After flood waters receded the damage was made clear at BRAWA (Photo courtesy of Connie Greer)
By GAGE WILSON
Glasgow News 1
As residents in Barren County try to recover from the Sunday overnight storms, one demographic that is often overlooked are the dogs, cats and numerous other animals housed at the Barren River Animal Welfare Association.
The BRAWA building was heavily impacted by the storms due to its location, which has now flooded on three separate occasions.
Connie Greer, the general manager for BRAWA, was on site as the storm was at its worst. “I tried to drive down Trojan Trail, but once I got just past the Jehovah’s Witness building, I couldn’t go any further, the water was just rushing.”
When she finally made her way to the facility the devastation was clear.
“The power was out so, I only had light from my headlights,” she said. “We determined we needed to get into the building to get the animals up to higher ground.”
Once inside, the full scope of damage was made clear.
“We started in the puppy room because it sits at the lowest point in the building, and that’s where we found we had lost some puppies, and we lost some kittens.”
The loss was evident in Greer’s voice as she continued. “After we got in, we got the animals to higher cages, but it got worse before it got better.”
Around 2 a.m. the rain eased, while this helped the situation marginally, the building is located in an area designated as a “Floodway,” meaning that as the area floods, the waters will be channeled toward the floodway area.
“Even with the rains subsiding, the water in the building continued to rise,” Greer gestured toward Trojan Trail as she stood inside the building Monday afternoon. “Where the blacktop starts is how high the water was, to the point where I had to move my truck.”
Greer said BRAWA is seeking donations to help with recovery.
“We definitely need more paper towels, bleach, dish soap, and blankets for the animals,” she said. “I mean you have to remember that this wasn’t just creek water, it was over top of the sewers and of course you had animals that went to the bathroom, so we had to throw out everything.”
BRAWA will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday to do detail cleaning within and around the building.
Greer said, “We are never going to be able to catch up on all this laundry, so if anyone would like to come by and pick up bags of laundry to wash, that would be very helpful.”
Donations can be dropped off at either 175 Trojan Trail or 113 W. Public Square, Suite 400 or call 270-651-7297 for information on how to help with recovery efforts.
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