A second animal shelter in Texas County is closing, leaving the county without its two largest rescue facilities.
One day after The Animal Shelter of Texas County announced its closure due to financial shortfalls, Diana’s Grove Dog Rescue in Cabool followed suit with a press release last Thursday afternoon announcing it was dissolving.
The release said the group’s board members have resigned and are working to relocate more than 160 dogs at the shelter and nearly 50 dogs in foster care in St. Louis. Through Jan. 31, when the organization’s license was allowed to expire, dogs were adopted privately. Several licensed rescues, shelters and no-kill shelters committed to and are coordinated taking in the dogs that did not find homes by Wednesday.
“Dozens of long-standing and new volunteers, board members and professionals, primarily from St. Louis, have worked tirelessly over the last few months to improve Diana’s Grove. Our focus was working toward a sustainable organization that would eventually represent universal best practices for rural animal rescue,” said Amanda Sheffield, former board president for Diana’s Grove. “Within the last two days, new information has come to my attention by a credible third party.
“This information paired with the ongoing challenges, has made it clear that the board could no longer support continuing forward.”
The announcement to close came days after the Chesterfield Mall in St. Louis canceled the opening of an adoption center to be run by the Cabool-based animal shelter after customers threatened to boycott the shopping center. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Diana’s Grove Dog Rescue was slated to occupy 6,600 square feet of space at the mall in west St. Louis County for an adoption center opening Saturday.
The relationship formed with the mall after about 150 people donated more than $9,000 to Diana’s Grove through an online GoFundMe account.
In December, the animal rescue sent more than half of its 300 dogs to the Human Society of Missouri. Financial strain was cited. A Petco store in St. Louis and PetSmart severed partnerships with the shelter last year after some customers complained about sick dogs.
Diana’s Grove was cited many times Missouri Department of Agriculture Division of Animal Health for inappropriate living conditions for the dogs. A November 2015 report described multiple previous warnings to fix rusted enclosures, repair badly worn floors and walls that no longer stopped moisture and make sure dogs were not exposed to broken and jagged metal. That report also identified several new problems, and recommended that the facility’s “inventory” be reduced.
The report was one of more than 10 issued to the organization between 2014 and 2016, according to Kim Kaven, who detailed the alleged violations on the website of her foundation DogMerchants.com.
“This is why so many people from within the St. Louis animal-welfare community contacted the Chesterfield Mall and threatened a boycott,” Kaven said. “And those calls resulted in (the) announcement that the mall changed its mind and will not go forward with the group restarting its adoption events in St. Louis.
Sheffield said the focus of those involved with Diana’s Grove is “to secure the wellbeing and future of the dogs at the shelter. Through Jan. 31, dogs and puppies were available for adoption at www.takeafriendhome.org. Adoption fees were reduced to $100 for dogs and $150 for puppies younger than 16 weeks. The fees covered outstanding vet bills, transfer expenses and dog care, as well as staff wages and operating costs during the closure, Sheffield said.
“Many staff at the shelter will be greatly affected by losing their jobs,” Sheffield said. “Those staff have been given two weeks notice and will assist through the transition.
She said the loss of Diana’s Grove and The Animal Shelter of Texas County in consecutive days is discouraging.
“Thousands of dogs in southern Missouri now have very few bridges to forever homes,” she said. “Many volunteers and professionals remain passionate and committed to helping the dogs in this high-need, underserved area. The mission to serve the dogs in Texas County does not end with the closing of Diana’s Grove. We don’t yet know where the path will lead, but we know that we can’t turn our backs on these dogs.”