In response to a major ransomware attack on the City of Dallas that took many municipal services offline—including Dallas Animal Services—Alley Cat Allies is providing emergency grants to help care for and save the lives of cats, kittens, and dogs.
Cedar, one of the young kittens transferred from Dallas Animal Services to receive lifesaving care through Alley Cat Allies’ emergency grant.
“These cats, kittens and dogs are in desperate need of help because of the ransomware attack on Dallas,” said Coryn Julien, Alley Cat Allies’ Director of Communications. “Alley Cat Allies is stepping up to provide emergency supplies, lifesaving veterinary care, and expertise to make sure they get the care they need through this disruption. We encourage anyone who may be interested to ask our local friends in Dallas about possible adoptions to bring one of these animals home.”
The ransomware attack brought down Dallas Animal Services’ computer systems, crippling its ability and capacity to care for the many animals that come through its doors. Our emergency funding to Friends of Dallas Animal Services and Operation Kindness has already facilitated the transfer and transport of cats, dogs, and neonatal kittens out of the shelter while also providing the emergency care they need right now. We will cover the costs of bottle feeding, veterinary evaluations, treatments, wound care, spay and neuter surgeries, and more.
Neonatal kittens like Lol and her siblings need round-the-clock care to survive, which is a challenge for a shelter impacted by ransomware. Alley Cat Allies is providing for them during this emergency.
Additionally, our grant is funding the purchase of critical supplies for Dallas Animal Services. We are particularly focused on neonatal kittens, as the constant, specialized care these vulnerable kittens need is a unique strain on a shelter recovering from a standstill in their services. These lifesaving items include incubators and heartbeat simulators for the shelter’s kitten nursery.
“Operation Kindness is so grateful to Alley Cat Allies for their support to help with the transfer of cats, kittens and other animals from Dallas Animal Services,” said Ed Jamison, CEO of Operation Kindness. “We look forward to continuing this collaboration to save more lives.”
Many of the cats and kittens who were transferred were at risk of “euthanasia” in the shelter had we not stepped in. Little grey fluffball Leroy, just three weeks old, needed round-the-clock care like every kitten his age, and had wounds on his legs in need of treatment. Alley Cat Allies is covering the costs of his care and he will be placed for adoption once he’s old enough to be neutered.
Phillipa in recovery with Operation Kindness.
5-week-old Phillipa needed immediate treatment for a wound on her chin and may need corrective surgery to ensure she heals properly. Our grant will provide for it all, including her spay when she’s stronger, bigger, and ready!
Suntang after lifesaving flea and conjunctivitis treatment covered by Alley Cat Allies.
Suntang, named for his beautiful orange fur and sunny personality, had fleas and conjunctivitis and was underweight before our grant delivered the care he needed. Today, he’s doing so much better and, at 6 weeks old, he’ll soon be ready to be neutered and adopted.
Alley Cat Allies’ emergency measures, the hard work of the organizations who received our grant, and our generous supporters are saving these kittens’ lives—and the lives of many more impacted animals. Today, natural disasters are not the only emergencies that threaten the wellbeing of animals. In a world where so many operations are now online, cyber attacks cause an enormous amount of damage—and can harm animals in a number of unexpected ways.
As with every kind of emergency, Alley Cat Allies will not let cats’ and kittens’ needs fall through the cracks. We deeply thank our supporters and donors for making possible all of our disaster response work. We will keep you updated with more stories and photos from our work in Dallas through our communities on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.