It’s all hands on deck right now among California animal shelters.
As historic wildfires continue to rage through Southern California, leaving dozens dead and thousands displaced, volunteers for animal shelters in San Francisco are driving down south in cars filled to the brim with pet supplies and returning with adoptable animals.
The folks over at senior dog shelter Muttville are aiming to take in at least 50 senior dogs from the fire-affected areas over the next few weeks, the shelter’s founder and CEO Sherri Franklin told Gazetteer SF. When we chatted earlier this week, Franklin said a Muttville volunteer had already brought four dogs up to San Francisco.
“Our plan is to be committed to seeing this through as things change,” Franklin said. “Once the fires die down there will need to be a large commitment from everybody to help these animals that may be homeless…this is going to be a long, all-hands on deck project long after the fires are actually out.”
Pasadena Humane and Los Angeles Animal Care & Control are among the several shelters needing support from other organizations so they can free up space for animals displaced by the fires.
Earlier this week, Pasadena Humane’s website said its teams were logging “every report of animals left behind and dispatching search and rescue teams as quickly as possible in areas that are safe to enter.” According to the nonprofit, teams are prioritizing reports of animals they believe to be alive and in need of medical attention, and cases where people were forced to leave their pets behind.
“They are getting very full with local animals” that “very possibly have a guardian somewhere looking for them,” Franklin said. “What our team is doing is getting the dogs that were already in [SoCal] shelters prior to the fire,” and are looking for their forever homes, rather than waiting to be reunited with their families.
The Milo Foundation, a Bay Area-based shelter for dogs and cats, posted on Facebook this week that their team members plan to head to Los Angeles in the coming days to pick up cats, dogs, and puppies. According to the post, the Milo Foundation will prioritize the animals who are facing euthanasia at shelters that need space for pets that became lost, injured, or surrendered as a result of the fires.
The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is also stepping up. Team members drove down to LA on Monday to bring supplies, and plan to return on Wednesday with 30 animals for adoption, shelter spokesperson Naomi Weisenberg told Gazetteer. They have another transport mission scheduled for next week, if SoCal shelters need more support.
"Even before the fires, animal shelters across California were at capacity," Weisenberg said via email. "Now, many are over capacity. The San Francisco SPCA is working to relieve that pressure by transferring animals that are ready to be adopted to our shelter."
The team will also bring back some senior dogs bound for Muttville, Franklin said.
What people can do right now, she said, is open up their homes for fostering — or, better yet, a permanent adoption.
“The more adoptions we can have, the more dogs we can take at a moment’s notice,” Franklin said. “Adopt, adopt, adopt.”
