The AC broke at an animal shelter. People lined up out the door to foster pets.
Katie Boord was scrolling through Facebook on Monday evening, enjoying the aroma of the chicken macaroni and cheese her husband was cooking, when a post appeared on her phone that made her panic.
An animal shelter in Derwood, Maryland, wrote: 'URGENT: Short-Term Fosters Needed for Shelter Animals.' The shelter's air conditioning was broken, the shelter said, putting hundreds of animals at risk of heat exhaustion.
'I have to do something,' Boord recalled telling her husband, Sean Clayton.
'Go ahead,' Boord recalled Clayton replying. 'I'll keep dinner warm.'
Boord rushed to the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center from her Rockville, Maryland, home, joining dozens of others who came on short notice to foster animals after seeing the shelter's message.
Boord left with three cats named Sponge Bob, Sandy Cheeks and Gary. The trio was among the roughly 70 animals who were fostered from the shelter this week as Montgomery County employees worked to fix the air conditioning amid a heat dome — a heat-trapping lid of strong high pressure — that brought extreme humidity and temperatures around 100 degrees to the D.C. area.
Maria Anselmo, the shelter's community relations manager, said employees didn't expect such a large outpouring of help.
'Half of us probably cried at some point over the past couple days [from joy],' Anselmo told The Washington Post.
When employees reported to the shelter Monday morning, Anselmo said, the air conditioning wasn't working. They called the county's Department of General Services, which found a broken air-conditioning motor that could be fixed in about 24 hours.
Shelter employees set up fans and cooling mats throughout their building. They froze Kong dog toys and limited their animals' time outdoors.
Employees emailed former foster volunteers for help. But they realized that wasn't enough people, Anselmo said, so they posted on social media in the late afternoon Monday.
'We're urgently seeking short-term foster homes for dogs and cats,' the shelter wrote, adding: 'Even a weekend foster makes a difference. You'll give a shelter pet a much-needed break from the heat and help us free up space during this critical time.'
As hundreds of Montgomery County residents and Maryland animal lovers shared the post, people began showing up at the shelter within minutes. The shelter's phones wouldn't stop ringing. Soon, a line formed outside the front door.
While the shelter usually asks foster volunteers to complete an application and schedule an appointment to meet employees and animals, the staff simply asked Monday for each volunteer's ID, address, phone number and email.
'We had so many people just show up who were ready to jump in and help that we weren't going to turn those people away,' said Anselmo, 37.
After Boord arrived that evening, she said, she waited about an hour for employees to give her three cats who had come to the shelter from the same home — Sponge Bob and Sandy Cheeks, both of whom are around 2 years old, and Gary, about 10 months old. Boord and Clayton already had an 8-year-old cat, Fillion, at home.
While Boord was at the shelter, Clayton set up their guest room for the foster cats with cat food, a litter box, water bowls, toys and a cat bed. While the cats were initially scared, they began playing with a spring toy the next day, and Gary, who initially wouldn't come out from his light blue blanket, cuddled with Boord, 34, a special-education teacher.
At the shelter, employees worked until around 10 p.m. Monday. One of the many calls they received came from Debbie Lauer, who saw the shelter lost air conditioning while watching the evening news as she ate a chicken skewers dinner. Lauer had wanted to foster a dog since she retired last month from the National Security Agency.
On Tuesday, Lauer's 67th birthday, she drove about 16 miles south from her Mount Airy, Maryland, home to pick up Princess Daisy, a roughly 1-year-old terrier mix with a white and brindle coat.
'It's just feeling like you're doing something good,' Lauer said. 'I'm glad I did it. I will continue to do it.'
The county fixed the shelter's air conditioning Tuesday, and the shelter emailed fosters that afternoon to say they could return the animals. But Ilya Albert, who began fostering Teton, an 11-month-old brown cat, on Monday, didn't want to say goodbye.
Albert and his wife, Jessica DePrest, had considered adopting a cat since their longtime cat, Jones, died last month.
At their Rockville home, Teton cuddled with DePrest, jumped atop their cat trees and purred when they picked him up. When Albert's 6-month-old daughter, June, pulled Teton's whiskers, Teton seemed unbothered.
'He felt like he was already a family member,' said Albert, 37, who works in marketing.
Albert told the shelter Wednesday he and DePrest wanted to adopt Teton. They renamed him Jake — based on the cat from the 1978 movie 'The Cat From Outer Space.'
Boord returned her cats Thursday, and Lauer is seeking an adopter for Princess Daisy.
