ST. LOUIS — The Center for Animal Rescue and Enrichment of St. Louis (CARE STL) is looking for dog fosters while the shelter's roof is repaired.
"It's always something," CARE STL Director of Community Programs Abbey Ayala tells 5 On Your Side, "but the roof is now literally falling so we do really need some help."
Construction was not supposed to be a big issue for the shelter. "We were not aware that the damage was so severe," Ayala explained. "This is uncovering a lot of holes. It's been rainy so water is coming in through the roof. We were not expecting this much debris."
According to a Facebook post, CARE STL said they knew the roof was damaged but did not know how significant the damage was until it started raining again.
"Due to the ongoing rain and the shelter not being fully repaired yet, debris & dust are getting inside and making the building wet," the post said. "Our dogs are being affected by this situation."
The ideal situation would be to get all 70 dogs out of the shelter and into foster homes. Ayala says, "we expect construction to last another two weeks or so. So even if anyone could foster for two weeks, get an animal in a place where it can breathe well and not have dust falling on it, that would be amazing."
CARE STL also said they are looking for tarps to help cover kennels that are being exposed to the water and debris. They said the tarps must be at least five feet by 10 feet.
Tarps can be dropped off at CARE STL's adoption center located at 2700 Walnut Place. The facility is open from 1-7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.
In addition to the roof troubles, CARE STL has had to slow intake of animals in need due to space issues. "We are very much over capacity," Ayala worried. "We have a few outdoor kennels which we do not like to use, but right now we are forced to use those outdoor kennels."
In addition to putting the outdoor kennels into use, the team has also had to put a few animals in folding crates which are only used as a last resort. CARE STL says fosters, even just for the day, would help those dogs greatly.
If you're interested in fostering a dog from CARE STL, click here. If you're interested in adopting, click here.