PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The coronavirus pandemic is hitting all industries hard, especially nonprofits. Now, the Portsmouth Humane Society's mission to save the city's furry friends is set back even further after they say someone broke into their building Tuesday night.
In the middle of the night, staff say a cinderblock crashed through the front window at the Humane Society. With patch and repair costs estimating almost $1,100 they need the community's help.
The Humane Society said staff arrived in the morning to find glass all throughout the lobby. The alarm system had been triggered around 2 a.m. but fortunately, it does not appear whoever entered the building took anything with them.
Executive Director Alison Fechino said the financial hit from repairing the damage is particularly hard, because COVID-19 had already canceled their fundraisers.
But she added the nonprofit is blessed by incredible community support. They posted about the break-in on Facebook and within hours, about half of the costs are already covered.
Fechino said no animals were harmed, but a few guinea pigs got quite a scare.
"Unfortunately, some of the glass did get in the guinea pigs' cage," she said. "They were totally unharmed. They have been well examined and their cage had been replaced. But they were pretty freaked out. They were doing a lot of squealing when we came in this morning."
Fechino also wants to remind people that they are still open for adoptions, by appointment.