BILLINGS— Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter in Billings has moved their animals and supplies to a warehouse while the shelter building is being decontaminated.
Newman Restoration and Cleaning is decontaminating the building and the supplies inside after an incinerator malfunctioned released methamphetamine-filled smoke into the area two weeks ago.
Watch to see where the shelter is located now:
Related: Montana DEQ investigating burning of methamphetamine at Billings animal shelter
The shelter is temporarily located at a warehouse at Lionheart Cannabis, located at 6400 S Frontage Rd in Billings.
“They donated us a warehouse on their property that they weren't using for anything and we're just beyond grateful for that gift,” said shelter executive director Triniti Halverson.
The incinerator mishap displaced dozens of animals.
Right now, the warehouse is sheltering 15 kittens, six puppies and a dog. Halverson hopes to find homes for them at the shelter’s adoption event Sunday.
“This guy right here and his litter mates as well as quite a few kittens were out in foster homes before the incident happened and they're old enough to find their homes now,” said Halverson, while holding a St. Bernard-mix puppy named Skittles.
The shelter is also offering veterinarian services, such as spaying and neutering, at their Learning Center at 2010 Grand Avenue Suite #1.
“There's a lot of folks that rely on our low-cost vet care in this community, so we needed a place to take lost animals, and we needed a place to continue to provide low-cost vet care,” said Halverson.
Halverson is asking for volunteers and donations to help bring supplies to the warehouse and pay bills.
“We've been having crews of teams moving supplies over after Newman finishes decontaminating it, we’ve got to get it here and so we need lots of help lots and lots of help,” she said.
The shelter will likely not return to the original building for months.
“I understand time is of the essence, but the main focus is the safety of anybody that potentially will occupy that building in the future to make sure we do it right,” said owner of Newman Restoration and Cleaning, Andrew Newman.
According to Newman, his company could be working on the building for six weeks, and then the city will send out more crews to inspect it.
“Currently, we're over there documenting those contents, removing them from inside the facility, and we're decontaminating those contents, loading them in a storage pod that's on site, and then we're helping them transport those contents to an off-site facility so that they can, again, start intaking some animals and start serving the community again,” he added.
