Vandals broke into the Pulaski County Humane Society early Tuesday, ransacking the facility and making off with money, veterinary medicine and a van, according to employees.
The nearly 400 animals at the shelter were said to be rattled but otherwise safe after the episode. Employees were still assessing the damage to the facility at 14600 Colonel Glenn Road.
According to an Kay Jordan, director of the humane society, thieves probably disabled the security cameras before tearing apart the vending machines to retrieve the coins inside. Also broken into was a safe that held veterinary medicine.
No one stays on the premises overnight.
Jordan hadn't been able to sort through all of the damage, but she said the stolen medicine included an $800 bottle of wormer, another bottle of medicine worth $850 and rabies vaccinations. She said the controlled substances such as anesthetic and painkillers are kept at the veterinarian's office and not at the shelter.
The medicine was stored in a theft-proof safe that Jordan said had been busted open with what looked like a sledgehammer.
Jordan thinks the burglary was an inside job and surmised that a former or current employee might have been behind the crime because the vandals seemed to know their way around her office.
"I didn't have a clue what I was going to find" this morning, Jordan said, adding that some of the animals in the front lobby were quite traumatized by the break-in.
Other damage to the shelter included a busted window in the gift shop, a destroyed computer in the lobby and busted security cameras.
The thieves drove away in the shelter's van, a white 1998 Dodge Caravan with a missing passenger side mirror.
No arrests have been made yet. Authorities are said to have a few suspects in mind.
Now the shelter, which relies heavily on donations, must struggle to pick up the pieces.
"This job is so hard to begin with," Jordan said. "It's devastating to see something destroyed like this, and at this time of year."
Volunteers are needed at the shelter between 8:30 and 6 p.m. The humane society will open back up Thursday for adoptions.