BELLEVILLE, IL (KMOX) - "We woke up to video of the building surrounded by water, animals all standing in water." Jill Henke, Director of Community Programs, Gateway Pet Guardians describes the situation at St. Clair County Animal Services (SCCAC) in Belleville after torrential downpours Tuesday morning. Now the shelter is hoping to take in as many dogs from the county as possible.
"As far as we know... ...all the animals are alive," adds Henke. Gateway Pet Guardians is working on emergency shelter plans. She says the county animal control facility typically holds 60-70 dogs and cats.
"We were at capacity before the flooding," points out Henke. "We're going into emergency mode, which means we will have pop-up wire crates set up. We have a gymnasium, library, other rooms which are traditionally not used for animal care or animal sheltering, because obviously that scenario is far better than them standing in water without electricity."
Gateway Pet Guardians is looking for foster homes for at least a week, maybe longer, until SCCAC is back up and running.
In the meantime, the rescue is looking for volunteers and supplies. The most needed supplies are large wire crates, metal bowls, litter boxes and soft treats.
Donations can be made https://gatewaypets.org/donate/ or can be mailed or dropped off to the shelter located at 725 N. 15th Street, East St. Louis, IL 62205. If you are able to foster a pet, you can submit an application tohttps://gatewaypets.org/how-to-help/foster/.
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