BILLINGS — As the temperatures dropped to document lows outdoors, the lately redone outside canine space at Help for Homeless Pets felt the consequences.
“The water was frozen, the heat was not working out there,” the operations supervisor on the shelter, Ashley Burling, stated on Monday. “It was actually really rough, a lot of panic.”
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The heaters not working within the outside space, which holds 10 dogs, prompted the world to change into so chilly that the dogs’ water froze. The outside space, which the shelter workers calls a canine run, is a coated shelter, much like a shed.
The shelter is overcrowded already with 100 cats and 37 dogs, so that they had no house inside the primary shelter to place the dogs. Consequently, the shelter wanted outdoors help.
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“Every winter, we haven’t had trouble before. (The outdoor area) kept everything nice and warm, but this, it wouldn’t do it,” stated the shelter director, Angie Cook.
For the protection of the animals, the shelter workers put out a name for fosters and heaters, and the group instantly responded.
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“The community stepped up so fast, that I couldn’t even keep up on my phone,” Burling stated.
The shelter fostered out six dogs instantly, and a number of heaters had been donated. The dogs at the moment are in a position to be again within the outside space, due to the assistance of the group.
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Right earlier than the chilly hit Billings, Help for Homeless Pets was asking the group to search for a automobile that was allegedly stolen from one among their volunteers whereas that volunteer was dropping off cats on the PetSmart within the Heights.
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“That was in the mix of everything so, but the main focus was to make sure all the animals were warm and taken care of. As warm as they could be,” Cook stated.
Kristin Sclavi is a volunteer with Rez Dog Rescue Montana and stated their organization was busy at work and took in 17 puppies earlier than the temperatures dropped.
“They won’t survive this kind of weather,” Sclavi stated. “We will be going back out once this cold snap goes away, and going and seeing what we can find as far as, you know, if there’s injuries, frostbite, hypothermia, that kind of stuff.”
Both organizations are in determined want of fosters, adopters and donations.
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“Secondarily, if you cannot foster or adopt, food is always good,” Sclavi stated.
Help for Homeless Pets additionally stated they want blankets, buckets for meals and financial donations to assist with the massive utility payments they’ve in the course of the winter months.
