Helping forlorn pets in Iowa

Cambridge couple collects a truckload of donations and delivers them to shelter that is rescuing animals from the flood.

CAMBRIDGE – When the call for help went out to her family and friends, Jacquie Winiecki of Cambridge was amazed at how willing and eager people were to donate supplies for a pet shelter in Iowa City.
Winiecki had received an email herself on Monday, June 16 from the shelter she provides foster care through, The Aussie Rescue Group of Minnesota. The email spoke about the need for supplies at the Iowa City Animal Shelter.
The shelter itself had fled the rising flood waters and was temporarily being housed at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. They were without basic office supplies, in addition to pet food, kennels, and leashes.
The shelter was not only taking care of the animals it had prior to the flood, but also those separated from their owners in the chaos.
Winiecki knew she wanted to help.
Home sick that day, she decided to try to gather what donations she could and head down to Iowa on Friday night after work.
She sent out an email on Tuesday explaining the need and then waited.
The response was slow at first. But as more and more people sent out the email, it exploded. Fox 9 got ahold of the story and ran something on it Wednesday. The STAR posted a story on its web site the same day.
During the day on Wednesday Winiecki received over 150 emails from people who wanted to help. After the story ran on the 9:30 p.m. news broadcast she lost count. She was up until 1 a.m. responding to each and every person letting them know about the Thursday and Friday drop-offs at St. Joseph's Church in Lino Lakes.
The response was so large that she took off half a day on Thursday and the whole off Friday.
Winiecki is grateful she is employed by a company (Kraus Anderson) that supports its employees' philanthropic efforts.
She had always felt the call to go help when disaster struck, but was never able to go before because she wasn't able to get the time off work.
On Friday before noon, Winiecki sent out an email asking the STAR to post a notice that her truck was full and they weren't able to accept any more donations.
"It was a success!" she gushed.
While Winiecki didn't keep exact figures, she estimates that she collected over 2,000 pounds of donations. They filled a camper and heaped items up in the bed of her boyfriend's Chevrolet pick-up truck.
A big chunk of the medical supplies were donated by Medtronic. Others came from private individuals.
Some people donated money to be used specifically to help pay the gas tab.
A neighbor and a friend stepped up to care for her two dogs.
A SEVEN-HOUR DRIVE
Winiecki and her boyfriend, Rocky Goertz, pulled out of Cambridge at 7 p.m. on Friday. They stopped for an hour in St. Paul to pick up donations a friend had generously collected. By 8 p.m. they were on the road to Iowa. Stopping only to fuel up, the couple reached the Johnson County Fairgrounds by 3:30 a.m. It took an hour to find the bed. They were up by 6:30 a.m., ready to start unloading and help where they were needed.
It took two hours to unload all the items they had brought with them.
"As fast as we could take things out of the truck, they were loading supplies up to go out on the boats," recalled Winiecki.
Shelter workers told her that aside from the Petsmart donation, this was the largest number of donations they had received.
Winiecki was impressed by the organization of the shelter. There was a place for everything.
"All of the animals were taken care of amazingly well," she observed. "None of the cages were soiled and clean-up was constant."
While there, Winiecki saw a family arrive to take their dog for a walk. "They are staying in a place that does not allow pets, and the shelter is holding their dog for them until they can get situated," she explained. "It was so sad, yet so happy because their dog was so excited when he saw their owners coming to take him for a walk."
Because the shelter had enough assistance, Winiecki and Goertz decided to head back for home at noon.
On their way out of town they took a look at the devastation the flood waters wrought on the area. "You could see houses that had been washed away in the river," said Winiecki. "It was horrible smelling. People were in motor boats with gloves on trying to pick up their stuff."
They could see the water lines that rose above two-story windows, recalled Goertz.
"It felt like chaos," said Winiecki.
"It looks a lost worse in person than it does on the news. You can't explain it. It was just awful."
On the way home, they stopped for a short nap, unable to continue the entire distance without some sleep. They arrived home at 9 a.m. Winiecki slept until 1 p.m. on Sunday.
"I'm exhausted, but I'm really glad that I did it," said Winiecki on Monday night, June 23. "If something like this happens again and I'm close enough to go and help, I will."
Goertz agrees. "She'll probably need my truck again," he said with a laugh.
"It's good to know that even though everyone is having a hard time with the gas prices, people will still give to a good cause," said Winiecki.

ITEMS STILL NEEDED BY SHELTER
• Office supplies (all, pens, paper, staplers, paper clips, scissors, etc)
• Garden hoses and nozzles
• Dog toys and cat toys
• Hand sanitizer
• Rubber gloves
• Bite-proof gloves

SHIP TO:
Johnson County Agricultural Association, 4261 Oak Crest Hill Road SE; Iowa City, IA 52246. MARK PACKAGE: Iowa City Animal Shelter, Misha Goodman

DONATE ONLINE:
http://www. facf. org/support/

IF YOU GO
Call First. Line up a place to assist at before you leave, urges Winiecki. Let them know the time you'll arrive and when you intend to leave. "If you just show up you may be more of a burden than help," she noted. "I went through the proper channels."
Ask Them What They Need. Ask the organization you're assisting what sort of supplies and donations they are looking for.