- April 26, 2024
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About 150 cats and dogs are sweltering at the Flagler Humane Society, which, since Monday, has had two broken air conditioning units and needs money to repair them.
“They’re saying $15,000, and it’s so far beyond what you budget for in a year,” Director Amy Wade-Carotenuto said. The shelter has already replaced three other air conditioning units within the last two years, she said.
The two broken units are specially designed to bring in outside air instead of recirculating air already inside the facility, a measure designed to help with disease control, Wade-Carotenuto said.
They need compressors, bearings and motors. The shelter has already ordered the parts, and they should come in a few days, Wade-Carotenuto said. But the shelter still needs more money to cover the cost of the repairs.
For now, there are about 100 cats and 45 dogs stuck in parts of the shelter that don’t have air conditioning, and shelter staff said they’ve seen them panting on hot afternoons.
“We’re doing our best to keep the animals confortable,” Wade-Carotenuto said. Staff have set up fans to blow air from parts of the building with air conditioning into the areas that don’t have it.
But people visiting the shelter aren't staying as long because it's so uncomfortable, Wade-Carotenuto said, and that's making it harder for the animlas to find new homes.
The condition of the air in animal shelters — laden with kitty litter dust, fur and residue from various cleaning agents — wears down air conditioning units, she said.
To donate to the Flagler Humane Society, call 986-2520, visit http://www.flaglerhumanesociety.org/donate/ or send a check made out to the Flagler Humane Society at 1 Shelter Drive, Palm Coast, FL 32137.
