Animal rescue group devastated after 10 puppies drown in Missouri flash flooding
More than 8 inches of rain fell over portions of eastern Missouri on Tuesday
Missouri animal shelter hit by historic flooding mourning loss of puppies
Jennie Miller of Stray Paws Animal Rescue says her animal shelter will have to rebuild after ten puppies drowned due to floodwaters. Miller tells FOX Weather that fifteen adult dogs have been safely transported over to Animal Talk Medical Center in Wentzville, Missouri.
ST. PETERS, Mo. – Flash flooding created by a foot of rainfall that impacted eastern Missouri Tuesday morning was too much for members of a dog rescue group to save all the animals inside a non-profit’s facility outside of St. Louis.
Stray Paws Rescue staff members said ten puppies drowned at the facility, but first responders were able to save more than a dozen other dogs.
"We found out about a quarter to six this morning. And so we were running and trying to get to the facility. But unfortunately, some of the roads were closed. And by the time that we got word, it was way too late," said Jenny Miller, a member of Stray Paws Rescue team.
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In only a matter of hours, the news about the disaster went worldwide, and the organization said they have been overwhelmed by the support.
"Everybody is reaching out and offering their services. And unfortunately, we can’t answer everybody. Our main focus is getting the dogs into foster homes, the 15 of them to foster homes," Miller said.
The rescued dogs were checked out by a veterinarian and are said to be doing okay.
Stray Paws Rescue specializes in saving dogs from area kill shelters and, as of Tuesday evening, had already received hundreds of requests for adoptions.
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Some areas around St. Louis saw over a foot of rain in less than 48 hours.
(FOX Weather)
The rescue group said in addition to prayers, donations will be needed to fix the damage.
"And then once we can get into there, because the water is still high, we will have to clean out and assess and see if we’ll be able to rebuild there or not," Miller said.
If you would like to donate to the non-profit, visit: https://www.straypawsrescue.com