A Houston animal shelter has been left crippled after vandals sabotaged its power supply, forcing it to halt operations. Houston Pets Alive had its lights back on by morning, but staff say the damage caused by the vandals will keep the shelter hobbled for some time. What should have been a normal week of caring for animals turned into a scramble to keep them safe and to recover from the loss.
The damage was no accident. Someone sliced an entire power pole open and took out several fuses from the very top of it. Reaching that point requires a very long pole, suggesting the act was carried out with purpose rather than on a whim. The way the power was cut pointed to someone who came prepared for exactly what they were doing.
Those who looked at the damage were convinced it was the work of someone who knew the job. According to the shelter, electricians who examined the scene agreed that whoever did this knew what they were doing and had all the right equipment. That assessment turned what might have looked like simple vandalism into something more deliberate and targeted.
The timing put a large number of animals at risk. At the moment the power was cut, there were about 50 cats inside the shelter, along with roughly 15 dogs. Losing power at a facility housing that many animals created an immediate problem for staff, who had to act quickly to protect the animals in their care.
To cope, the shelter moved its dogs out to foster homes. However, most of those placements are temporary, with the majority of the dog fosters expected to bring the animals back within the next 24 to 48 hours. As a result, the shelter says it will once again need dog fosters in the coming week, stressing that even a short placement of 48 hours would help.
The sabotage also hit the shelter financially. Its clinic runs from Monday through Thursday, so the loss of power meant losing all of the clinic revenue for the week. On top of that, refrigerators full of vaccines were lost when the power went out, and all of those medications and vaccines will now have to be replaced, adding yet another expense.
For now, the shelter has had to stop its work entirely, saying it cannot do anything for its shelters until the situation is resolved. Getting back to where it was before the vandalism will cost both money and time. The organization has posted a link on its website for anyone moved to help, whether by fostering animals or by supporting its recovery from the damage.