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'It's devastating': Thousands of dollars stolen from Muskegon Humane Society

The shelter has filed a police report and is now asking for volunteer help and financial donations.

MUSKEGON, Mich. — Staff at the Muskegon Humane Society are in shock after nearly $10,000 went missing from their bank account after a check was stolen and altered.

"I just kept saying it's got to be an error," says executive director Alexis Robertson. "There's no way that someone would do that to us."

Robertson pays the shelter's bills monthly through an online service.

"So the checks get cut right from the bank and are mailed to our payees," she says.

Last week, she made an $80 payment to a local disposal company. When she looked at the bank statement a few days later, the check had not only been cashed, but severely altered.

"Changed from an $80 disposal fee to a $9,980 disposal fee," says Robertson.

That money is part of the shelter's budget for feeding and caring for the currently more than 100 animals housed there. And in an already slow year for donations, that impact could be crushing.

"Knowing how much work goes into raising that amount of money and seeing it, just, gone without a trace, it's devastating," says Robertson.

To counter the loss, the humane society is now asking for any help they can get, whether it's financial donations or volunteer work.

"We need adopters, fosters, donors," says Robertson. "If you're interested in volunteering or helping with fundraisers or things like that, I mean, that's where our need really is."

Robertson says she hopes getting the word out there will help other people avoid this same kind of theft.

"I definitely want to make sure that people are aware of what they have in their account and where their money is going," she says.

Robertson says she filed a police report as soon as she found out about the missing money. She talked with Muskegon Police on Monday morning and was told the report is being processed.

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