Update 11/22 9:41 pm
I just got off the phone with Derrick. He counted so far 19 dead cats and 3 dead dogs. 2 of the dogs were burnt so bad that they can't tell who they are.
Can you please put something on the website's that it will take days before we can get back to everyone. I'm sitting here right now with 151 emails and I have no desire to look at them right now. I'm sick to my stomach and none of us are dealing well with this at all. We just need some time.
Please tell everyone to keep the living animals, the staff, and the ones that passed over the rainbow bridge in their prayers tonight. We thank everyone for their support and appreciate all their efforts on our behalf.
Sally
11/22/05 approximately 3:00 pm
It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write this post. I can't stop crying. We need help!
There's been a gas explosion at the Mason County shelter in Point Pleasant WV. It happened during the installation of the new heating system.
All of the following information was gathered in the first hour after the explosion. Details may change as things settle down and volunteers get there to help assess the situation.
All of the staff members made it out alive. Danielle, the shelter director, has suffered smoke inhalation from going back in to rescue animals.
Of all the cats/kittens at the shelter, only one made it out alive. It had to be resuscitated. No idea if it will live.
It is believed that all of the puppies died in the fire and smoke...the staff couldn't get to the puppy or cat rooms to pull them out.
They were able to get to the large dog kennels and pull out a lot of the dogs. They basically pushed them out the door and the dogs are running loose. Not all got out. Some died in the initial explosion, others probably of smoke inhalation. Initial estimate is that approximately 50-60 dogs were pushed out the door by the dedicated kennel staff who refused to give up trying to save them.
At the moment, the building appears to be a total loss. All they have is possibly the use of a few outside pens. The remaining dogs are being rounded up now.
It's cold in WV...there's no indoor place to house these animals.
Supplies needed (I'm sure this list will grow)
Dog food
Water & food bowls
Leashes & collars
They need a building...can someone in or near Mason County WV loan them the use of a vacant building until they can move these dogs out to rescues? For location purposes, their zip code is 25550. Shelter is located in Point Pleasant.
The rescues they work with on a regular basis have been contacted and hopefully will be able to take some dogs into foster care.
This is the home of the Mason County Animal Welfare League (MCAWL), a group of volunteers that have been trying to make this a no-kill shelter. If you've seen any posts about them recently, you know how hard they've been working to help these animals. Email contacts are volunteers who are not located at the shelter, so anyone wishing to help can still reach them via the email address on the website: MasonCAWL@yahoo.com
Here is the Petfinder site: http://masoncounty.petfinder.com
As we find out which dogs are alive, we will put the word ALIVE next to their name on the site.
To help or donate: http://www.petfinder.org/shelters/WV39.html
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