Californians rushed to evacuate their animals, including dogs, cats, horses, and even pigs, as wildfires in Los Angeles advanced rapidly, reports AP.
Arianna Buturovic, who runs a dog rescue shelter near LA, watched anxiously as smoke approached. Within hours, fires engulfed the nearby mountains, forcing her to act quickly. “I crammed 15 dogs and two cats into a black Prius,” she said. With nine more dogs and a pig left behind, she flagged down a group of teenagers with a truck to transport them to safety. Unable to take her two ponies, she left their corral open to allow them to flee. “That’s how we managed to evacuate almost 30 animals. It was chaos,” she added.
Animal owners throughout Los Angeles scrambled to save their pets as the wildfires claimed 11 lives and destroyed over 12,000 homes and structures this week. Overwhelmed animal shelters pleaded with people to find friends or family to temporarily house their pets.
Wendy Winter and her husband bought cat carriers Tuesday evening to prepare for evacuation with their cats, Purry Mason and Jerry. Just two hours later, they had to flee their Altadena home. By the next morning, their house and the entire street were gone. “There’s fear, loss, and shock,” Winter said. The couple is now looking for friends to foster their cats while they figure out their next steps.
Some pet owners, unable to evacuate with their animals, turned to shelters for help. The Pasadena Humane Society received 250 pets on the first day of the fires, while Los Angeles County Animal Care reported housing 97 animals, including cats, dogs, pigs, a turtle, a bird, and a snake.
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Veterinarian Dr. Annie Harvilicz transformed her former Animal Wellness Centers office in Marina del Rey into a temporary shelter, inspired by her brother’s need for pet care. She quickly accommodated 41 pets and found foster homes for most of them within days. Despite expecting more animals, she was instead overwhelmed by offers to volunteer. “I’m proud of the people of Los Angeles for stepping up to help one another,” she said.
Larger animals faced greater challenges. Julia Bagan, a member of the Southern California Equine Emergency Evacuation group, found five horses trapped in their stalls in Altadena after the fire. Firefighters freed the horses, but one, a 3-year-old black mare named Flicka, suffered severe burns. Despite the dire odds, a veterinarian is treating the horse at an emergency equine hospital. “Leaving them locked up with no escape is tragic,” Bagan said.
Meanwhile, some horse owners acted quickly. Meredith McKenzie evacuated her horse ahead of the fire, prioritising her sister’s care. “Horse owners know not to wait when there’s a fire risk,” she said, noting that panicked horses are harder to control once smoke appears. Though her barn at the historic Bob Williams Ranch burned, fellow equestrians have offered to help replace lost equipment.
Suzanne Cassel evacuated from Topanga with her two horses, a donkey named Oscar Nelson, four dogs, and two cats, securing a spot at Pierce College’s animal shelter. While her horses settled together, her donkey felt isolated. “He’s lonely, so I sat with him in his stall for half an hour. Herd animals don’t like being alone,” she said.
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Back at her rescue shelter, Buturovic relocated her animals to friends and Harvilicz’s temporary facility. When she returned to the ranch, she found it destroyed. Her ponies and two semi-feral dogs were gone. She is now raising funds for Philozoia, her non-profit dedicated to saving animals from high-kill shelters. “I don’t know how we’ll move forward,” she said.