Helping out at the Big Camp Fire in California
As a member of the California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps (CAVMRC), I was honored to be able to help rescue efforts for the animal survivors of the Camp Fire. I am sorry I do not have more pictures to show you, but we were requested not to take any of specific pets. These pets are family members, and, as we were told, how would you like to see pictures of your sons or daughters plastered all over the internet, showing them in a hospital somewhere, disheveled, miserable, and in a hospital gown?
I helped examine 300 cats, and treat those that needed help.
So here is a picture of me, in my “classy” (NOT!) volunteer vest.
It was smoky in Chico.
But much worse in Oroville, a second temporary shelter area. (That sun is actually an orange color - my phone did not pick it up.)
This is the entry to the Chico Airport terminal, with tables full of donated food and treats available for the animals we cared for, and for people in need.
I have nothing but praise for Butte County Animal Control and the North Valley Animal Disaster Group, for their determination to do everything possible to reunite animals with their owners. I worked the three days before Thanksgiving with others examining, treating, and caring for 300 cats (along with some bunnies, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, mice, and lots of birds) at the Chico Airport. Extensive paperwork is kept with each one.
https://www.facebook.com/nvadg
The building where we cared for the cats is in the background of this picture. In the foreground are veterinary supplies that have been donated.
This is the area by the cat care building where there were more items for people to take.
There are a number of ways that owners are identified. All dogs and cats are searched for microchips. Owners identified that way are notified. All animals recovered by searchers have the place where they were found recorded on their paperwork. Some people with intact houses had to evacuate and could not take their pets with them to people shelters, so we kept their cats or dogs for them until they could go back to their home. Others had lost their home, their job, their clothes, their car, and had no place to keep their pet. Those animals are also being cared for.
They also do everything they can to make sure people do not steal someone else’s pet. Owners were asked for pictures of their pet that were not downloaded from the internet, descriptions of specific or unusual markings, etc. Every day I saw tearful reunions. Some were able to take their pets home. Some could not but visited them daily. Some did not find their pet that day but returned to try again.
The three main things we treated were stress diarrhea, upper respiratory disease (especially sneezing, made worse by the smoke and by stress), and anxiety with lack of appetite. I had a chance to use acupuncture on one poor cat who lay in a cage facing a corner, not eating or drinking much, and very depressed. He was being treated with fluids and a drug to stimulate his appetite. I added an acupuncture treatment and he started eating and drinking. Also hissing. Which, in his case, was a very good thing – interacting with the world again.
I was also happy to see that probiotics were being given to most cats. I wish there had been enough to give to all of them.
Pets that needed extensive care were sent to veterinarians and to UC Davis. All veterinarians donated their services for free.
Every day somebody found their pets. The last day I was there, a man took all 11 of his cats back home. (He was ordered to evacuate, and did not have any place else to keep them.)
Cage cards from pets that went home.
Animals are scattered among a lot of places right now. One website has “mugshots” of all animals whose owners have not yet been identified, and posting it on their website. They hope to have all unclaimed animals on that site soon.
https://sites.google.com/view/campfirerescuedanimals/
Animals that had to be left behind in areas not yet reopened to their owners are being fed by volunteers. They are also leaving food out for all the frightened cats that have been gradually emerging. Cats were being brought in each afternoon that I worked – some just frightened, some with singed whiskers, and some with badly burned paws.
HSUS rented a warehouse and is housing animals which are not sick, and whose owners have been identified. Chico airport houses animals which are sick (from stress and from burns) and animals whose owners have not yet found them. A similar operation is currently in Oroville. Pets are also being housed in other animal shelters and a number of veterinary hospitals.
There were many volunteers devoting their time and labor. There is an organization of chefs who cooked and served food for survivors and the volunteers.
https://www.worldcentralkitchen.org/chefsforcalifornia-medocino
A surprising (to me) number of volunteers cleaned cat cages and fed and watered cats. Others walked dogs and fed and watered them. One person who was excellent with birds cared for them, and helped the vet I worked with who decided which ones needed treatment. She and I both treated a rabbit with sniffles and an irritated eye.
I have seen some complaints about owners having difficulties finding their pets. With over 1600 animals rescued, and so many different places they were being kept, I am amazed at how many had their owners identified. I have confidence that if their pet is there, they will be united with their owners.
I would love to be able to fund research to determine the best probiotics and other natural treatments to help prevent stress-related diseases in situations like this. Donations help us support practical research that helps save pets' lives.