The toll from the wildfires on Maui is still being assessed, as is the toll on dogs and cats in the Lahaina area. Help for the displaced animals is coming from San Diego County.
Over the last couple of nights, some very special four-legged Hawaiians have been arriving at San Diego International Airport.
“After the fire, we knew that adoption rates were gonna plummet," said Monica Petruzzelli, communications manager at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe.
Petruzzelli said Woodward has a long working relationship with colleagues at the Hawaii Animal Rescue Foundation.
"We knew that they were going to be over capacity with these pets that were found lost and injured," Petruzzelli said.
But the 10-plus dogs now at Helen Woodward are not those lost and injured pets. Petruzzelli said it was apparent from the start that the shelters in Maui would quickly be at over capacity with those animals that found themselves homeless.
“What our partners needed the most when we asked them, was space. They are currently trying to build makeshift kennels because they’re out of room," she said.
The final flight of refugees will arrive Thursday night — that group will consist of felines.
For now, the canine arrivals are being assessed and getting everything they need.
“I check to see if there’s any nasal or ocular discharge," said Breanne Sneddon, a veterinary technician at Woodward, as she examined one of the dogs from Hawaii.
“This one would pass. It does have a little bit of debris in the ears, so we would do an ear cleaning," Sneddon said.
Getting these animals to San Diego is a group effort. Alaska Airlines is flying them here for free.
Petruzzelli said Woodward is also getting financial help from the Lewitt and San Diego Foundations. The dogs and cats will all be at the center until around September 5, where they'll be put up for adoption.
On a wall in the center lobby, there are plaques; tributes to our four-legged friends, and there is the Helen Woodward slogan — "People helping animals and animals helping people." The slogan begins and ends with us.
People interested in adopting one of these Maui refugees, or any one of the other hundreds of dogs and cats, can visit the center's web site.
