Friends, vets and strangers help save injured pets

Baylee Danz didn’t panic when she woke to the news of a wildfire nearby. Fires came with the territory in this place she had lived all her life, at the intersection between mountainous national forest and populated Northern California towns. Until now, her family had been safe in Magalia, Calif., just north of Paradise.

Only a few hours later, she was fleeing from the deadliest blaze in state history with her mother, father and grandmother. Her neighbor’s house was already burning down. The Camp Fire was at their heels, and Danz said she sobbed from loss and regret. Not only was she about to lose her childhood home, she couldn’t find her cats, Coco and Pebbles, before they had to leave.

Nearly 10,000 homes around Paradise and Magalia have been destroyed since the Camp Fire ignited Nov. 8. The fire spread so fast, people barely had time to save themselves, let alone their pets.

Over the past week, first responders have carried thousands of injured animals out of the ashes to emergency veterinary hospitals. Many of them were found sitting in the smoldering rubble of their former homes, burned and dazed.

At VCA Valley Oak Veterinary Center in Chico, Calif., the staff canceled regular appointments so doctors could focus on wildfire victims.

“We’ve run out of space,” said Daniel Gebhart, the co-medical director at Valley Oak.

Injuries include smoke inhalation, dehydration and severe burns, Gebhart said. The animals in the worst condition, with third-degree burns all over their bodies, have had to be euthanized. Fortunately, the vast majority of the animals that have come through Valley Oak’s door have been saved, Gebhart said.

Veterinarians administer pain medication to the burn victims immediately. They’re given fluids, antibiotics and oxygen depending on the nature of the wound.

The Small Animal Clinic at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine took in 32 cats with burn-related injuries over a two-day period, according to the clinic’s chief of emergency services, Steven Epstein.

“Most of the injuries are related to actual burns, mainly to their feet,” Epstein said. “A lot of foot pad injuries that take two to three weeks to heal.”

Their ear tips and faces also have been singed or even burned down to the skin. There might be lower-airway disease if they were breathing toxic gases. Some come in with burns in their nasal cavities or their mouths, which has another effect, Epstein says. “They need feeding tubes because they don’t want to eat.”

Of the nearly 2,000 animals the North Valley Animal Disaster Group has taken into its shelters, most have been cats. But there have been hundreds of dogs, rabbits and chickens, and dozens of larger animals such as horses, goats, sheep and cows.

Danz shared photos of Coco and Pebbles on her Facebook page. “If anyone sees them, please contact me,” she wrote. Soon she had a small army of strangers and friends searching for her cats.

“One thing I’ve noticed in this tragedy is the kindness of others, even strangers,” Danz said. “People I didn’t even know would comment on my posts. I had this whole invisible team looking for my cats.”

A good Samaritan found Coco on the UC-Davis Facebook page. Her paws were burned in the fire and three were still wrapped when Danz saw her Thursday. An animal-control rescue team found Coco three streets away from her former home.

“She is in good condition, though,” Danz said. “She’s eating and loves to be petted.”

Pebbles is still missing, but she’s alive. Someone found her stalking around the rubble of Danz’s former home in Magalia. “She was always a bit of a wild one,” Danz said, “and definitely a survivor.”

Her childhood home is a heap of ash and blackened rubble now, but at least she has Coco, her childhood cat.

“We do want to stay in the area,” Danz said. “We want to try and rebuild.”