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'We can depend on you' | St. Louis steps up after flooded animal shelter puts out emergency call for fosters

"We are thankful for the volunteers who showed up to help and foster, and our new family who met us for the first time when you showed to help"

ST. LOUIS — A local animal shelter was overwhelmed with support after it put out a dire call for help Friday.

CARE STL said it was experiencing a sewage backup in its kennel area due to rapid snowmelt that created a blockage underneath the building.

"We are ripping up the floor this weekend to remove it. With the rain forecast this weekend, we do not anticipate having this resolved until at least Monday," said CARE STL in a press release Friday evening.

The shelter said it was covered in 3 inches of water and had 30 dogs that needed to get into foster homes until at least Monday. The backup also made them unable to do laundry. 

Within hours, the community stepped in to help.

"You show us over and over again that we are not doing this work alone, and that we can depend on you," the shelter said in a "love letter to St. Louis" posted to its Facebook page. "By 8 p.m., 32 dogs were safe in foster care. Our insurmountable pile of laundry was gone. Offers of help continued to come in.

"We are thankful for the volunteers who showed up to help and foster, and our new family who met us for the first time when you showed to help. And most of all, we are thankful for this amazing city community for sharing our need and showing up to take dogs and dirty laundry home."

The shelter said Saturday it has currently met its fostering needs, but those who would like to foster in the future can go to icarestl.org/foster. "Please allow a few extra days for a response as we go through the many applications we received in response to our call for help last night," the shelter said.

The shelter still needs help with laundry, so anyone who can pick up and clean a load is welcome. Pick up at the shelter will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, and the shelter will provide an update when all loads have been picked up. 

If you have contacts with a sump pump or would like to volunteer plumbing or contractor services, email development@icarestl.org.

For those looking to donate, click here.

CARE STL is located at 2700 Walnut Pl. in St. Louis.

RELATED: People urged to bring pets inside after volunteers discover dog, puppies frozen to death in St. Louis

The cold is also impacting homeless animals and outdoor pets in the area.

Another local animal shelter, Stray Rescue, is asking everyone to bring pets inside after finding frozen puppies earlier this month.

"Temperatures are deadly here in St. Louis and beyond. Doghouses and straw are not enough when it's below freezing. People have got to bring their pets inside. Today, we found frozen dogs," a spokesperson said in an email.

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