Alberta Wildfire - What Happens Next for Animals

Since the animal rescue work began in Fort McMurray, the Alberta SPCA’s (ASPCA) reunion centre in Edmonton took in 1,178 animals. 

The last transport of animals arrived at 11:30 p.m. on Monday, May 16 and the reunion centre closed on Thursday, May 19.

As of June 1st, the ASPCA had reunited 910 animals and another 106 were scheduled for pick up by their owners.

So what happens now?

The animals that had been in the care of the ASPCA have been moved to five facilities better suited to long-term housing: the Edmonton Humane Society, the Red Deer and District SPCA, the Calgary Humane Society, the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society’s shelter in Calgary and Meika’s Bird House in Sherwood Park.

For animals still in Fort McMurray, the Wood Buffalo animal control officers continue to pick up strays and to recheck houses registered as having animals but where none have been found to-date.

The municipality will continue working to reunite the animals now in its shelter with returning residents.

Anyone still trying to locate their pets should check the municipality website “In-Care Gallery” to see if their animal’s photo is there. Included in the gallery are photos of animals that came to the ASPCA without identification or with incorrect owner contact information.

The Fort McMurray SPCA is assisting returning residents who need supplies for their animals. Returning residents are requested to fill out the online form for assistance.

From the beginning the ASPCA recognized that many evacuees would be in situations where they couldn’t take possession of their animals right away, so they helped people find medium-term housing for their animals as needed.

Many animal rescue organizations, as well as numerous individuals across the province, offered foster homes for animal evacuees. In some cases, animals may need to be fostered for extended periods of time as homes and communities are rebuilt.

 

Rocky & Rambo were reunited with an ecstatic owner who'd had the birds for over 30 years.

Alberta Wildfire - Animal Rescue and Reuniting Underway

The rescue of animals left behind during the Fort McMurray wildfire evacuation has not been without drama and controversy.

Initial news stories reported “rogue” rescuers entering the city without permission from the RCMP or other emergency personnel. Officials believing the city was not safe and, rescuer, Sam Sansalone voicing people’s worst fears, telling the Huffington Post, "This is a mass grave, in basements, in crates.''

(Alberta SPCA)

In the meantime, government agencies, humane societies, SPCA’s and rescue groups around the province were marshalling resources and planning the mass rescue operation. The Regional District of Wood Buffalo created an online form and encouraged all evacuees who had to leave pets behind to use this form to facilitate their rescue.

Fort McMurray SPCA staff returned to the city on Friday and, working with other organizations, began to support the animal rescue effort. They re-opened the shelter to provide temporary housing for rescued pets prior to transport to the pet evacuation pickup centre and provided some medical treatment.

The shipping of hundreds of animals to Edmonton began on Sunday.

The Alberta SPCA announced that as of yesterday morning 612 animals had been checked in and health-checked, 50 animals had been reunited with their owners and 67 were scheduled for reunions at the Fort McMurray People and Animal Reunion Centre in Edmonton.

Sassy

“Sassy has been rescued! We would like to take a few minutes to send out a great big thank you and heartfelt gratitude to those wonderful people who have been rescuing pets who had to be left behind in Fort Mac during the emergency evacuation. No words can convey how great flu [sic] we are for your efforts. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Sincerely hoping all pets are rescued, health and reunited with their families. The stress and uncertainty is overwhelming. Take care, stay safe!” Carol Sparker wrote on the Alberta SPCA Facebook page.

In thanking the organizations involved in the rescue - Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Edmonton Humane Society, Calgary Humane Society, Red Deer & District SPCA Main Page, Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, Alberta Spay Neuter Task Force, Fort McMurray SPCA, Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society - AARCS, ZOE's Animal Rescue Society, Second Chance Animal Rescue Society, Humane Animal Rescue Team (hart), CaliCan Rescue Foundation, Hope Lives Here Animal Rescue Society and all the other volunteers - they showed the large amount of resources involved in making this happen.

Despite best efforts, there is still confusion about what the evacuees should do to find their missing animals.

Pet owners are posting on the facebook pages and twitter accounts of multiple organizations, asking for information about their pets, wondering why no one has given them updates.

“There are so many places to look, but I'm not even certain someone went to Willow's address to save her? I have been looking for her all over FB and I don't know the best source to even follow anymore.” Kim Brown on the Fort McMurray SPCA Facebook page.

HomeSafe, along with Pets Plus Us and Kijiji, are providing complimentary lifetime subscriptions to any pet owner displaced by the wildfire - whether they are missing or not. During displacement and times of stress, it’s easy for animals to get lost. A subscription to this automated lost and found service provides protection in case that happens.

Officials are requesting that all pet owners who left pets behind fill out Wood Buffalo’s online form which can be linked to from almost every animal organization’s website or Facebook page.

