Huntley shelter seeks homes for flood animals
The Animal House Shelter in Huntley usually gets about 200 e-mails a day listing cats and dogs that will be killed if the no-kill shelter doesn't take them in.
After the spring flooding that left farms and towns in the Midwest underwater, the number of e-mails more than doubled.
The floods stranded many pets in Iowa, Southern Illinois and Missouri and filled local shelters with animals, many with medical issues and injuries.
To help save and recuperate the animals, the Animal House Shelter has taken in about 80 cats and dogs from flooded areas.
The shelter, which holds about 300 cats and dogs, is seeking adoptive families for the pets so it can save more animals.
"The more productive we are at finding adoptive families, the more we can save," fundraising director Jacci Richards said. "If you've been thinking about adoption, now is the time."
The Animal House Shelter is also seeking donations to cover the rising cost of caring for the animals displaced by the floods.
The shelter spends, on average, $20,000 a month to provide veterinary care for its animals. But because of the new animals from the floods, veterinary expenses are "skyrocketing," Richards said.
"They're infested with fleas and ticks - infections - open wounds where the animals have been attacking them," Richards said.
Some of the animals are victims of abuse or neglect, like Lonesome Dove, a Weimaraner that someone doused with battery acid, Richards said.
"His back is scarred to the skin from the top of his neck to his tail," Richards said. "It's inconceivable that someone would be so cruel to an animal."
But families looking to adopt shouldn't have to worry about large veterinary bills. Many of the medical issues are minor, and animals must be healthy before the shelter can place them in homes.
"We do whatever they need to have done medically," Richards said.
The shelter has placed about 8,700 cats and dogs since it opened in 2001.
You can check out the animals or make a donation by visiting www.animalhouseshelter.com, updated daily, or by stopping in the shelter at 13005 Ernesti Road, Huntley.