ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ill. – The recent flooding around St. Louis left more than just humans displaced from their homes. Gateway Pet Guardians fostered out 68 dogs during the week of flooding, with more than 30 dogs being rescued from St. Clair County Animal Control after it began to severely fill with water. The weather forced the animals to swim their way out to safety.
“We asked the community to rally around us; these dogs from St. Clair County Animal Control literally swam out of the building because it was flooding that bad. They swam to safety, got into vans, and then came to our facility,” Amanda Loellke, the adoption and foster manager at Gateway Pet Guardians.
20 dogs are now back at the shelter from their temporary stays, in rotation for their next foster family or adoption plans, keeping this already bustling shelter at overcapacity.
The Gateway Pet Guardian website states their mission is to “keep families together and prevent owned pets from entering an already crowded shelter system by reimagining what animal rescue really means.”
Loellke told FOX 2, “Once we empty our shelter, we fill them right back up because there is a constant need for animals to be rescued in the community. There is a nationwide crisis going on and our shelter is always overcapacity.”
Through the end of July, adoption fees for cats and dogs at Gateway have been reduced to only $50 through the BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Empty the Shelter campaign.
There’s no appointment needed for adoptions or fostering, so the shelter wants the public to feel free to drop by the building whenever they’re ready to take the next step.
The shelter is located at 725 N. 15th St. in East St. Louis, open Tuesday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
For any questions surrounding the adoption process or hosting a shelter dog, email placement@gatewaypets.org. Donations can be dropped off at the shelter or mailed.
“If you’ve been thinking about fostering or ever adopting, now is a wonderful time because you’re not only saving one dog or one cat; you’re saving another because you’re opening that kennel for them. And if you want to foster instead of adopt—to just kind of get your toes wet, we supply everything for you: the vet care, the kennel, the food, the supplies—we provide everything for you. We have a super great team of stiff members and volunteers to support you along the way,” Loellke added.
