Wild Weather Appeal

Over the weekend, our Lonsdale shelter was hit hard by the wild weather that ravaged Adelaide.

This eyewitness report from one of our shelter staff sets the scene.

“When the rain started, I rushed out to the kennels to find whole rows completely flooded. Some of the dogs were standing knee deep in water. It looked like a river was raging through, all their beds were drenched, towels were floating and there was debris bobbing about.”

“We tried desperately in vain to stop the water from coming in. Almost all our bedding was saturated; we had nothing left to cover the exposed side of the kennels with. The rain was coming in from all angles.”

Will you help us stay afloat through this wild weather, and keep vulnerable animals safe?

A cacophony of distressed barking echoed above the howling winds and pelting rain.

Dogs trembled with fear as thunder rumbled overhead, and their toys and blankets floated away in the floodwaters.

Fallen tree branches blocked pathways and crushed fencing, causing danger to animals and people.

Staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to disperse water and scrambled to evacuate distraught dogs to anywhere warm and dry they could find, from staff offices to the vet centre.

Right now, we have a team on the ground assessing the damage and recovery costs, but there is no doubt it will be in the thousands.

We need your help to raise around $8,000 in the next 48 hours to fund the urgent clean-up.

Events like this highlight the desperate need for our new Animal Care Campus – we are hopeful construction will be well underway by this time next year. But in the meantime, our animals need you.

Will you share your love and warmth with our shelter dogs by contributing to our Wild Weather Emergency Appeal?

Your generosity will be directed to the areas where it is most urgently needed, including tree lopping services to remove hazards, a plumber to unblock drains, and extra hands-on-deck to get dogs back into safe, warm, dry kennels as soon as possible.

We are also gratefully accepting donations of blankets over the next 48 hours to keep our animals warm and dry.

We take on the state’s most traumatised dogs, and many come with an array of phobias, including storms.

These dogs will need you more than ever over the coming days, as they begin to recover from this ordeal, with the loving support of our veterinarians and animal care teams.

Please give what you can today. Your kindness will be a warm, comforting hug for every dog in our care, and will show them they are not forgotten. Thank you.

Thank you for your donation!

Your kindness will make a huge difference to the safety and wellbeing of animals in South Australia.

Do you have friends, family or colleagues who might also want to help? Why not share news of your donation via social media. Every donation we receive goes a long way to expanding the work of RSPCA South Australia.

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Latest donations

$100.00

Lena

$100.00

Beck

$25.00

Keely

$100.00

Pamela

THANKYOU for everything you do for these poor innocent animals.

$50.00