1 suspect arrested in East St. Louis pet shelter robbery

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - A East St. Louis, Illinois, Pet Shelter that says it was robbed by two men over the past week says one suspect is in custody by police.

Gateway Pet Guardians, a nonprofit animal shelter in East St. Louis, Illinois and operating for over five years says two men entered the animal shelter last year and proceeded to steal items that included laptops, dog medications and even some leftover pizza in the refrigerator.

The shelter says that police were able to apprehend one of the men in 24 hours while they were also able to identify the second suspect and are working to locate him.

The shelter also says that it have received a whole lot of support from the community following the robbery, with the shelter receiving donations over $10,000, donations of supplies, offers of free security assessments, treats for their staff and more.

"While we were devastated about the burglary, this is truly an example of how good prevails when the community rallies together. We have really felt the love," said Alisha Vianello, Executive Director. "We have been absolutely blown away by all of the support the community has shown us."

The shelter says that due to the stress of the robbery over the past week, the shelter says they are working to give their staff a much needed mental health break by hosting a "Clear the Shelter- Burglary Edition" event with the goal of sending all shelter dogs and cats out for at least the weekend.

Gateway Pet Guardians says it will be waiving adoption fees on all adult shelter dogs and cats. Potential adopters can come to the shelter on Thursday from 2-7 p.m., Friday from 2-6p.m. and Saturday from 10am-2p.m..

"If you aren’t in a position to adopt, we are looking for families to come to the shelter to take a shelter dog home for a weekend slumber party to give our staff a much needed break. We provide all the supplies too," said Vianello.