Volunteers rush to save animals at shelter during flood

Several animals drown as shelter floods, 600 others moved to fairgrounds

05:07 PM EDT on Wednesday, August 5, 2009

WHAS11 coverage


(WHAS11) - Witnesses say it took only minutes for floodwaters to rise nearly waist deep inside Louisville’s animal shelter.


But with only a dozen people, and nearly 600 animals, shelter workers couldn't get them all to safety in time.


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Authorities say one dog and nearly a dozen cats drowned Tuesday afternoon as the record breaking rains flooded many parts Louisville and Southern Indiana.


Grabbing as many as they could hold at once, workers and volunteers plucked animal after animal from dark, damp rooms and kennels, trying to rescue as many as they could of the nearly 600 animals that were at the shelter when floodwaters started pouring in.


Volunteers were trying to stack crates on top of each other to get animals out of the water, since the water level rose more than halfway up on the bottom row of cages.


"At this point, the problem is just trying to move everything, dry everything, then bring them back," said Dr. Gilles Meloche, Director of Metro Animal Services.

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Several animals drown as shelter floods