The tiniest victims of the California wildfires
Cats with burned paws and dogs with smoke inhalation are treated at emergency shelters after owners were forced to leave their pets behind
They are the hidden victims of the wildfires sweeping Northern California: dogs, cats, horses and other pets their owners were unable to take with them as they fled.
Now the animal welfare officers, vets and volunteers of Sonoma County have stepped in to help. Among the worst affected are cats because instead of – like dogs – obeying their owners when they tried to take them with them, they ran away. Many have suffered burned paws and smoke inhalation as the fires raged.
John Skeel, 52, director of Sonoma County Animal Services, lost his own home to the devastating wildfires rampaging through the area but has been working around the clock since Sunday night to help save pets in need.
Volunteers have traveled from as far as San Jose, 100 miles from the epicenter of the disaster in Santa Rosa, to help care for horses and other livestock displaced by the fires. And vets have been dispatched to the area by the California Ve t e r i n a r y M e d i c a l Association to look after animals injured in the blaze – and expect to stay until at least the end of next week.
Meanwhile, welfare officers have been performing hundreds of checks in the evacuation zones around Santa Rosa and Sonoma, leaving food and water for pets that are safe and bringing injured animals back to the Sonoma County Animal Services shelter for medical care.
Smaller animals such as cats, fish, and birds are being looked after at the Santa Rosa shelter while larger beasts have been taken to the nearby County Fairgrounds. There, volunteers are caring for approximately 500 horses made homeless by the enormous wildfires, which have killed 31 people so far, along with cattle, sheep, pigs and goats evacuated from farms nearby.
Skeel, who is originally from Brighton, UK, said: ' This has been surreal – you don't expect it. Because many people are under evacuation orders and had to get out of their homes quickly and can't return, we're getting literally hundreds of calls to do welfare checks. We go to the address, check on the dog, check on the cat, check on the fish, make sure they've got food, water and then we leave them. If they're not safe or they're sick or injured, we bring them back here [ to the rescue center].'
Many of the pets brought into the shelter are felines, most suffering from burned paws and smoke inhalation.
Shelter vet Katie McKenzie, 38, of Healdsburg, California, said: 'Most dogs will go to their humans when something hap- pens but cats run away. That's why we are seeing so many more cats than dogs.'
Among the fire victims was a 10-month-old male kitten being treated by Dr. McKenzie. The animal had been found at a home in Santa Rosa earlier that afternoon and was suffering from severe burns to its feet; including pads burnt through to the bone.
In a neighbouring room, two more bandaged cats were recovering after being sedated so their burns could be treated. One, a gray mix- breed, had already found its owner while the other, a purring black kitty, is still waiting for its family to come forward.
A cage of chickens had also been brought in, while another, smaller, cage held a tiny pet finch; its tail feathers burned away by the blaze.
Huge piles of donated supplies were in the yard behind the shelter, among them cat carriers, heaps of hay and purple paper bags of pet food. According to Skeel, more donations are needed, with water and food bowls, babywipes and money to pay for ongoing care among the priority items.
As well as cats, many of the animals that were left behind included livestock such as cows and larger pets such as horses and goats.
Many of those remain in their burned out pastures, with food and water left for them by welfare officers.
Currently, 21 fires continue to burn in and around the Napa Valley, with a total of 191,000 acres consumed by the disparate blazes so far.