Hmmm.

Something's not right here.

In a move that has surprised many people, the Animal Rescue League of Boston says it plans to close its Pembroke Animal Care and Adoption Center on Route 53 and sell the 9-acre property in May, less than five years after opening the $7 million facility.

Officials at the organization said they must sell the facility, considered one of the best animal shelters in the country, or work out a lease with a tenant to get their financial numbers back into the black.

I think something is seriously wrong here. Something seems funny (like, odd).

How could the League find itself in this predicament?

This is their defense:

The league blames the market downturn in 2001 for its recent financial woes, and says its endowment lost an estimated $20 million between 2002 and 2006.

Rigggght. You know, because the stock market has been so terrible, the past six years. The nation's been in such a deep depression. (For more on this, read this story, "Dow reaches 12,000 as corporate profits reach historic highs and unemployment rate plummets.")

In addition to closing their Pembroke facility, the League has also advertised its Boston property for sale, although no developers have responded, apparently.

Who knows the real story?

Source: In the red, shelter will close; Animal league cites a growing deficit - By Emily Sweeney, The Boston Globe