League Team in Joplin, Missouri, after Tornados Devastate Town

June 09, 2011

The Washington Animal Rescue League has been called by the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to assist at an emergency animal shelter established in Joplin, Missouri. The ASPCA was called in by the Joplin Humane Society to lead the emergency animal sheltering operation after the May 22 tornado decimated the community.

More than 100 volunteers and staff members have been working around the clock at the emergency animal shelter for the past two weeks. To date, the participating agencies have assisted more than 1,000 animals, and nearly 400 animals had been reunited with their owners. There are more than 600 displaced animals still waiting to be reunited with their families at the emergency animal shelter.

One League staffer in Joplin has been tasked with leading the efforts to train and manage the volunteers, who include both local day volunteers and volunteers from animal groups across the country temporarily deployed to the area.

Two other League staffers are caring for lost animals who have yet to be reclaimed, and another, who generally works in the League’s Medical Center, is serving as a veterinary technician in the emergency shelter.

The team arrived in Joplin on Thursday, June 2, and is expected back in the Washington, DC, area on Saturday, June 11.