About 40 dogs, 20 cats and 10 small animals — rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets and a chinchilla — were fostered this week, Anselmo said.
The shelter thanked the volunteers in a statement Wednesday.
'This response has left us speechless,' the shelter wrote. 'How do we even begin to express our gratitude for each and every one of you?'
To Anselmo, that starts by responding to every email and social media message the shelter received this week — a task she expects to take a few days.
'In the meantime: All animals are safe, cared for, and cool… thanks to YOU,' the shelter wrote.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
12 hours ago
- CBS News
Stormwater floods Macomb County animal shelter, sends agency scrambling to financially recover
A nonprofit animal shelter in Macomb County, Michigan, is struggling to recover from the cost of storm-related flooding at its shelter. "To say we are heartbroken is an understatement," A ReJoyceful Animal Rescue in Clinton Township related on social media about the circumstances. ReJoyceful focuses its efforts on cat and dog rescue situations, such as a cat that had significant injuries from another animal attack and stray dogs that were living outside amid the heat wave. The agency describes itself as a no-kill, foster-based organization, using short-term foster situations to help match animals to adoptive homes. On June 18, the building was flooded through at least two rounds of storms backed up a storm drain and that sent water rushing inside the shelter, ruining supplies, furniture and equipment. "We've worked so hard building up our shelter and making it comfortable for the animals we care for. In a matter of minutes, this was all destroyed," they said. In response to the disaster: Volunteers showed up to help push water out of the building. A flood recovery and restoration company was called to mitigate damage. The agency posted messages on social media for foster homes and foster-to-adopt homes, taking note of circumstances such as which pets should continue to stay together and which ones need to be the only animal in a home. Donations and ad hoc fundraisers, such as a T-shirt sal,e popped up to help the agency return to normal operations. Over $125,000 in donations have been raised. The community assistance is appreciated, as the insurance situation was not what they hoped for. The building itself is covered by the property owner's insurance; the agency is responsible for its own contents. The agency did have a renters' insurance policy, but ran into an exception on the policy that does not include certain water conditions. "Our insurance claim has been denied. There is nothing we can do," they explained. As of Thursday, the building is almost completely dried out, but there is still work and sanitizing to do. "We have contractors coming tomorrow to start on drywall, replace doors, replace trim, and to determine what more needs done. We are still in the process of sorting through what has been destroyed and needs to be dumped. The losses are immeasurable, we still don't have a number on how much this will actually cost us in the end as we're not even half way through sorting through the mess," the agency reported.
Washington Post
15 hours ago
- Washington Post
The AC broke at an animal shelter. People lined up out the door to foster pets.
Katie Boord was scrolling through Facebook on Monday evening, enjoying the aroma of the chicken macaroni and cheese her husband was cooking, when a post appeared on her phone that made her panic. An animal shelter in Derwood, Maryland, wrote: 'URGENT: Short-Term Fosters Needed for Shelter Animals.' The shelter's air conditioning was broken, the shelter said, putting hundreds of animals at risk of heat exhaustion. 'I have to do something,' Boord recalled telling her husband, Sean Clayton. 'Go ahead,' Boord recalled Clayton replying. 'I'll keep dinner warm.' Boord rushed to the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center from her Rockville, Maryland, home, joining dozens of others who came on short notice to foster animals after seeing the shelter's message. Boord left with three cats named Sponge Bob, Sandy Cheeks and Gary. The trio was among the roughly 70 animals who were fostered from the shelter this week as Montgomery County employees worked to fix the air conditioning amid a heat dome — a heat-trapping lid of strong high pressure — that brought extreme humidity and temperatures around 100 degrees to the D.C. area. Maria Anselmo, the shelter's community relations manager, said employees didn't expect such a large outpouring of help. 'Half of us probably cried at some point over the past couple days [from joy],' Anselmo told The Washington Post. When employees reported to the shelter Monday morning, Anselmo said, the air conditioning wasn't working. They called the county's Department of General Services, which found a broken air-conditioning motor that could be fixed in about 24 hours. Shelter employees set up fans and cooling mats throughout their building. They froze Kong dog toys and limited their animals' time outdoors. Employees emailed former foster volunteers for help. But they realized that wasn't enough people, Anselmo said, so they posted on social media in the late afternoon Monday. 