Damage from the March 27, 2024, U-Haul truck crash at the Kanawha-ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Humane Association is covered in plastic sheeting on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
These six puppies from the same litter, shown on April 17, 2024, are among the pets available for adoption at the Kanawha-ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Humane Association’s animal shelter.
The Kanawha-ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Humane Association is in a "state of emergency" and is in need of pet fosters after a U-Haul truck plowed into their building Wednesday morning, severely damaging it.
Repairs are expected to begin by the end of the month on the animal shelter that was badly damaged by a U-Haul truck three weeks ago — and shelter workers can’t wait.
“As of today, there are six cats in the building. There are 31 adult dogs and we have seven puppies. These are actually all just puppies that came in as strays by themselves. All of our mama-puppy combos are out in fosters right now, thank goodness,†community engagement manager Angie Gillenwater said.
The biggest concern, she said, is newborns, which are more vulnerable than older animals.
These six puppies from the same litter, shown on April 17, 2024, are among the pets available for adoption at the Kanawha-ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Humane Association’s animal shelter.
MARIA YOUNG | Gazette-Mail
“The neonates that would go to foster aren’t housed in the area that was hit by the U-Haul, but it’s still super important for us to move them out, to prevent diseases and anything they could catch in a shelter environment,†Gillenwater said. “Luckily, we have great fosters for our teeny-tiny fragiles, so we want to keep that momentum going and continue to get them out of here quickly.â€
195 animals relocated the day of the crash
A U-Haul truck, driven by a man who was coming to reclaim his pet, plowed into the building the morning of March 27, severely damaging it.
The community, Gillenwater said, has been amazing with its immediate support.
“That day, we moved 195 out, dogs and cats — it’s literally unheard of,†Gillenwater said. “When all was said and done that day, we had four or five adult dogs left in the building. Every single cat, every single puppy and almost every single adult dog was out of here.â€
“The community has been absolutely amazing, fostering dogs and adopting dogs, so we’re extremely fortunate that we’re not in a critical place that we just don’t know what to do,†KCHA board president Brady Campbell said.
Two sections of the building are “absolutely unusable at this point,†he added.
With puppy and kitten season looming, shelter workers are eager to get the facility up to full capacity as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the longer-range plan to find a new shelter — or a place to build a new shelter — has been on the horizon for “at least the last five years,†Campbell said.
“We’re certainly looking but, at this point, haven’t started any efforts to fund-raise or haven’t purchased any properties,†he said.
WOWK-TV first reported the Humane Association’s long-range plans to find a new, permanent shelter location.
Damage from the March 27, 2024, U-Haul truck crash at the Kanawha-ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Humane Association is covered in plastic sheeting on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
KENNY KEMP | Gazette-Mail
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