COLUMBUS, Ind. — The city’s animal shelter has been damaged by flooding from pipes that burst due to frigid temperatures.
Columbus Animal Care Services was notified of the incident at about 6 a.m. on Monday, said general manager Nicohl Birdwell Goodin. The shelter is currently open but will close temporarily once repairs are underway. The work is expected to begin sometime next week.
Visitors should call ahead at 812-376-2505 before coming to the shelter. They can also check the department’s Facebook page and website for updates.
“We were notified at about a little after 6 Monday morning, so sometime overnight,” Goodin said of the timing of the damage. “Some parks crew were out helping us with our sidewalks and noticed water.”
The pipes that burst were not in the animal area, though flooding did occur. Most of the damage is located in the front hallway area. All of the animals are fine, said Goodin.
“It’s an old building,” she said. “This is an issue that we’ve had periodically when it gets this cold, unfortunately. … We have made several changes over the years to remedy that, but sometimes it doesn’t work.”
The shelter, which is located at 2730 Arnold St., was designed so that pipes are located in the attic. While additional insulation has been installed, the building is made of concrete and gets a lot of wind, so it still has issues with colder temperatures.
When asked how long the work might take, she replied, “It just depends. So much of it is, once they get in and open up the ceiling, how long it takes for things to dry out. So I don’t know an answer to that. The actual repairs are probably a couple of days.”
Animal care staff, along with several other city departments, worked to clean up the initial flooding. Goodin also expressed gratitude to the Bartholomew County Humane Society, which has taken in several of the shelter’s dogs following the incident.
