Advance Planning by Philly Helps Animal Group Avoid Tragedy

At the Animal Care & Control Team (ACCT) of Philadelphia we have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving season and our thoughts and hearts are with those who are still without power, displaced or disrupted by Hurricane Sandy.

While Philadelphia escaped the worst of the damage, in the aftermath of Sandy the ACCT Philly animal shelter, owned by the City of Philadelphia, was without power for five days ... and no one noticed.

It wasn't that ACCT Philly's power loss went unnoticed because of a lack of concern. Instead it went unnoticed because of advance planning by the city. With as many as 600 animals housed at the facility on its busiest days, this could have been a tragedy for the community. But tragedy was averted in Philadelphia. 

Because the City of Philadelphia considered both people and their pets in creation of emergency response plans, the city's animal shelter located at 111 West Hunting Park Avenue, was included in the list of crucial services to keep running during disasters. As a part of disaster preparedness planning, in 2007 the city installed large generators at several critical support facilities across the city. A massive generator, capable of keeping the power on in an emergency situation for several days was installed in front of the ACCT Philly animal shelter facility at that time. 

The result? 

For five days staff was able to assist residents and their pets, operating as normal, entirely on generator power. Instead of being in need of assistance, ACCT Philly remained open, operational and able to help those in need.

ACCT Philly staff and supporters invite you to join us in signing an online thank you note to the City of Philadelphia for their commitment to the entire community, its people and their animal companions, when developing emergency plans. Visit the Petition of Thanks site here and add your name to our community thank you note.