SPRINGFIELD – A local animal shelter and low-cost spay/neuter clinic received 600 foster applications this week after a storm badly damaged two of the buildings on the property on June 10.
A normal week might bring five to 10 such applications.
Adopting means permanent ownership of a pet, while fostering is providing a temporary home.
Deanna Corbin, who is executive director of the Animal Protective League, appeared modest and hopeful about the influx of applications when she took a moment to talk with The State Journal-Register in the midst of debris-clean-up and organizing supplies with a sea of volunteers on June 12.
“It is (surprising), yeah, we had a huge outpouring of people wanting to help the animals and that’s awesome because there’s a lot of animals in this community that still need help and need some place to go,” Corbin said.
The foster homes will allow the shelter to continue receiving animals from animal control, which might otherwise be euthanized, Corbin said.
The APL had housed 133 cats and 28 dogs that have since been moved to Sangamon County Animal Control, in addition to some other shelter partners, Corbin said.
APL is asking applicants to have patience because the organization does not have currently have a physical office space.
“It may not look like it used to for us, but we’re looking at setting up perhaps a temporary shelter in the future. We’re making those plans now, but we’re still going to need to find a lot of homes for animals,” Corbin said.
The storm, which the National Weather Service has not yet determined whether or not was a tornado, hit APL’s shelter building as well as its spay/neuter clinic.
Corbin said the shelter building “looks to be completely uninhabitable,” although insurance and adjusters will make that decision.
“The roof is totally gone…Some of the walls are out, the ceilings are all down, so we think that one’s going to be a total loss.”
Corbin believes the spay/neuter clinic will be considered a total loss, too, as the storm removed half of its roof and all the ceilings are collapsing. There’s lots of water damage, and trusses are damaged, too, she added.
Volunteers on June 12 cleaned up debris, worked to clear the roadways of trees, and organized supplies that were salvaged from the damaged buildings, plus newly donated items.
APL is receiving a lot of donations, but Corbin did not say how much was received. She said the APL is asking for monetary donations so the organization can buy things that they need at the moment.
Donations can be made online at apl-shelter.org. Checks are being received at 1001 Taintor Road, Springfield, IL, 62702.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Animal shelter gets hundreds of foster applications after storm damage
Reporting by Tom Ackerman, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Tom Ackerman, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