'We're urgently seeking short-term foster homes for dogs and cats,' the shelter wrote, adding: 'Even a weekend foster makes a difference. You'll give a shelter pet a much-needed break from the heat and help us free up space during this critical time.' As hundreds of Montgomery County residents and Maryland animal lovers shared the post, people began showing up at the shelter within minutes. The shelter's phones wouldn't stop ringing. Soon, a line formed outside the front door. While the shelter usually asks foster volunteers to complete an application and schedule an appointment to meet employees and animals, the staff simply asked Monday for each volunteer's ID, address, phone number and email. 'We had so many people just show up who were ready to jump in and help that we weren't going to turn those people away,' said Anselmo, 37. After Boord arrived that evening, she said, she waited about an hour for employees to give her three cats who had come to the shelter from the same home — Sponge Bob and Sandy Cheeks, both of whom are around 2 years old, and Gary, about 10 months old. Boord and Clayton already had an 8-year-old cat, Fillion, at home. While Boord was at the shelter, Clayton set up their guest room for the foster cats with cat food, a litter box, water bowls, toys and a cat bed. While the cats were initially scared, they began playing with a spring toy the next day, and Gary, who initially wouldn't come out from his light blue blanket, cuddled with Boord, 34, a special-education teacher. At the shelter, employees worked until around 10 p.m. Monday. One of the many calls they received came from Debbie Lauer, who saw the shelter lost air conditioning while watching the evening news as she ate a chicken skewers dinner. Lauer had wanted to foster a dog since she retired last month from the National Security Agency. On Tuesday, Lauer's 67th birthday, she drove about 16 miles south from her Mount Airy, Maryland, home to pick up Princess Daisy, a roughly 1-year-old terrier mix with a white and brindle coat. 'It's just feeling like you're doing something good,' Lauer said. 'I'm glad I did it. I will continue to do it.' The county fixed the shelter's air conditioning Tuesday, and the shelter emailed fosters that afternoon to say they could return the animals. But Ilya Albert, who began fostering Teton, an 11-month-old brown cat, on Monday, didn't want to say goodbye. Albert and his wife, Jessica DePrest, had considered adopting a cat since their longtime cat, Jones, died last month. At their Rockville home, Teton cuddled with DePrest, jumped atop their cat trees and purred when they picked him up. When Albert's 6-month-old daughter, June, pulled Teton's whiskers, Teton seemed unbothered. 'He felt like he was already a family member,' said Albert, 37, who works in marketing. Albert told the shelter Wednesday he and DePrest wanted to adopt Teton. They renamed him Jake — based on the cat from the 1978 movie 'The Cat From Outer Space.' Boord returned her cats Thursday, and Lauer is seeking an adopter for Princess Daisy. About 40 dogs, 20 cats and 10 small animals — rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets and a chinchilla — were fostered this week, Anselmo said. The shelter thanked the volunteers in a statement Wednesday. 'This response has left us speechless,' the shelter wrote. 'How do we even begin to express our gratitude for each and every one of you?' To Anselmo, that starts by responding to every email and social media message the shelter received this week — a task she expects to take a few days. 'In the meantime: All animals are safe, cared for, and cool… thanks to YOU,' the shelter wrote.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Why Many Dogs Struggle to Learn Being Alone
Being left alone at home can be unfamiliar or even frightening for many dogs. Young or insecure dogs, in particular, quickly develop separation anxiety, which manifests through barking, whining, or even destructive behavior. This can become a burden, especially for single owners, as PETBOOK editor Dennis Agyemang knows from personal experience. A few weeks ago, I adopted my first dog, Paco. He comes from an international animal rescue and is still unfamiliar with many things: neither city life nor its noises, but he's coping bravely. However, he doesn't know how to be alone yet. So, I have to organize my daily life well at the moment. Someone always has to be there to watch him when I need to go shopping or to the doctor. Because being alone isn't an option yet. Taking out the trash has become a real challenge—and surely a sight for the neighbors—when I dash through the stairwell and communal garden with my trash bags at record speed before Paco barks down the whole house. He's quite loud, and my neighbors are noise-sensitive. In short, this can't go on in the long run. But the good news: With gradual training, patience, and the right preparation, any dog can learn to stay alone calmly and relaxed. That's what I hear from various dog trainers online. The key is for the dog to build trust in small steps and understand: 'Being alone doesn't mean anything bad—my human always comes back.' But why is being alone such a big deal for most dogs—at least initially? 'Dogs have a strong need for attachment. Once they have built trust, they want to stay with their social partner—and permanently,' explains dog psychologist Marc Ebersbach. Dogs perceive the absence of their owners not as temporary but as a loss of control. 'In nature, there's no situation where a pack member simply disappears, leaving the others behind. On the contrary, dogs follow when they need closeness.' As a dog psychologist, he often hears the comparison to earlier times when it was no big deal for dogs to be alone. 