Several animal shelters opened to care for pets amid the California wildfires. All sorts of animals had to be housed during the crisis, from the everyday, such as cats and dogs, to the more unusual, such as llamas and chinchillas.
The wildfires in California have destroyed thousands of properties and have prompted a state of emergency. During rush evacuations, many families had to flee and leave their pets behind because they couldn’t find them in time. Some of the shelters allowed owners to save their pets ahead of time. Some even allowed pets to stay with their owners in a separate room.
Dee Rosier, a local citizen, brought her cats in to a shelter instead of waiting for an evacuation order “It’s just the living things that matter, the rest doesn’t,” she said “They are my family.”
In another account, the Sonoma Humane Society was able to rescue a lost cat from the North Bay fires. He was mostly unharmed, with singed whiskers being his only ailment. Luckily, he was micro-chipped, so the cat’s owners were later able to retrieve him.
Immediately after the wildfires, many pets were separated from their owners. The Sonoma Humane Society’s Facebook page was filled with accounts of pets being reunited after the Society’s hard work. Now that the wildfires are over, things appear to be settling down and most animals have been successfully reunited.
Of all the animals rescued, perhaps the trickiest to handle were horses. However, the Solano County Fairgrounds provided the solution, letting over 1,000 lost horses stay in their currently disused barns.
Sadly, not every story ended so well. However, if it weren’t for these incredible organizations, it would have been much worse. This is a prime example of why, if you care about animals, you should donate to your local animal shelter organization.