This week’s Pasadena Humane column is written by Dr. Maria Pyrdek, chief veterinarian and animal care officer at Pasadena Humane.
By Maria Pyrdek
As I drove home from the shelter on the evening of January 7, I saw flames racing down the hillside, transformers blowing out, and the sounds of sirens and hurricane force winds forewarning the disaster that would come to be known as the Eaton fire.
By the time I arrived home, our leadership team was already convening to discuss how to prepare for the emergent situation. Even our planning for the worst-case scenario could not have prepared us for the scale of destruction and displacement of people and animals the following day.
I returned to the shelter at 5 a.m. to find a long line of people who had evacuated with their pets and were seeking shelter for their animals. The staggering weight of the disaster, and the resilience of our community, dawned on me while I was waiting on the corner of Del Mar and Raymond for an owner and their pony. The fire had moved swiftly during the night leaving them no other option than to walk their pony four miles through Old Town Pasadena to the shelter.
Every single person I spoke to that day had a heartbreaking story of running from the flames as their homes were menaced by fire.
While I shared in people’s feelings of powerlessness against the growing fire, we at least had the power to offer people the peace of mind that their pets would be safe and cared for so they could focus on the things they needed to do in the immediate aftermath.
To deliver on our promise to our community, we needed to house more animals than ever before at an unprecedented rate. Within 24-hours, we were housing six times as many animals compared to our average population.
The effort required obtaining additional kennels, coordinating with other shelters, and converting offices and communal spaces into housing for displaced animals. In addition to dogs and cats, our shelter was filled to the brim with…
Read the full article here
