A no-kill animal shelter in Vaudreuil-Dorion, SPCA West, says it needs help recovering from a "disaster" after a flood caused major damage to more than 70% of its walls and floors.
"Last thing we expected when coming to work yesterday morning, is to open the doors to 2 inches of water running through and flooding the SPCA. A water pipe burst over night, and [a] huge amount of water made its way through the entire shelter," SPCA West wrote in an email dated August 13.
SPCA West's executive director, Remi Brazeau, told MTL Blog the animals doing well and no one got hurt. Brazeau said another shelter, Auberge Refuge Zen in Laval, stepped in quickly to take the animals to a dry new home.
But Brazeau also said the insurance policy will likely only cover a very small portion of the damages and lost items. According to SPCA West, the damage will be "well into the six figures," but the insurance policy will cover a maximum of $7,000.
"We are insured. The problem we face is more complex than just a call and bang they solve it. It's about establishing responsibility, who did the work and which insurer will cover what and to what extent," SPCA West posted on Facebook.
The post says there's an ongoing debate about who the insurance will deem responsible for the incident: the SPCA, the manufacturer of the burst pipe, the contractor from when the place was built, and so on.
"Meanwhile, we are stuck in the midst of this and need to rebuild while this debate continues and can last weeks or even more, we are told," the post says.
Brazeau told MTL Blog the shelter is "desperately needing financial help to get things fixed up." The team has launched a donation campaign and those wishing to donate can do so online.
Meanwhile, Jessica Prince-Chenier, who works for Refuge Zen, said the shelter has space for the seven dogs and 10 cats it took in from the SPCA West. But she said they could use donations of dog toys and cat litter.
You can see the dogs and cats that are available to adopt from Zen Refuge on Facebook.
