There's been a gas explosion at the Mason County shelter in WV
I just received this in an email from a friend of mine.
There is a video attached, but it's graphic and very sad:(
If you can help please do.
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.
(Update 11/23: Supplies are NOT needed at this time. We have food
and bowls for the dogs. Please consider sending cash instead.)
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. (Update 11/23: The recycling center
let us house dogs last night. THANK YOU! We will try to move them
out to rescues as quickly as possible.)
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@...
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
