On the morning of July 26, our local municipal animal control, St. Clair County Illinois Animal Control (SCCAC), was hit with massive, catastrophic flooding during a historic rainfall (10-12″) affecting the St. Louis, MO and Metro East area. With dogs standing neck deep in water, we teamed up with other local organizations to evacuate all the animals. Even with an already full facility, the majority of the displaced dogs were transferred into our care – dogs entering the shelter increased 2.5 times (150 percent intake increase). Our outreach team also went out on a rescue boat mission to reunite a Metro East woman with her three beloved pets, who were trapped in the flooded home. In the coming weeks, we anticipate that more displaced residents will need assistance (e.g., temporary boarding/housing, rescue, food, supplies) for their pets as they work to rebuild their lives. At this time, SCCAC is operating while under construction, and we will continue to partner with them closely to take in animals in need.
We are incredibly grateful and humbled by the outpouring of donations from many generous individuals and organizations – Banfield Foundation, Chewy, Covetrus, Greater Good Charities, Hi Pointe Drive-in, The Humane Society of the United States, Mutt Nation, Native Pet, PEDIGREE Foundation, Petco Love, Petfinder Foundation, Purina, Raising Cane’s, Safety National, Steve’s Hotdogs, Tiki Pets, Treats Unleashed, VCA Animal Hospitals and Virbac. Thanks to all the support, we were able to host a pet food giveaway for over 150 families affected by the flooding. We also participated in a multi-agency community resource event where we distributed 1,200 lbs of dog food and 300 lbs of cat food. The day of the flooding, we raised much-needed funds, which is still going towards the costs associated with the care, vetting (e.g., spay/neuter, vaccines, flea/heartworm treatment), food and other vital shelter/foster supplies for all the animals in our care, including the dozens of displaced dogs and cats from SCCAC. Additionally, we received over 1,110 foster request forms, as well as a handful of adoption submissions. It truly takes a village and we appreciate everyone who came through for our pet welfare community.
All media coverage surrounding this event can be found here.