In The News

Humane Society of Missouri Pet Cooling Center provides relief for pet owners without power

The Humane Society thanks for their generous support.

At the first sound of thunder rolling in last Wednesday evening, Humane Society of Missouri President Kathy Warnick and Vice President of Operations Debbie Hill were concerned about area pets and people. By 5:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, they had placed calls to Humane Society administrative staff and statewide investigators to assess the level of the situation. On Hill's way into the city, she stopped by Longmeadow Rescue Ranch to check on the animals and staff. By that time, 500,000 residents had lost their electricity and weather forecasts indicated this would be the hottest day of the year.

“We knew early Thursday morning that the St. Louis area was in an emergency situation,” said Debbie Hill. “And we knew that meant pets were in danger of dying due to the unusual combination of extreme heat and widespread power outage.”

Fortunately, The Humane Society of Missouri headquarters at 1201 Macklind only lost power for a few minutes at a time. Staff and volunteers helped to quickly transform the adoption center into a Pet Cooling Center, free of charge, for dogs, cats, birds and other pets. From Thursday through Sunday, the Humane Society suspended normal adoption operations and opened its doors to pet owners without electricity during a declared heat emergency.

Just minutes after the announcement about the HSMO Pet Cooling Center aired on area radio and television stations, Humane Society dispatch fielded calls from pet owners desperate for a place to keep their pets cool. Many would not go to cooling centers themselves without knowing their pets would be safe, too. Thursday and Friday, close to 600 area pets arrived at the shelter. Staff and volunteers welcomed owners and pets, registered them into our system and escorted them in the available kennel areas. When this space filled, crates, supplies and staff were deployed to the dog training room, employee lunch room and the lecture hall to transform them into temporary pet shelter facilities. Cats and small animals were kept in one area, puppies and small dogs in another, and larger dogs went to the large lecture hall. We provided shelter for these pets in addition to more than 500 homeless animals already staying at the Humane Society.

“Humane Society staff and volunteers along with volunteers from outside organizations staffed the Cooling Center 24 hours a day for both receiving and pet pick-up,” said Cyndi Nason, Adoption Center Manager.

After hearing about the power outages in St. Louis, volunteers from as far as Chicago drove in to help out at the Humane Society. Representatives from Animal Nation, Step Up, and a Sheltie Rescue Group as well as our own wonderful HSMO volunteers showed up to walk dogs, clean cages and assist shelter staff.

By Saturday, the weather cooled off and power was restored to more than 200,000 St. Louis residents. The Humane Society requested that owners pick up their pets if they could safely take their pets home. Of course, pet owners who were still without power and had no cool place to stay could leave their pet at the shelter.

Sandra Wilcox was one such pet owner. She left her cats, Lily and Bandit at the Humane Society late Friday afternoon. She was still without power on Sunday, but she visited her feline friends at the shelter for more than two hours. “I’m just thankful that the Humane Society offered my cats a place to stay cool,” said Sandra. “ I just wish I was taking them home today.”

On Monday, the Humane Society reopened its adoption center and it was business as usual. The almost 600 remaining pets staying cool at the shelter dwindled down to a little more than 80 as pet owners returned to pick their much missed pets and bring them home.

Meanwhile, Debbie Hill and Tim Rickey, assistant director of Rescues and Investigations, have been working with Missouri’s State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to organize an official plan for emergency animal response to put in place for future disaster situations.

“Our staff has extensive emergency response experience from responding to the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to Midwest tornadoes,” said Hill. “We handled the dangerous heat and power outage situation based on that experience.

Warnick praised Humane Society staff and volunteers. “Many of us have been without power for a number of days ourselves. Our pets came here, too. Yet, we rallied to quickly respond to this very real community need. I am very proud of the tremendous job performed by our dedicated staff and volunteers.” Warnick added, “We are very pleased that we could provide this community service and expect that we will be there for people and their pets in future emergencies.”

Make a donation now to help us meet this
unanticipated expense.

To report an animal in heat-related jeopardy, please call the Humane Society of Missouri at (314) 647-4400. For information on how to care for your pets during the summer months, click here.

For last year's news stories, click here. For information on previous rescues,
read our Rescue Diaries.