ST CHARLES, Mo. — The Elm Point Animal Hospital community is hurting after losing a dog as the basement flooded in a matter of minutes. The staff’s heroic efforts helped save the lives of 30 pets.
“They were panicking because they thought they were going to lose their lives initially,” Daniel Lang, co-owner said. “The water was going up so quickly and they couldn't get out either. There are two exits in the basement.”
Lang is happy other pets or staff members weren’t injured severely. One person was hospitalized as a precaution. Lang said the emotional scars of the incident are his biggest concern but overall he and other staff members are keeping spirits high as crews dry out the building.
Lang said the family of the dog has been notified.
“You expect your dog to be boarded here and be healthy and come back in a week and pick it up,” Lang said.
The flooding was so intense, that it bent the metal exterior door leading to the basement.
“Our fence has been damaged in the back,” Lang said. “The two metal doors were bent in the back. It's just amazing what mother nature can do.”
The property runs alongside Cole Creek which overflowed due to record rainfall overnight.
On the other side of the creek and down the road, the Deerfield Village neighborhood also were the victims of a swollen Cole Creek.
“I have insulation problems under my house it’s all down,” Ronald Altemueller, a neighbor said. “I lost all my landscaping timber. Lost some siding. If I have to do all the labor it’s $7,000. If I have to hire a contractor, it's about 15. (The insurance company) said they won't cover it.”
He’s been in the neighborhood for 35 years and said Tuesday morning’s floods were the worst he’s ever experienced. He’s just thankful his car wasn’t damaged like his neighbors whose vehicles were submerged under flood waters.
“We have to fight it,” Altemueller said. “See if we can come up with the money somewhere.”
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