Gas Explosion at Mason County Humane Society....HELP needed!!!

crittermom

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Not sure if this is the right forum to put this.So, if it is not, could a manger please move it for me

PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST - PLEASE CROSSPOST EVERYWHERE

11/22/05 approximately 3:00 pm

It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write this post. I can't stop crying. We need help!

There's been a gas explosion at the Mason County shelter in Point Pleasant WV. It happened during the installation of the new heating system.

All of the following information was gathered in the first hour after the explosion. Details may change as things settle down and volunteers get there to help assess the situation.

All of the staff members made it out alive. Danielle, the shelter director, has suffered smoke inhalation from going back in to rescue animals.

Of all the cats/kittens at the shelter, only one made it out alive. It had to be resuscitated. No idea if it will live.

It is believed that all of the puppies died in the fire and smoke...the staff couldn't get to the puppy or cat rooms to pull them out.

They were able to get to the large dog kennels and pull out a lot of the dogs. They basically pushed them out the door and the dogs are running loose. Not all got out. Some died in the initial explosion, others probably of smoke inhalation. Initial estimate is that approximately 50-60 dogs were pushed out the door by the dedicated kennel staff who refused to give up trying to save them.

At the moment, the building appears to be a total loss. All they have is possibly the use of a few outside pens. The remaining dogs are being rounded up now.

It's cold in WV...there's no indoor place to house these animals.

Supplies needed (I'm sure this list will grow)

Dog food

Water & food bowls

Leashes & collars

They need a building...can someone in or near Mason County WV loan them the use of a vacant building until they can move these dogs out to rescues? For location purposes, their zip code is 25550. Shelter is located in Point Pleasant.

The rescues they work with on a regular basis have been contacted and hopefully will be able to take some dogs into foster care.

This is the home of the Mason County Animal Welfare League (MCAWL), a group of volunteers that have been trying to make this a no-kill shelter. If you've seen any posts about them recently, you know how hard they've been working to help these animals. Email contacts are volunteers who are not located at the shelter, so anyone wishing to help can still reach them via the email address on the website: [email protected]

Here is the Petfinder site: http://masoncounty.petfinder.com

As we find out which dogs are alive, we will put the word ALIVE next to their name on the site.

PLEASE CROSSPOST EVERYWHERE
 

lizziesmom

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I was going to post but u did it for me. Thanks! Poor babies
I have to cammend all those volunteers running back in risking their lives to save the animals
 

momofmany

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Here's an update that I received this morning. Sadly, all the cats lost their lives. They are posting updates on the smallpaws site referenced about 1/2 down.

PLEASE CROSS POST AND SHARE WIDELY......

Dear Friends of the Animals -

Below is an update regarding the terrible fire that swept through the Mason County, West Virginia Shelter yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon and information for donations.

Please dig deep into your heart and into your purses and wallets to help our FRIENDS who have survived the explosion.
Prayers are needed, too, for those Animal FRIENDS who lost their lives and for those who are still alive. A special thanks to the volunteers who have rushed to the site to help and to the generous folks who have stepped up t o donate.

God bless the animals and the people who love and care for them.

*name deleted*


********************

From: "" <@scrolltech.com>
Cc: "@aol. com \\(E-mail\\)" <@aol.com>, <[email protected]>
Date: Wed Nov 23, 2005 9:38am
Subject: RE: Mason County, West Virginia - Some Good News





Donation information is already up on our site. Donations can be sent via PayPal or check.

Thanks

MCAWL Volunteer

Updates on the site

http://masoncounty.petfinder.com



Mailing list:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MCAWL



Donations will be needed for rebuilding. This area is VERY poor.



Donation info:

PayPal button on our website

http://masoncounty.petfinder.com



Mailing address for checks:

Mason County Animal Welfare L eague, Inc.
PO BOX 285
Point Pleasant, WV 25550



THANKS for anything you can do!



