Thieves steal animal shelter air conditioners
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Criminals steal cool air from helpless shelter dogs
A hot day got hotter for about 120 animals at a South Side animal shelter after thieves made off with two of the facility’s air conditioning units.
According to the Chicago Tribune, thieves also took all the copper piping and coils in the two remaining units (pictured above) and did damage to other equipment on the roof of the Animal Welfare League’s intake facility at 6224 S. Wabash Ave. The organization says it could cost up to $25,000 to replace the stolen machines.
“This means that funds and resources that could have gone to help shelter pets must now go toward replacing stolen property and fixing damages,” said a statement on the Animal Welfare League website.
No animals were harmed in the burglary, which was discovered at about 10 p.m. Thursday.
This afternoon, the temperature in the lobby was in the mid-70s, while it was in the 80s in the area where the animals are held, Nolan estimated.
Trio brought in industrial-size fans to get air flowing through the building, “but short of getting the fans up, there’s not much we can do,” she said. Volunteers are also working with other rescue organizations to find other shelter for some of the roughly 80 dogs and 40 cats at the facility.
“With this weekend forecast as one of the hottest yet, we are struggling to keep the animals as cool as possible,” said Linda Estrada, Animal Welfare League Executive Director in the web statement. “In an already sluggish year with donations, this is a huge blow to us.”
Tell us what you think about this theft of the animal shelter’s air conditioners in the comments section.
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In all fairness, this is not directed at the animals. This is a trend in parts of Chicago with thieves stealing AC units out of people’s yards and even windows for the copper inside. It is a sad state of affairs when the few bucks worth of copper can lead to expense and misery for so many.
I am never surprised to see the levels to which people sink.
Who does this stuff to animals and the people helping them? Never mind, I truly don’t want to know. For anyone inclined, the website to make a donation and it’s made simple for us.
http://www.animalwelfareleague.com/aboutus.asp
This is so awful. Hopefully, there are some kind (moneyed) souls who will rescue the rescuers.