Local animal hospital, shelters make room for animals displaced by North Bay fires

Bay City News
Saturday, October 14, 2017
A cat in front of an area burnt down by wildfires.
A cat in front of an area burnt down by wildfires.
kgo-Photo courtesy: Marin Humane

MARIN, Calif. -- Pets and wildlife affected by the North Bay wildfires are getting help from several organizations across the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas, officials with those groups said.

A shelter in Marin County is offering free emergency boarding for pets, a hospital is caring for a pair of birds, a shelter is caring for 12 birds, another shelter is waiving some adoption fees and still another has dropped its adoption fee to $50, according to officials with those organizations.

LIST: Current North Bay Fire evacuation orders, people and animal shelter locations

Marin Humane continues to offer free emergency boarding to pets whose owners are unable to care for them or unable to find someone else to care for them.

Animals can be brought to the shelter at 171 Bel Marin Keys Blvd. in Novato.

Officials at Marin Humane ask that owners bring their pet's veterinary records and medications if possible. The shelter will provide food and bedding.

If a pet is sick, however, owners are urged to take them to a veterinary hospital.

A barn owl and a raven are in the care of the Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital in Walnut Creek because they had to be evacuated from areas affected by the fires in the North Bay.

The hospital complex includes a natural history and environmental education center and officials are waiving admission fees for the center until Sunday for people who have been affected by the wildfires.

A dozen birds are in the care of the Peninsula Humane Society & Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Burlingame after they were evacuated from the International Bird Rescue in Fairfield.

The group of birds includes seven Canadian geese, two mallards, a green heron, a black crowned night heron and a snowy egret.

Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek is waiving its adoption fees through Sunday for dogs and cats six months old and older to make room for animals evacuated from fire areas.

"If you've been considering pet adoption, this is the perfect time," executive director Elena Bicker said in a statement.

At the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter, adoption fees have been cut to $50 through the end of the month.

Like the Animal Rescue Foundation, Santa Cruz County's shelter wants to make room for animals from residents displaced by the wildfires or animals from shelters that had to evacuate from the fire areas.

Click on the video player above to watch Cornell Barnard's full report. Click here to follow him on Twitter for the latest updates.

Click here for full coverage of the North Bay fires.

PHOTOS: Fires rage out of control in North Bay

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Debbie Wolfe looks over the burned ruins of her home of 30 years Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo