GEORGETOWN, Del. — The Brandywine Valley SPCA is asking for emergency fosters and donations after a historic blizzard over the weekend knocked out power and caused significant damage to its two Georgetown campuses.
The Animal Rescue Center and the Georgetown Shelter and Animal Health Center remained closed Tuesday, Feb. 24, following the massive snowstorm. Both locations sustained damage to the grounds and experienced extended power outages.
Power has been restored to the Georgetown campus, but it remains out at the Animal Rescue Center. With the state of emergency lifted to allow travel, the Brandywine Valley SPCA is calling on the community to foster dogs from the ARC.
People who live there and others interested in fostering can go to the Animal Rescue Center at 19022 Shingle Point Road between noon and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. No advanced registration is required. Staff will provide instructions and help match each foster home with a dog for short-term placement.
“We are grateful to our dedicated staff and volunteers who have been working around the clock to ensure the animals in our shelters have been cared for during the storm, but with the extended power outage and extensive damage our locations have sustained, we need the community’s help now more than ever,” said Adam Lamb, BVSPCA CEO. “Welcoming a dog into your home for a few days will help give these dogs a safe place to stay and allow our teams to focus on cleaning up and repairing storm damage.”
Those unable to foster can support recovery efforts by dropping off towels and blankets at any Brandywine Valley SPCA location or by making a donation to help cover long-term repairs.
“While the priority right now is moving the dogs into foster, we have a long road ahead of us to repair the damage left in the wake of this storm,” Lamb said. “We will also be looking into installing emergency generators to prepare for future storms like this and would need more financial support to make that possible.”
More information and a link to donate are available at https://bvspca.org/news-events-resources/sussex-storm-recovery.