Animal rescuers take care of LA firefighters

By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine

PASADENA, Calif. (Reuters) – A pit bull mix arrived at Pasadena Humane covered in ash, its paws bruised from walking on burning debris, its lungs choked with smoke. A good Samaritan found the dog lying in the rubble of Altadena and brought him to the shelter wrapped in a blanket.

Although too weak to walk Saturday, Canela was reunited with his wife — thanks to CNN’s coverage of the act of kindness. The injured pet continues to receive treatment and is one of more than 400 animals that have arrived at the Pasadena facility since the Southern California wildfires began last Tuesday.

Animal facilities, veterinarians and rescue organizations have helped by reuniting dogs, horses, donkeys, goats, sheep and other animals with their human owners.

The humane society began accepting animals as temporary shelter when families were displaced. But conditions improved, with the disaster killing 13 people, burning 39,000 acres (157.83 square kilometers) and forcing at least 153,000 people to flee their homes.

“We’re seeing more injured animals coming in now,” said Dia DuVernet, president and CEO of Pasadena Humane. “We’re also starting to see people who brought their animals to what we thought would be a temporary shelter, but they don’t have a home to go back to, so it’s turning into a long-term shelter situation.”

Some animals bear the scars of the ordeal, like a husky with severe burns, singed fur and burned paws.

Dr. Maria Pirdek, the humane society’s chief veterinarian, said the dog was slowly showing signs of recovery. “When he came in, he wouldn’t even lift his head. He was completely exhausted.”

The organization has entered a new phase of disaster response, search, rescue and recovery, DuVernet said. Pasadena Humane is prioritizing calls to help animals living in burn zones — eight injured peacocks.

A man in Altadena contacted the Humane Society for help getting water to cows, sheep and bulls he couldn’t reach because the fire destroyed a bridge.

“We were strategizing how to get a lot of water in this valley and this hill so that these animals don’t die from the drought,” DuVernet said.

Throughout the crisis, DuVernet said the community has donated enough to fill five U-Haul trucks.

Horse and donkey shelter

The Los Angeles Equestrian Center in nearby Burbank took in about 400 animals, mostly horses but also a few donkeys. Some have been brought in by their owners, while others have been released by law enforcement.

of Eaton (NYSE: ) A fire in East Los Angeles has hit a neighborhood full of horse lovers.

“People have horses in their backyards in these neighborhoods. It’s been a horse-rich area for a long time. It’s kind of where West Hollywood was born because of the cows and ranches in that area,” said Leigh Ann Claywell, general manager of the Equestrian Center.

Some of the displaced horses looked distressed when they arrived in their new surroundings, Claywell said, “but in general, everyone seemed to be back to normal.”

On Saturday, dozens of volunteers helped feed the horses by foot and clean the grounds. The center was filled with gifts of apples and carrots for the animals and pizza and sandwiches for the humans. Smoke was visible from the Palisades Fire to the west and the Eaton Fire to the east.

At one point, all the stalls at the center were full. Loopholes opened when some evacuation orders were lifted and owners were able to get their animals back.

Kari Sadah was forced to leave her home at 3:45 on Wednesday morning while taking her two donkeys and two horses that she had brought to the center.

“It was terrible, it was like fire in the sky,” Saidah said.

Saidah borrowed a horse trailer from a neighbor and drove to a station near the Rose Bowl. After finding a place for horses at an equestrian center in Burbank for Zippy and Sonny, she returned with donkeys Midi and Thelma.

On Saturday, Saidah thanked the staff and volunteers, saying her animals would miss out on generous medical supplies.

“A lot of help and goodwill is being shared,” Saidah said.