The Fredericton SPCA reopened Monday morning after several pipes sprung leaks early Sunday morning, forcing the shelter to close for the day.
SPCA workers were especially concerned about the leaks because the pipes are located next to an electrical panel that controls much of the shelter.
“The electrical, we have to turn that off so there’s no power, so we have no heat, it’s cold out,” said Karen McGeean on Sunday. “So we’re good for a good 24 hours, but if we have to do anything further than that, then we’re in a situation where we may have to call in additional resources.”
McGeean spent much of Sunday at a previously scheduled fundraising event. Money raised at the event will now have to help pay the unexpected plumbing and electrical bills.
The Oromocto SPCA has offered to help the Fredericton shelter, and operators say others will likely respond too, but they say it’s a difficult time of year to be dealing with such an emergency.
“Everyone’s looking for donations at this time of year and it’s a great time of year for giving, everyone feels it’s the right time of year to give, but you’ve only got so much to spare and not everyone has a whole lot of extra at this time of year, so this is not a good time for something catastrophic to happen,” says Toni Read of the Oromocto SPCA.
“We rely 100 per cent on donations,” says McGeean. “We don’t get any provincial or government grants, so yeah, when money comes in we’re very, very lean with what we do with the money because most of it goes toward our animals.”
Shelter workers say the animals’ care was not affected by the issue.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell
