DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A former assisted-living center and animal rescue in Daytona Beach is facing eviction. The owners said they desperately need to find a home for close to 100 animals.
“We have to get out Tuesday because they’ll lock us out Wednesday,” Shoshannah Tempest said.
The 28-bed facility once known as “Compassion in Healthcare” on Beville Road homed senior residents and their pets for decades but now the nearly 100 animals are the only residents left. Some are still former residents’ pets, while Tempest took in others.
“We wrapped a rescue around it as well,” she said.
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Tempest said they were hit hard by COVID-19 lockdowns; they couldn’t take any more resident admissions and the remaining residents were relocated.
“We couldn’t relicense. We wanted to rehab the building, but we just came out of a pandemic, and that really destroyed our business,” she said.
Then, damages from hurricanes Ian and Nicole in the fall forced them into bankruptcy.
The building and two adjoining properties were then sold in foreclosure in June. The company who bought it wants them out by Wednesday along with their nearly 75 cats, 15 birds, four dogs, a 250-pound tortoise, and a chinchilla.
“The cats are the big concern right now. I have moms with babies that I don’t want to split up,” Tempest said.
Almost every Volusia County shelter she’s contacted is full.
Ideally, Tempest would like to find another building for the animals to relaunch another rescue or team up with a rescue.
“I believe there will be something I can do. Some place. Just some ventilated building for now that I can use. Maybe a modest lease or something and keep my cats there,” she said.
The 72-year-old said she and her partner, Mike, would even work it for free.
“We’re willing to work 24/7. We did it 30 years, and we still have some vim and vigor even at our age,” she said.
Halifax Humane Society, Inc. is stepping in to help Tempest, who shares the same passion for animals as the organization, a Facebook post reads.
Anyone interested in donating to the efforts can click here.
If you know any other rescue organizations that could help, anyone willing to take on quite a few animals or have a location available for lease, Tempest said to contact her directly at 386-295-1798 or email her at shoshannahtempest1@gmail.com.
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