment insurance fund, animal care companies and veterinarians.
The bankruptcy states that once the bankruptcy ends "there will be no funds available for distribution to unsecured creditors."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is owed $2.7 million and the County Bank in Rehoboth Beach is owed $500,000 – for two separate mortgages taken out on the property. If the land is sold in an auction these two creditors would probably be the first two to collect any money.
Contact a bankruptcy attorney to help you in any matters dealing with a business or personal bankruptcy. You don't need to suffer with crushing debt, let an attorney help you find a way to lighten your load.