Bristol Animal Control Designated As An Emergency Pet Shelter

BRISTOL, RI — The Bristol Animal Shelter has been designated a Rhode Island Emergency Pet Shelter by the Department of Environmental Management, the town's police department announced. This means the facility it authorized to take in household pets in a disaster situation.

Bristol is one of four emergency pet shelters in the state, and is the first in the East Bay. In the case of a severe weather event, pet owners will be able to leave their animals behind when they evacuate, knowing they will be well cared for.

Shelters must meet certain requirements to become a certified emergency facility, including the installation of an emergency generator to serve as an alternate power source in case of an outage. The generator was funded by a $62,000 grant awarded to the Bristol Police Department by the state's Emergency Management Agency. Installation costs were offset by John Lannon, who owns JML Construction. Lannon donated his time, equipment and materials for the foundation's concert pad.

"The residents of Bristol, and the East Bay, should be confident the safety and needs of their household pets can now be met with the Bristol Animal Shelter being an alternative for emergency shelter during times of a declared emergency," the department said in a statement.