Clinton Township animal rescue suffers catastrophic damage after broken pipe

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Clinton Township animal rescue that has seen numerous animals into happier homes over the years is now in the midst of one of its darkest days since it started caring for future pets.

A burst pipe at the Rejoyceful Animal Rescue flooded the nonprofit, damaging thousands of dollars of supplies and food. Adding to the heartache is that none of it will be covered by insurance.

Local perspective:

With tears in her eyes, Michelle Heyza didn't see a way out of the catastrophic damage that rocked her animal rescue after severe weather Wednesday night.

"We’re not going to survive this," said Michelle Heyza, founder. "We won't."

The founder of Rejoyceful Animal Rescue in Clinton Township started the agency decades ago, helping thousands of animals find owners to care for them. 

It was her baby, one of the workers at the rescue said. 

"She built this rescue out of her house. Like it started in an office in her house and grew to this huge - it’s amazing what you have built here," Chelsea Murphy said. "Within 10 minutes it’s all at risk of being gone."

Zoom Out:

Despite being established for years, Heyza's work may be undone because of a broken pipe, which burst during Wednesday's storms.

The aftermath included flooding with 50 animals still inside. Some needed to be rushed to safety. 

"It was unbelievably fast and terrifying in that we couldn’t control it. There was nothing we could do, we’re shoving towels into the walls," said Murphy.

The stopgap measures didn't prevent the surge of water from pouring into the building, flooding kennels and soaking food and toys in muddy water. All of it will need to be thrown away.

"This is somebody’s hard-earned money and they gave it to us and now it’s ruined. Every dog toy that now nobody is going to play with. It’s really depressing. It’s just really really sad," said Murphy.

What you can do:

Rejoyceful Animal Rescue currently cares for 300 animals, with many of them kept with foster families. However, the food those temporary owners feed the pets with comes from the rescue. 

With all of that is damaged, the rescue hoped insurance would cover the cost. But to add insult to injury, their claim was denied because it was a plumbing issue - not outside forces, despite the storms. 

"We have all these animals to care for and no place to do it. We need help," said Heyza.

The rescue hopes anyone that can help will donate. They have a gofundme set up that can be found here. The rescue has other several services as well:

• Venmo: @rejoycefulrescue 
• Zelle: michelle@rejoycefulrescue.com
• Cashapp: $rejoycefulrescue
• Zeffy: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/help-us-keep-rescuing