By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine
PASADENA, Calif. (Reuters) – A pit bull mix arrived at the Pasadena Humane covered in ash, the pads of his paws ulcerated from walking on fire debris, his lungs choked with smoke. A good Samaritan found the dog lying in the rubble in Altadena, wrapped it in a blanket and brought it to the shelter.
Still too weak to walk Saturday, Canela was reunited with his owner — thanks to CNN’s coverage of the act of kindness. The injured pet continues to receive medical attention 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 taken in and helped dogs, horses, donkeys, goats, sheep and other creatures displaced by the ongoing fires along with their human owners.
The Humane Society began accepting animals as a temporary shelter while families evacuated their homes. But circumstances developed, along with a growing disaster, which left 13 dead, burned 39,000 hectares and forced at least 153,000 people to flee their homes.
“Now we’re seeing more injured animals coming in,” said Dia DuVernet, president and CEO of Pasadena Humane. “We’re also starting to see people who have brought their animals into what we thought was a temporary shelter, but they don’t have homes to go back to, so it’s turning into a longer-term shelter situation.”
Some animals bear the scars of the ordeal, such as a severely burned husky with burnt fur and burnt paws.
“Nobody came back to retrieve him,” said the head veterinarian of the humane society, dr. Maria Pyrdek, adding that the dog is gradually showing signs of recovery. “He didn’t even lift his head when he came in. He was just completely exhausted.”
The organization has entered a new phase of this disaster response, rescue and recovery efforts, DuVernet said. Pasadena Humane is prioritizing calls to help live animals in burn zones — including eight injured peacocks.
A man in Altadena contacted the Humane Society for help getting water for the bull, cows and sheep he couldn’t get to because the fire destroyed the bridge.
“We’ve been thinking about how we can get a significant amount of water across this ravine and up this hill so these animals don’t suffer from dehydration,” DuVernet said.
During the crisis, DuVernet said the community provided enough donations to fill five U-Haul trucks.
REFUGE FOR HORSES AND DONKEYS
In nearby Burbank, the Los Angeles Equestrian Center accepted about 400 animals, mostly horses, but also a few donkeys. Some were brought in by owners who evacuated their homes, and others by the police who found them running.
The Eaton (NYSE: ) fire on the east side of Los Angeles hit a region full of horse lovers.
“People have horses in their backyards in these neighborhoods,” said Leigh Anne Claywell, the equestrian center’s general manager. “This has been a horse breeding area for a long time. It’s kind of where the Hollywood Western was born, because of all the cowboys and ranches that used to be in this area.”
Some of the evacuated horses seemed stressed when they arrived in their new surroundings, Claywell said, “but for the most part, they all seem to have kind of fallen into a routine.”
On Saturday, dozens of volunteers helped walk and feed the horses and clean the grounds. The center was overflowing with donations of apples and carrots for the animals and pizza and sandwiches for the people. Smoke was visible from the Palisades Fire to the west and the Eaton Fire to the east.
At one point, all the stalls of the center were full. Spaces opened when some evacuation orders were lifted and owners were able to return their animals.
Karrie Saydah picked up her two donkeys and two horses she had brought to the shelter when she was forced to evacuate her home at 3:45 a.m. Wednesday morning.
“It was so terrible, something like fire in the sky,” said Saydah.
Saydah borrowed a horse trailer from a neighbor and drove to a spot near the Rose Bowl only to find it was full. After finding places for her horses at the equestrian center, she returned to pick up the donkeys.
She thanked the staff and volunteers and said her animals will likely miss their generous offerings of treats.
“There is so much help and so much goodwill,” said Saydah.
