KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With snow, ice, and negative temperatures in the forecast, there’s no question about it, you need to bring your animals inside when the weather gets this bitterly cold.
Heart of America Humane Society spent the week delivering supplies to hundreds of homes across the Kansas City metropolitan area. FOX4 rode along with Julie Steck, one of the nonprofit’s eight-member outreach team, on Friday afternoon as she dropped off pet food, straw, kitty litter, and dog and cat shelters to homes on both sides of the state line.
“All these animals that are out here need help and they don’t have a voice to tell us,” said.
Steck visited more than a dozen homes all over the area, even making unexpected stops when she came across a chained-up animal or two. Her shift started at nine in the morning and went well into the evening hours, ensuring she made contact with someone at each place.
Something she tells everyone is that “just because they have fur doesn’t mean they don’t get cold like we do. They get really cold. They can get frostbite, so we need to protect them.”
She has seen some disheartening things during her year with the outreach team, something she did not go into detail about. The thing that keeps her going though is knowing that there is always another animal that needs her help and that she can hopefully intervene before it is too late.
One delivery took her to Kansas City North, where an older couple wanted to make sure the feral cats in their neighborhood were safe heading into the next week.
“I feel sorry for them,” said Laura Donaldson, who takes care of seven neighborhood cats along with her husband.
She contacted Heart of America ahead of the winter storm asking if they deliver a cat shelter with straw.
“I think it’s wonderful that they do that for the people and the animals,” she added.
You may be questioning how the nonprofit knows where to go. The answer is usually one of three things: people will either contact them directly, they’ll get a notification from animal control, or they’ll just happen to come across a chained up animal as they drive around town.
Now that the winter weather is nearly here, Steck said if you see an animal left outside whether it’s chained up or not, you need to say something by contacting animal control, one of the humane societies, or even 911.
“If they’re outside they need to come in,” Steck said.
Since Heart of America is a nonprofit, they rely on donations to do the work that they do. If you would like to donate this winter, click here.
