Air conditioning, HVAC systems, and boilers are now up and lifted from the ground and floors at the Stafford Animal Shelter, one of the new precautions the shelter made following the Historic Flooding of the Yellowstone River.
Executive Director of Stafford Animal Shelter Lauren Smith said that everything needed to be replaced following the disaster.
“Just being prepared is the number one thing,” Smith said. “We’ve started a standby foster list because we’ve been in and out of small flood warnings.
Smith went on to note that the shelter did not have flood insurance and was thankful to everyone that contributed to Stafford during their recovery effort.
$800,000 was raised to get the shelter back up and running, and in October they were able to open their Dog Barn for adoptions. Since October, there have been 500 animals adopted from Stafford.
“It was amazing to see how many people came together to get this place back on its feet, and how quickly,” Kristin Oxford said.
Oxford, who grew up in the Flathead area, has been living in Livingston for years with her husband and recalls hearing that the Stafford Animal Shelter was in trouble.
“It was really surreal; it was hard to see the flooding at Stafford especially, because your heart goes out to the critters, and everyone was working so hard to make sure they were in foster homes really quickly. My husband and I were just really struck by the extent of the damage,” Oxford said.
