pet connection

Elizabeth Weise over at USA Today is reporting on the fires raging in Southern California:

As wildfires surge around the Los Angeles basin, pet owners need to take special care that their charges are safe. Most important is to take pets with you if you’re evacuated, says Heather Case, the American Veterinary Medicine Association‘s coordinator of emergency preparedness and response.

“Everyone should be thinking ‘How am I going to transport my pets?’” she says. “Take the order to evacuate seriously. Animals, because they’re smaller than we are, are quite sensitive to smoke.”

[....]

Several groups are offering to take in animals who need to be boarded during the fires. They include the Casitas Hotel for Cats in Glendale, which can only take cats, and the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, which is taking cats, dogs and some wildlife. The Kitty Liberation Front provides details on local shelters that are accepting both cats and dogs.

Huge props to the VCA chain of veterinary hospitals, which is taking in pets of people affected by the fires for free:

VCA Animal Hospitals announced that all VCA facilities located near the Station Wild Fire that is burning thousands of acres north of Los Angeles are offering free boarding for companion animals whose families have been evacuated or displaced from as a result of the current firestorms.

“As people are being evacuated to shelters or facing the loss of their homes, VCA is committed to assist them by offering free boarding for pets so they can focus on the critical issues with their families and homes,” said Art Antin, Chief Operating Officer of VCA Animal Hospitals. “We want everyone to know that they have this option to keep their pets safe during this difficult time.”

VCA Animal Hospitals situated in Los Angeles can provide a safe environment for pets that have been affected by the fires on a space available basis as long as the fires persist.

Boarding assistance for pets is based on space availability at participating hospitals and owners can call in advance to ensure that the facility of their choice has space available to accept additional pets. A list of all VCA Animal Hospitals located in the Los Angeles area can be obtained at www.vcapets.com.

And don’t forget to get your family — including your pets — ready to face a natural disaster, whether it’s a hurricane, earthquake, flood or fire. Check out Gina’s post here, or the federal government’s pet disaster plan here.

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