Cornell in talks with local officials to build new animal shelter and clinic

Ithaca, New York

-- Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine is talking with county government officials and a local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to build an emergency animal shelter and clinic. No official plans have been inked at press time.

Plans are calling for construction of the emergency animal shelter and clinic on a 15-acre site owned by the Tompkins County SPCA. The reports indicate that the clinic would be operated by Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine.

But Stephanie Specchio, a spokesperson for the college, says the project is only in the "talking stages" now, and that any role the veterinary college might play in the new animal-care campus has not yet been defined.

"It's fair to say that we will do something, but I'm not sure what it is at this point," Specchio says.

The college may pledge some involvement through its shelter outreach program, she says, which allows residents, students and researchers to get hands-on experience through a network of core shelters.