MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — Volunteers stepped up to help with flooding at an animal shelter so rescuers could go save some newborn kittens that were stuck in a window well.
True Rescue in Mt. Juliet helped house displaced animals from the Waverly flood, as well as Hurricane Ida Evacuees from Louisiana, and now they need some help themselves.
On Saturday water was pouring into the shelter. "[It] quickly flooded our atrium where we keep some of our kitty cats," said Executive Director Amy Simcik.
She said there were several inches of standing water. Some cats jumped to higher ground while others played in it. "Some people were laughing because we had towels laying down, and before we knew it, the water was really gushing in, it looked like a really sad attempt to stop the water, but it came in so quickly," Simcik said.
They put out a call for help and volunteers jumped into action. "We had a carpet company come out here on their day off, Quality Carpet Cleaners, and they brought fans, they brought the wet-dry vacs," Simcik said.
While the shelter was flooding, they had to respond to an emergency rescue. A cat and her newborn kittens were in a window well during heavy rain. Hopefully, the rescued kittens will be up for adoption in a couple of months.
"When we finally decompressed from it and realized how amazing that was, for the community to give, to allow us to go out in the community and give, it was very overwhelming, our team is just beyond grateful," Simcik said.
On Monday, the water started seeping into the building again. Now, they're trying to find a way to stop the flooding. "It's going to cost upward of $15,000 to get a new drainage system," Simcik said. "It’s a little tough."
They're hoping they'll be able to fix it with the community's support. "We are actually having our grand opening October 9th, and come hell or high water, we are having it," Simcik said.
They're accepting donations through a Paypal account.
Originally, they were based in Lebanon but just moved to Lebanon Pike in Mt. Juliet to have more room. They plan on doing renovations eventually, too.
