PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST - PLEASE CROSSPOST EVERYWHERE
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.
PLEASE CROSSPOST EVERYWHERE
Here's the news story
http://www.wvmetronews.com/index_forsub.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=13587