Alberta SPCA stated that animal rescue is still taking place 24/7 in the city but the process will take some time - pets need to be rescued, transported, examined and then matched with owner descriptions.

Alberta Wildfire - Associate Vet Clinics Offer Free Boarding

Select Associate Veterinary Clinic (AVC) hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary are offering free boarding for pets of families impacted by the Fort McMurray wildfire.

Boarding assistance at participating hospitals is based on availability. Pets should be current on vaccinations, but if they are not, AVC veterinarians will update vaccinations free of charge.

AVC Hospitals will also offer a free health assessment exam for pets that have been displaced as a result of the fire.

“Our hearts go out to all of those who have been impacted by the Ft. McMurray fire disaster,” Robert Pakai, Sr. Regional Operations Director, Alberta for Associate Veterinary Clinics, said in a release.

“As I travelled today throughout Calgary to the clinics picking up donations from our clients and clinic team members, it was evidently clear the passion our teams have for helping people make pets’ lives better.”

Calgary donations

AVC clinics in Calgary have collected enough food and supplies to fill five pickup trucks.

Pet owners are encouraged to contact the Canadian Red Cross or any of the following AVC hospitals for boarding assistance and more information.

Edmonton

Guardian Veterinary Centre

5620-99 Street

780-436-5880

Capital City Animal Hospital

11104-102 Avenue

780-433-9505

Calgary

Calgary North Veterinary Hospital & Emergency Service

204-4th Street NW

403-277-0135

     

Calgary Animal Referral & Emergency Centre (CARE)

7140 12 Street SE

403-520-8387

Western Veterinary Specialist & Emergency Centre

1802 10 Avenue SW

403-770-1340

All other AVC hospitals in Alberta will be offering free wellness exams and collecting food donations for pets impacted by the Fort McMurray wildfire.

Pet Rescue Goes to New Heights - First Class Flights for Fort McMurray Animal Evacuees

When Fort McMurray was evacuated, many people had to go North and were housed at oil company camps. They then needed to be evacuated from there.

Some were able to drive in convoys while others were flown south by Canadian North and WestJet airlines.

Despite strict airline policies about the transportation of pets, in this extreme circumstance pets were actually allowed in the cabin with their owners.

And the internet exploded with photographs and gratitude. 

Marshall Lutz

“Just like to give a huge shout out too the WestJet employee that went over and above what they had to do for me and my little aurora. First a gal that noticed my poor baby girl was way too scared to leave my side and cut the ties to her crate and told me i could bring her on to the plane for the flight, then the flight stewardess tried making her a bed. She was being stubborn and one of the employees gave up their seat so she could sleep on my lap. You guys are the real MVPs.” Marshall Lutz on Facebook

“Words cannot not express how thankful I am for your amazing customer service representatives in assisting me with getting my dog home after the Fort McMurray evacuations this past week. Two paws up💕” Dallas Dodman on Facebook.

Canadian North ended up having custody of a feline friend longer than anticipated when her owner went into labour. They’ve posted a series of tweets while caring for the cute cat. 

“1 of our evacuee passengers from #YMM has gone into labour so our #yeg flight ops team is looking after "Meow Meow"!” Canadian North tweeted.

When asked by various media outlets how many animals they have flown, Canadian North couldn’t give a number. They simply say "a lot" and everything from dogs and cats, to turtles, gerbils and birds.

"There really were no other options," Canadian North spokesperson Kelly Lewis told CBC. "We weren't going to let people leave their pets behind. We know how much they love them and we love animals, too."

WestJet and Canadian North made a huge impact on the lives of people who have been through a harrowing time and have deservedly generated a ton of corporate good will.

Other businesses have generously supported the Fort McMurray animal rescue efforts with Champion Pet Foods donating food and Pets Plus Us, HomeSafe and Kijiji offering complimentary use of the HomeSafe automated online lost and found system to help reunite pets with their people.

Any Fort McMurray evacuee can receive a lifetime subscription to HomeSafe at no charge for their pets.

Numerous animal organizations are working to rescue and reunite animals, including the Edmonton Humane Society and Alberta SPCA.

InfoStream reached Fort McMurray SPCA staff on Friday when they were still an hour away from returning to their facility which is, thankfully, still standing. They expressed gratitude for all of the support and encouraged anyone interested in helping to make a donation through their website.

Fort McMurray Fire - Assistance Offered for Animals

(cbc.ca)

With the evacuation of the entire city of Fort McMurray due to a wildfire, organizations and individuals have stepped up to help the evacuees and their animals.

Here are some resources for anyone affected by the fire.

Fort McMurray Fire Emergency Animal Assistance on Facebook is re-posting all offers to help animals from organizations and individuals that it can find on Facebook.

CBC - What you need to know if you’re in the Fort McMurray area - provides a list of information sources.

The Globe and Mail - The Fort McMurray fire: Here’s how you can help, and receive help - contains twitter links to the latest updates.