By John Brice
Correspondent
In a harrowing turn of events the Chattahoochee Humane Society shelter on Fairfax Bypass in Valley experienced a total loss of power on Saturday, November 25th of 2023. Dozens of rescued animals, many of them in the highly vulnerable early stages of life, were at risk due to unseasonably cold fall weather and a loss of means to heat the facility without electricity.
In a November 26th post to their official facebook page, CHS announced “An Update Has Been Posted!! CHS had a power outage yesterday and Alabama Power said our meter couldn’t handle the voltage. We are in need of immediate assistance from an Electrician, as we have a freezer, that CANNOT thaw. If anyone can help or knows someone, please contact me chatthumaneamber@gmail.com We will need a generator for our freezer and space heater as we have puppies that NEED the heat. Or if you are willing to FOSTER any of our smaller pups, please let us know asap. Thank you.”
Later in the day a subsequent facebook post stated “Power Outage Update! Everyone is okay! A fuse in the breaker box blew and caused an explosion. We do have an electrician to work with us to get out power back ASAP, but it will take a few days. If there is anyone willing to foster during this time as we do not have any heat inside of the building, we would greatly appreciate it!”.
Several local residents stepped forward to temporarily foster the youngest puppies, however, some of the older short haired dogs were still in dire need of means by which to survive the plunging temperatures.
Reflecting the urgent need, a facebook post stated “We’ve gotten fosters for a lot of dogs, but we will need STRAW (not hay or pinestraw) for the ones that are staying. If anyone is willing to donate please drop off today!!!”
In a comment on that post, it was noted that Ponder’s Nursery of Valley had come to the shelter’s aid by supplying straw to assist with keeping the animals warm. In a reply following that news it was remarked “Thank you so much Ponder’s Nursery, Valley AL…. They donated a great amount of straw to Chattahoochee Humane Society in Valley.”
Later that day, the electrical issues were resolved and the shelter was back up and running.