'The often-cited comparison with the farm falls short: There, the dog is sometimes alone, but never without stimuli. He hears cows, tractors, people. He's in the middle of life—that's calming.' In a city apartment, however, that's usually not the case, explains the dog psychologist. 'Doors and windows are closed, the dog is acoustically and visually isolated. No stimuli, no orientation—he perceives the absence not as temporary but as a loss of control.' For the dog, often a big shock. 'The result: The dog is stressed, often panicked—and in stress, he can't learn. When I come back after five minutes, he can't store the experience as a positive one. That's the core of the problem.' But simply playing sounds against the silence in the apartment is not a cure-all, explains dog trainer Katharina Marioth. 'Of course, it's sensible not to make the apartment completely 'dead'—so leave windows open, play a radio station with soft music or TV noise—the main thing is that there's some kind of stimulus. Because for dogs, being alone is inherently unnatural.' The concentration of scent drops particularly sharply within the first 30 minutes after the person leaves. 'That's the crucial moment. In this phase, it often decides whether the dog relaxes or panics,' says Marioth. Many make the mistake of directly training being alone, says Marc Ebersbach. 'But that doesn't work—the dog must first learn that spatial separation is not negative.' Therefore, he works with structured 'stay' training. 'The dog first learns to stay in a defined place while I move away—visibly. First spatially, then temporally. I work a lot with body language: hand forward, clear signals, repeated confirmation. This way, he learns step by step to endure distance and experiences the separation in a controlled and stress-free way.' Only then can the dog learn that being alone is not threatening, explains the dog psychologist. He managed to take away his dog's fear, who was traumatized by previous owners who often left her alone for hours, through stay training. 'With the stay training, she gradually learned to detach from me,' says Ebersbach. It was crucial that he worked through space, not prohibition. 'I didn't tell her: 'You must not follow me,' but: 'This space is now yours—please stay there.' That's a difference dogs understand.' It's important to proceed gently with training and not to overwhelm the dog, warns Katharina Marioth in the PETBOOK interview. 'The biggest mistake is believing that being alone is about control or 'pushing the dog away.' That's complete nonsense. It's about learning—and learning security in a completely unnatural situation.' Many dog owners make the mistake of quickly closing the door and leaving the dog alone without mentally preparing him first, says the dog trainer. Training based solely on commands or punishment doesn't work, Marioth knows. 'Because if the dog is in panic, no 'sit' or 'stay' helps. We have to train the first 30 minutes when the dog loses his orientation. Ignoring this condemns the dog to constant stress.' That's not a sign of 'bad obedience,' but of being overwhelmed, warns the trainer. 'You have to see being alone as a process that must be learned step by step—with a lot of patience and careful observation. And you must not treat it as a one-time command but as a real challenge for the dog, which you systematically build up with stimuli and short absences.' Stimulus Decoupling:Put on a jacket and shoes several times a day to erase expectations. Open/close the door without leaving—this removes the ritual's significance. Relaxation before training:Daily targeted body massage at the resting place with a drop of lavender oil for 5–10 minutes. This releases oxytocin—a hormone that promotes relaxation. Build 'Stay' training:Keep the dog in place with clear body language. Initially move away for only a few seconds, gradually increase—but always stay within the success range. Reinforcement through ritual:Begin and end each exercise with a long massage. In between, short touches as a reward. At the end, give a chew item to reduce stress. Observation with a camera:Leave the apartment only when your dog is relaxed—and return before he shows signs of stress. Only then can he store positive learning experiences. Start training in the evening:Begin exercises in the evening when the dog is tired—this lowers the arousal threshold and makes learning easier. It's always important to consider that being alone is not natural for dogs, emphasizes dog trainer Katharina Marioth. 'Being alone is a human invention. No dog is made to be alone for hours.' Therefore, the first half-hour after the person leaves is the most important training phase. 'During this time, the human's scent is strongest, and the dog still feels 'connected.'' Here, you must work positively, such as with special food toys or calming rituals. Additionally, regular massages, linked with scent anchors like lavender oil or even the administration of CBD oil, can help the dog relax, says dog psychologist Marc Ebersbach. It's important to discuss the latter with the treating veterinarian beforehand. 'Anyone who simply pushes their dog away without allowing this learning phase shouldn't be surprised if the dog goes crazy. That has nothing to do with a loss of control but with a completely missing learning opportunity,' Katharina Marioth concludes. The post Why Many Dogs Struggle to Learn Being Alone appeared first on PETBOOK.
