CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association is considering moving to a new location as they wait for crews to make repairs to their current building after a U-Haul truck crashed into it last month.
KCHA Community Engagement Director Sarah Tolley told 580-WCHS Wednesday morning the cost to run the Greenbrier Street facility is getting expensive and they’re looking to expand their operations. The building is also prone to flooding but was spared in last week’s storms.
“The location that we’re at currently, we do not have any space to expand. We’re in a flood zone, so we can’t expand to the fields that we have because they flood so quickly,” she said. “The biggest thing is expansion. We’ll be able to help more animals because we’ll have a bigger space to grow.”
Tolley said a larger space will also reduce stress levels for the dogs they currently care for.
Tolley said they’re still in the early stages of figuring out where to move and how long it will take to make the transition. In the meantime, they’re still waiting to see what their insurance will cover for the damages from the March 27 crash.
“Hopefully next week we’ll hear back about what insurance coverages we have between our insurance and the driver’s insurance. After that, he’s going to take another two weeks to be able to coordinate contractors come up and start construction on the building,” she said.
It will be about a month until repairs can be made to the building, Tolley said. There were structural damages, A/C units need to be replaced and the kennel drainage system was also damaged.
Tolley said it’s going to cost the shelter a lot to make the necessary repairs.
“We don’t have officially numbers right now. We’re waiting for that report from our insurance adjuster, but we were quoted for over $100,000,” she said.
The driver of the U-Haul truck was at the shelter to pick up his animal when he said his accelerator got stuck. He slammed into the back corner of the building. A dog was injured when concrete blocks fell during the crash.
KCHA released surveillance video Tuesday of the crash from inside the dog kennels. Tolley credited her team’s quick response to the dogs who were visibly shaken up by the loud noise.
“No physical damage was done, so that’s fantastic. I mean all of us were just shocked. We were so sad to see how sad they were, but I think my point of view was a little bit different because I was so proud of how quickly they came to help them,” she said.
The delayed construction timeline means KCHA will continue to rely on fosters for the next two months.
KCHA can house 40 kennel dogs on site, which is down from about 108 from before the crash. There are about 20 dogs in foster care now.