Local animal sanctuary in need of help

CALEDONIA, Miss. (WCBI)- Thursday’s storm caused damage at the Cedar Hill Animal Sanctuary in Caledonia.

Employees say the storm blew a massive tree onto their freezer, crushing it.

That freezer contained $9,000 worth of food for the exotic animals.

“There was a big loud thunderclap, and at the same time, a boom. That tree just went down,” said Nancy Gschwendtner.

Gschwendtner is spending her day picking up after the storm. She’s the executive director of Cedar Hill Animal Sanctuary.

The compound is home to 14 tigers, 2 lions, and 3 bobcats.

“It basically pancaked our freezer, and in that freezer, we house all of the meat we feed to our exotics,” said Gschwendtner.

Gschwendtner says the exotic animals eat over 120 pounds of meat a day. With the freezer out of commission, they only have enough food for the next 4 days.

“We’ve already reached out on Facebook asking for donations, anything possible, freezers, meat…” said Assistant Katie Martin.

Employees say the financial blow has taken a toll on the facility.

“Taking a hit of like $9,000 is a big deal to us. We get no grants. We get no federal money. You know, it’s people like you and me who donate and help us care about these animals that nobody else did,” said Gschwendtner.

The main goal of the sanctuary is to help animals in need.

“These animals have all had pretty bad lives, and we are a true sanctuary,” said Gschwendtner.

For more information, you can visit the Cedar Hill Animal Sanctuary website.

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