The Muhlenberg County Humane Society is looking for foster families after storm damages left nearly 80 dogs standing in water and half the shelter without power. Local organization Saving Paws Animal Rescue of KY (SparKy) is trying to help the animals find temporary relief and also move forward on the path to a permanent home.
While Daviess County largely made it through Sunday’s storms with minimal damage, Muhlenberg County suffered a greater impact from more severe weather.
Muhlenberg County Humane Society Director Natalie Dickerson said the roof over the quarantine portion of the shelter is leaking and out of power. The staff has been cleaning the shelter to the best of their ability, but some areas are totally unusable for now.
“We have some outdoor kennels to house dogs when the weather is prettier. Unfortunately, half of the roof is completely gone — like it’s in the field next to us — so we haven’t even attempted to use that part,” Dickerson said.
While the staff is trying to maneuver dogs around the damages, she said the best course of action is to find foster families to take in the dogs and cats while repairs are made to the shelter.
Dickerson said there is no limit to the number of animals a family can foster through their shelter at one time.
Dickerson said that any families living outside of Muhlenberg County who have fostered through another shelter in the past can make the process easier. They can request the animal be sent to that shelter, then complete the fostering process from there.
“It just makes it easier in the long run, so we don’t have 100 fosters in different places. … We still want (foster families to come to us) too, but if we can get the majority (of the animals) into another rescue, that would be easier for us,” Dickerson said.
Locally, John Austin at SparKy said they are hoping to be such a shelter for families in Daviess County and the surrounding area. Austin said that if there are any specifics people are looking for with the pet, SparKy can work to meet their needs.
“We’ll definitely help with the foster process and try to help find these dogs their forever home,” Austin said.
Dickerson and Austin said there is no cap on how long someone can foster a pet.
The shelter is expected to take weeks to repair.
“We still have to get our roof checked out. We still have to figure it out on the outdoor kennels. Hopefully, within 3 weeks, we can start getting on the road … but we don’t have a timeframe for how quickly we can get repairs done,” Dickerson said.
To contact someone at the Muhlenberg Humane Society, email them here. To reach someone from SparKy, email them here.
Austin said they would also accept donations for Muhlenberg in the form of food, furniture, or other pet-related items at SparKy’s location at 1004 East 18th Street.
