Ruff House Rescue to leave West Islip site by end of year

Ruff House Rescue must leave its West Islip headquarters by the end of the year or face eviction, according to a recent court settlement that coincides with an ongoing animal cruelty case against the rescue's owner. 

The rescue has operated out of a two-story building at 467 Higbie Lane since November 2022. Its landlord filed a petition in Suffolk County’s Fifth District Court to evict Ruff House in April, alleging the rescue broke its lease by “erecting structures” without permission.

Ruff House president Diane Indelicato, 61, was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty less than a month before that petition was filed. Indelicato pleaded not guilty in the case, which centers around the death of a dog at the rescue last November. She's due back in court on that charge on Thursday. 

Members of the public have submitted additional complaints about Indelicato to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office since her arrest, Newsday has reported.

On Aug. 14, Indelicato agreed the rescue would leave its building by Dec. 31 in order to settle the eviction case. The deal prevents Ruff House from being forcibly removed as long as it vacates the property in time, according to a court spokesman.

"The landlord is pleased that they're leaving cooperatively," said Gerald Glass, the property owner's attorney. "They only resolved this, we believe, because they had their backs to the wall."

Indelicato wrote in the settlement that she admitted no guilt and “generally denied” each allegation made by her landlord, whom she blamed for the code violations.

“The rescue has no violations with the building department," she texted Newsday. "We reached an agreement because his buildings are ... not zoned for our purposes." 

Code violations cited

Glass said "the basis for eviction" was Islip Town notifying the landlord of code violations.

The attorney alleged “fire code issues that were alarming to the landlord," including a stairway built without a town permit and animals being housed on the second floor. He contends Ruff House "erected the interior improvements that made it illegal" for the rescue to operate there.

Indelicato insists “we did nothing wrong." 

Failing to change the building's use to "animal rescue" was one of the four violations Islip flagged at the property in December, according to town spokesperson Caroline Smith.

The other three violations involved failing to get a permit for building alterations, occupying the second floor despite a town building inspector's prohibition and not having proper fire extinguishers. 

"Numerous reinspections were performed with no change," Smith told Newsday.

The settlement requires Ruff House to vacate the property's second floor by Sept. 30 and be entirely moved out by the end of this year. Glass said the deal gives Ruff House "time to relocate the animals."

Indelicato told Newsday "we're just leaving" but did not elaborate on her plans for the rescue or its remaining pets.

Criminal case ongoing

In the animal cruelty case, prosecutors allege Indelicato neglected a suffering dog, which later died at the rescue despite multiple warnings from volunteers, according to Suffolk County documents.

Indelicato denied neglecting animals in her statement to detectives. She said she was unaware of the dog’s health emergency and that she spends “every day dedicating myself to the animals.”

At least six former rescue volunteers also gave sworn statements for the case. They alleged further problems at the rescue, ranging from kennels being covered in excrement to dogs not being treated for conditions like heartworm.

A district attorney spokeswoman confirmed members of the public have submitted additional complaints about Indelicato. The office would not provide further details or say whether those complaints are being investigated.

Indelicato told Newsday her attorney, Jan Drew Goldman, was unaware of new complaints.

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.