Electricity @ Valley Humane Society

On September 5th, 2017 Valley Humane Society lost power to the main and secondary kennels housing our very precious fur babies. We called out the electrician to discover that one of the three main coils feeding electricity to the buildings was completely burned up. Our first priority was to get a generator large enough to power the buildings. Second we would need to contact the power company to access the damages. Finally, we would need to create an action plan for the many questions that were to follow. What is this going to cost? Do we have the money to do the repairs? How do we raise the funds?

We were finishing up at Pinal County when I got the text from a coworker. It was around 11am when we lost power. The weather was in the triple digits, stress was high. The building originally constructed in the 70’s is outdated and in need of many repairs. It is not uncommon to trip a breaker with the laundry going, along with the lights and air conditioning. The breakers were reset and still no electric. Upon arriving, I again check all the breakers, nothing. We contacted the electrician who came right out. They are wonderful supporters of the shelter and are always available to us. When the electrician opened the outside box it was immediately evident what the issue was. The coil was gone, separated, burned, just gone. Big problem! Fans were immediately placed and all doors opened to allow air to flow through the kennels. Thankfully, the temperature in the kennels never rose above 85 degrees.

We immediately began searching for a generator. Without a generator we would need to close the shelter and find placements for all our animals. Placement meant reaching out to the very animal control agencies we pull from that are often full to capacity. That was NOT an option for us. The electrician gave me the specs for the size generator we were going to need. Our first quote was $700 a day, just for the machine, oh my, stress level growing. Wow, is all we could think! The second rental company had the size we needed and they could have it to us the next morning. The cost is $2000 a week. Much better than the previous quote but still a lot of money. Fuel, as it runs on Diesel, is a separate cost all together. If we run the generator from 6am to 7pm and turn it off at night when the temperature drops, we will only use 50 gallons a day and not 100. The cost of diesel, delivered is $3.25/gallon, at 50 gallons a day that is $165.50 a day.

1st problem solved.

The generator arrived at 8am on September 6th, 2017. We contacted the electrician and the power company who came right out and reestablished power to the facility.

2nd problem solved.

Once the power was on we began the process of assessing the damage and cost. Due to the age of the wiring and the damage that occurred we needed to be upgrade. The estimate for the work that needs to be completed to replace the box, the coils and upgrade the system… drum roll please… $12,000! Choices, no not really. The price is set and the 3rd problem has yet to be solved so we have come to ask for your assistance.

As the only No Kill shelter in Pinal County, Arizona we are funded 100% by private donation. We do not receive monies from local or state agencies. We ask for your help with raising the funds needed to pay for the rewiring and upgrades. Please help with a donation today. Please share our post on your pages, your community pages, share with your business, your coworkers, your friends, and your family. It is only with your continued support of our community and all animal lovers that we are able to save the lives of so many fur babies.