Mason County Volunteer



********************

-----Original Message-----
From: @yahoogroups.com [mailto:mad:yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of @aolcom
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 9:05 AM
To: @yahoogroups.com
Subject: CHAT: Mason Co. WV: WONDERFUL NEWS FROM THE SITE OF THE EXPLOSION


-------Original Message-------

From: @aol.com
Date: 11/22/05 22:44:23
To: @tampabay.rr.com
Subject: WONDERFUL NEWS FROM THE SITE OF THE EXPLOSION!

Tuesday Night 9:00 November 22, 2005

Dear Small Pawsers,

This is our final update tonight regarding a deadly explosion and fire at an
animal shelter in WV.
http://www.smallpawsrescue.org/pup3/nov2205b.html

This is the news story.
http://www.wtap.com/news/headlines/2006387.html

We have some GREAT news! 5 of the 8 puppies in the puppy room SURVIVED and
are going to be ok!

Only FOUR adult dogs lost their lives out of eighty! Some have been
recaptured and the rest are all running loose in the woods. There are no
highways near there so they just need to come back! Please pray they get
hungry enough to come back to the site!

Small Paws Angels Marian and Bob Steele are there now. I just spoke to
Derrick, the shelter director tonight and I am just in love with this young
man.
&nbs p;
He was there when the heating repair people were trying to repair the
furnace. The explosion blew the heater guy out of the building. He is the
one who was life flighted out. Derrick and the associate director, Danielle,
carried heater guy around front and then realized fire was all over the
shelter.

Derrick said, "After we got the people out, we started going in and just
grabbing puppies and opening cages of the adults and shooing them out. The
only puppies who died (4) died from the original blast. They were in the
room where it happened. No dogs died of smoke inhalation!

A Charleston reporter and photographer were at the Point Pleasant shelter
doing a story about the heating problems when the fire broke out. The two
helped shelter employees in the rescue effort.

Sadly, they did lose all of their kitties. The flames were to hot for them
to go in and save them. They tried and some of them were burned trying to go
back in.

He said they have a pile of 19 cats and three dog bodies there. That's when
had to talk to him. I couldn't help it..it just came out.

I told him that I'm not worried about the ones who didn't make it because I
know RIGHT WHERE THEY ARE TONIGHT, IN THE ARMS OF GOD, WHO IS HOLDING THEM
NEAR AND SAFE TONIGHT.

He listened. I told him that God loved him and all of these animals, and
that though he is in the valley now, God is caring for these lost creatures
and they are alright now. God is also caring for them...the people whose
hearts are breaking

Then he told me that he agreed and he too believed they were with God now.
He said that if he wasn't a spiritual person before today, he is now.

When our folks pulled up with hot food for 10 people...guess what...10
people, not 3-4 that we had been told about, were there, cold and hungry.
Derrick said he just couldn't thank us enough.

The lo cal McDonald's helped us to feed them, We bought 10 complete meals and
coffee, all for just $20.00.

Four other counties have stepped up to take dogs to their shelters for safe
keeping.

The building was insured so they will get a brand new building now...but
they do need some things in the meantime. They need a laptop computer, and a
digital camera to take pictures and get the dogs up on Petfinders.

Does anyone have an extra one of these lying around??


They are calling off the search for tonight. At day break they will hit it
again. They have our number and our assurance that we will help them with
what they need in immediate needs.

On a personal note, I want to thank all of you..the people who pray for
Small Paws..the people who volunteer for Small Paws..and the people who
donate to Small Paws.

I didn't know that we mi ght be needing to feed 200 people there tonight. I
didn't know that we wouldn't need to spend a couple of hundred dollars at
Walmart. We were ready to do that if we needed to...and that's due to all of
you. Thank you thank you thank you!

All My Love, R

P.S. This web site with the surviving dogs listed is being updated in the
morning. There are more survivors than previously thought! Thank God!
http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?act...WV39&preview=1
 

otisbird

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This is so sad

I applaud all who are helping.
I am on the west coast so too far away to help.
Have sent in donation though.
God bless those kitties!
 

xocats

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All of those sweet kitties going to the Bridge to soon.

RIP little angels.
 

ckatz

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How horrible. Those poor animals and it must be devasting to the people who cared for them. I will immediately make a donation. RIP kitties and dogs.


Cynthia
 
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