Life savers
Animals caught up in the wildfires are getting help
In less than two weeks, a P.E.I. man has helped save more than 300 animals caught up in the British Columbia wildfires. As of last Wednesday, Ron McConnell said their count was 27 horses, mules, four miniature horses, a donkey, nine cats, nine dogs, seven goats, two sheep and 250 chickens. McConnell moved to Summerside, from B.C. about six months ago with his wife and is in the process of starting up a P.E.I. chapter of the Canadian Disaster Animal Rescue Team (CDART).
He flew back out to B.C. about a 10 days ago to lend assistance to the effort.
“We’ve got CDART teams deployed in three different areas of B.C. right now working in the wildfires,’’ McConnell said. “We’re usually up and running by 7 in the morning and shutting down, if we’re lucky, around 8 or 9 at night.’’ McConnell is located in Princeton where the fire has been 60 per cent contained. Not only is McConnell and his team rescuing animals, they are going into areas where people have been evacuated to take care of those left behind. He said leaving pets behind has been tough on the locals.
“It is. Let’s face it. They’re part of our families even if they are a pain in the backside sometimes. And, they’re a huge responsibility, but they depend on us. They’re our comfort zone, but they depend on us. Having that reassurance that there is somebody that can go in and help them to try and get those animals to safety or maintain them in place, it’s a huge load off these people.’’ McConnell said people have enough to worry about, living at evacuation centres, dealing with local agencies to find shelter, supplies, food and contacting insurance companies. On Thursday, residents of a rural area on the outskirts of Penticton joined more than 45,000 people in the province who have fled their homes.
“If we can pull just one of those elements out of there it just makes it that much easier on them.’’
McConnell said they are literally driving onto properties, putting out a bowl of food and some water and then coming back to see if a critter has been munching on it.
“In one instance, we had a lady that was worried about her (orange) cat so the team went in (and left food). The food was disappearing, but you’re never sure. Could be a skunk or a raccoon that was getting it, but one day, out of the corner of his eye, one of the guys saw a big orange cat running across the backyard so we could report her kitty was alive.’’
McConnell said when it comes to rescuing or maintaining animals, they’ve had a 90 per cent success rate. RCMP are also on the lookout for and rescuing animals, said RCMP Cpl. Janelle Shoihet. She says officers are patrolling communities and helping to guide livestock back to where they belong whenever possible.
She says officers have also been in contact with the B.C. SPCA to get animals more adequate support.
In a few cases where the SPCA wasn’t available immediately, Shoihet says officers have fed their lunches to animals to ensure they weren’t hungry. The SPCA, which has been deemed an essential service by the province amid raging wildfires, says animals are being located, fed, given water and reunited with their owners when possible.
Animals will also be taken into the temporary care of the SPCA if they determined to be in danger due to fires or health issues.
The SPCA says officers have rescued dogs, cats, horses, pigs, llamas, mules, a cockatiel and even a red tail python from fireaffected areas.
Senior animal protection officer Kent Kokoska says the python, named Medusa, was reunited with its owner, who was very happy to see their pet again.
The ministries of Forests, Environment and Agriculture say motorists should be on the lookout for animals wandering around roadways because wildfires have damaged fencing, allowing animals to escape from their enclosures.
The ministries say any emergency situations involving wildlife should be reported to the Conservation Officer Service.