[ad_1]
Wildfires have forced Amanda Dengler to flee her home in Canada’s Northwest Territories three times in the past 18 months, each time her cats evading her attempts to bring them with them.
Last time, Dengler had to stay away longer than expected, joining the many residents turning to volunteer networks rescuing animals from communities threatened by Canada’s record year of wildfires.
Dengler said she tried to catch her three cats on Aug. 13, when she left her home in the city of Hay River because of a nearby wildfire.
“I think they picked up on my fear and it pushed them a little bit, and they didn’t cooperate,” he said.
So, he took his two dogs, a suitcase with clothes and his electronic devices. She filled a bathtub with water and left an open bag of dry cat food on the floor, thinking she would be gone for a few days. Once he got longer, he sought help.
That’s when he saw a Facebook message from Dr. Michelle Tuma, a veterinarian from Yellowknife, capital of the Northwest Territories, and a member of Veterinarians Without Borders. Tuma has spent the last month trying to help families flee with their pets, reunite with them or control the animals left behind.
“It’s difficult because we really don’t know how long this is going to last,” Tuma said.
His first involvement was helping residents of the small town of Behchoko, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Yellowknife, when they were evacuated to the territorial capital on July 24 due to a wildfire.
Many of those who took buses or planes were unable to take their pets with them and were forced to leave them behind, Tuma said.
“So we had an incredible group of people go into the community, help rescue a group of animals from the community with the consent of the owners, and bring them to Yellowknife,” he said.
In the end, more than 100 animals were rescued and brought to the city, where they were kept in boarding schools, shelters or with the more than 80 foster families who came to help.
In the weeks that followed, there were evacuations in more communities and more pets to help. Then, on August 16, an evacuation order was issued for Yellowknife. Within several days, some 20,000 of the city’s roughly 23,000 residents left.
Tuma, however, decided to stay on as an essential worker.
“I’ve been working on these wildfires for every other community for the last month and it was a no-brainer for me to stay behind and help out with my community, my hometown, and give back to this amazing city,” he said.
Working with staff from Veterinarians Without Borders across Canada, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and local officials, Tuma and others have been busy helping save, transport and care for pets as firefighters fight to keep scratch the flames
They brought food and water to homebound pets, answered calls from concerned pet owners, and helped arrange for the delivery of much-needed animal transport crates to remote areas.
“At first, flights didn’t allow pets unless they had carriers and the city immediately sold out of them,” said Charly Jarrett, communications director for Veterinarians Without Borders.
Over time, military flights and commercial flights allowed evacuees to bring their pets on board without a cage.
Tuma, sometimes with the help of a locksmith, has been busy rescuing animals in their homes, including a scared kitten that hid behind a washing machine before taking a couple of bites out of Tuma. She also helped the staff at a local veterinary clinic pack up an angry snake for transport. She was spitting, hissing and lunging at her rescuers as they tried to pull him out of a glass enclosure.
Tuma has also treated sick animals, prescribed sedatives to anxious ones that needed to be transported, and helped keep track of the 70 to 80 or so animals still in Yellowknife.
Maggie McGuane, daughter of the late Canadian actress Margot Kidder, originally from Yellowknife and known for playing Lois Lane in the Superman movies, contacted Vets Without Borders to offer help. McGuane is involved with Wings of Rescue, a California-based charity that transports at-risk pets from disaster areas and overcrowded shelters.
On August 20, a husband and wife team of volunteer pilots from Wings of Rescue airlifted 17 animals, including two snakes. The cost of the flight was covered in part by a $10,000 donation from US-based Tito’s Handmade Vodka and the company’s Vodka for Dog People Charity.
On that flight were two of Dengler’s cats, who had to be picked up in Hay River, a five-hour drive from Yellowknife. His third cat, a 7-year-old indoor-outdoor cat named Stitch, was still on the loose but was recently discovered by a neighbor.
Dengler, who is staying with friends in Calgary, said she was relieved to know that at least her four other pets were safe.
“I think right now people are looking for comfort, right? You leave your whole life behind and…sometimes pets can be family members to some people,” she said. “Even if I lost my house. Even though I have lost all my belongings, I still have the life of my animals. Everything else is replaceable.”
#Beloved #pets #Canada #rescued #wildfires #volunteers #left