Team members at Woods Humane Society in San Luis Obispo drove south on Thursday to pick up animals from shelters impacted by the wildfires around Los Angeles. Now, those shelters will have more room for displaced animals, and the animals brought to the Central Coast will have the chance to be adopted.
"Woods has sent a team in our vans to load up as many animals as we can take from an LA shelter. The shelter that we're working with took in 97 animals just overnight that were displaced as a result of the fires," said Emily L'Heureux, Woods Humane Society CEO.
It's important to note that Woods isn't taking the displaced animals. It’s taking those that were already in the shelter and up for adoption.
"We're very purposeful about that because when we do that, that is going to open up kennel space for those displaced animals, for those lost or stray, for the beloved pets that went missing from their owners to give them a chance to be reunited," L'Heureux said.
Santa Barbara Humane has also taken in 13 dogs from the Pasadena Humane Society shelter, and a team from Santa Barbara was headed south on Thursday to provide additional help caring for the shelter animals there.
"As someone who's been in this business and went through the Thomas Fire, I know that the staff is exhausted. They feel like it's just never-ending, so I'm expecting to find people that are emotionally at their wit's end. Their own houses probably have been impacted, their community, so we want to just go down and provide them with emotional support as well as just logistical support," said Dori Villalon, Santa Barbara Humane COO.
The team at Woods is hopeful for the cats and dogs being brought to San Luis Obispo.
"We live in such a generous community that is so pro-adoption, so for us to be able to bring in our team to take in these animals and know that they are going to find loving homes on the Central Coast of California is so important to us," L'Heureux said.
How can you support them?
"The best way that you can help Woods Humane Society at this time is to consider adoption, and if you don't have the space in your home to add an animal, share our message far and wide," L'Heureux.
Villalon and L'Heureux both say that making sure you have a plan to take care of your own pets during an emergency is another way to help.
San Luis Obispo County Animal Services shared some recommendations for what to include in an emergency kit.
"At least three days worth of food, a food bowl, a water bowl, any medications that their animal might need — at least a few days supply of that," said Eric Anderson, SLO County Animal Services Manager.
He adds that it’s also important to have a plan for where you and your pet can go in an emergency.
"Maybe identify friends or relatives that are nearby but out of an immediately impacted area so that you can say that's where we're going to go," Anderson said.
Click here for more pet disaster preparedness tips from the Red Cross.
