Caring for animals amid the flames
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Pasadena Humane Society had taken in about 200 domestic pets, as well as a bobcat and red-tailed hawk from the Clear Creek Outdoor Recreation Center in the Angeles National Forest.
With 200 animals already housed in the shelter, staff members set up collapsible metal kennels in their boardroom and behavior center to accommodate the new arrivals.
‘If we have to spread out into offices, we will do that as well,’ said Hillary Gatlin, a human society community resources assistant.
Gatlin said no animals had suffered any injuries from the fire, although some were warm from the extreme heat. The agency will continue to admit evacuated animals at no charge, but owners are asked to pick up their pets at the earliest opportunity.
At Animal Acres in Acton, cattle, pigs, sheep and goats were loaded into trailers headed for an evacuation site in Palmdale. Director Lorri Houston built the facility after a 2007 fire.
‘The good news is, I think the public is becoming more aware that we need to have fire preparedness and evacuation sites for animals too,’ Houston said.
--Corina Knoll
