EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — As dangerous heat continues to plague the Bi-state, Madison County Animal Care & Control says its air conditioning quit working.
The Metro East Humane Society said in a Facebook post Monday urging the public to help find fosters for the 17 dogs being kept in a kennel with only industrial fans to keep them cool. While the Animal Care & Control's cat holding room has a window unit keeping them cool, the dog kennel doesn't have windows to allow for units to be installed.
Employees at the Madison County Animal Care and Control were sent home early Monday after the AC unit quit working.
"I had reached out to the director down there, and she informed us that the air conditioning was out in the administration area, so like the office area, so the staff had to go home early because they were getting sick because it was so hot," said Anne Schmidt, Executive Director of Metro East Humane Society.
The Metro East Humane Society is right next door to Animal Control. Schmidt said they work closely with the facility and points out that there has never been AC in the dog kennels. That's why they posted on Facebook urging residents to contact county board members to fix the problem.
"We knew we needed to step up and do something about this. This has been ongoing for five years that they've been asking for there to be air conditioning in the kennel of which has not been approved in the budget," Schmidt said.
On Tuesday morning, county officials rolled in temporary AC units to animal control.
Madison County confirmed that Sunbelt donated a unit for the next few weeks. The county will then purchase a temporary unit for use during extreme heat.
The county said in a statement, "The dog kennels were built more than 30 years to be well ventilated. In the past five years there has never been an official or budgetary request for air conditioning in the dog area at the facility. An informal discussion took place last summer regarding temporary units to be used during periods of extreme heat."
The Madison County Board met on Tuesday night to discuss this issue.
"Continuing to put that pressure on the county board is still just as important as it was yesterday. Yeah, they have portable units in there right now. But something needs to be resolved," said Schmidt.
As of Tuesday morning, the Humane Society received more than 40 applications for foster animals. They asked people to hold off on applying for the rest of the day so they could process the rest.
Each month, animal control takes in 50-70 dogs and dozens of cats, according to their website.
Those interested in fostering a pet can click here to submit an application on the Metro East Humane Society's website. You can also call them at 618-296-6200 or email at foster@mehs.org.
People can also support the Humane Society as it takes in pets from Animal Care & Control by donating online or mailing donations to Metro East Humane Society, 8495 State Route 1143, Edwardsville, IL 62025.
If you'd like to donate HVAC services or portable units to the kennel, you can email Animal Control Director Katherine Condor at keconder@madisoncountyil.gov.
Tips for keeping your dogs safe in extreme heat:
- If you need to walk your dog, do so in the early morning or evening.
- Do the 10-second test with your hand. If the ground is too hot for you, it's too hot for your dog.
- Place booties on your dog.
- Monitor temperatures because heat stroke can set in at 80 degrees and above.
- Use a cooling vest that deflects heat and cools dogs through evaporation.
- Use cold, wet towels and spread them out for your dogs to lie or or stand on.
- Use rubbing alcohol, dab behind your dogs' ears, stomachs or their paws. Rubbing alcohol cools dogs down faster than water and can draw out heat.
- Use unflavored pediatric electrolyte solution for dogs to drink if they get dehydrated.
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