Metro-east animal shelter burglarized overnight. They even took pizza from the fridge
Two men burglarized Gateway Pet Guardians, a nonprofit animal shelter in East St. Louis, overnight, the organization reported on Thursday.
They took laptop computers, medications for dogs and even some leftover pizza and energy drinks from the refrigerator.
“The most important thing is that no animals or people were hurt or affected, but obviously it is disappointing that anyone would steal from an animal shelter,” said Jill Henke, Gateway’s director of operations.
An alarm system alerted police twice early Thursday morning, Henke said. The first call was made at about 2:50 a.m. and the second at about 4:13 a.m. She said East St. Louis Police took a report. Attempts to reach the police department to update the investigation have been unsuccessful.
Security cameras captured images of the two inside the building.
Henke said police theorized that the culprits were unhoused people looking for basic supplies.
“The only items they took that have any value is the laptop and the medications,” she said. “But even the medications were low-grade, common pain relievers. The so-called ‘good stuff’ is locked up because we’re legally required to do so. They took towels, just some things like that. It wasn’t a high volume of things they took.
“It’s just unnverving to think somebody would come into our place and root around. At the end of the day, though, we’re just glad nobody was here at the time who could have been hurt and that the animals weren’t disturbed or interacted with. The stuff ... that can all be replaced.”
Still, supplies are always needed and Henke says she hopes to upgrade the facility’s security system. Donations can be made https://gatewaypets.org/donate/ or can be mailed or dropped off to the shelter at 725 N. 15th St., East St. Louis, IL 62205.
Gateway Pet Guardians was founded in 2004 and currently is housed inside the former Miles D. Davis Elementary School. Its mission, Henke said in a 2021 article in the Belleville News-Democrat, is to remove financial and other obstacles to pet adoption and to “create a thriving pet community” in East St. Louis.
Donors and volunteers help Gateway’s staff operate a free pet-food pantry, a low-cost pet supply store and a subsidized veterinary clinic.
Gateway Pet Guardians is open 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Appointments for veterinary care are available on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. For more information on getting services, making donations or adopting pets, call 618-687-8007 or visit www.gatewaypets.org.
Anyone who may recognize the men shown in the security photos is asked to call Gateway or the East St. Louis Police Department.
