He is one of the pets and people who carry with them the marks of his escape from the smoke and flames of the wildfires that swept Maui, which claimed more than 100 lives and destroyed a historic town.
“We’ve seen animals come into our shelter that have very, very bad burns,” said Katie Shannon, director of marketing and communications at the Humane Society’s Maui office. “We have seen dogs whose paws were practically burned to the bone from running away from fire.”
The deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century has left hundreds of dogs, cats and other pets missing, injured or dead. About 3,000 animals in Lahaina remain missing, according to the Humane Society of Maui, which is currently trying to reunite the pets with their owners and care for many of the animals that arrived at the clinics wrapped in blankets. they covered their wounds.
“We’ve gotten chickens, lovebirds, guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, cats,” Shannon said. “We even have a pig.”
Fed by dry grass and fanned by strong winds from a nearby hurricane, the fires reached speeds of up to 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) per minute in one area, forcing people out into the open. in a hurry in anguished escapes that they later told their relatives, who waited in agony to hear from them.
The stories of the animals, however, are told by the injuries they suffered
A cat arrived with burnt fur and burn spots on its paws. One chicken needed to have both of its charred legs wrapped in medical tape.
A clinic worker used surgical forceps to gently remove debris from a dog’s paws, while another veterinarian held its head, stroked its neck with his thumb and spoke quietly into its ear.
Those were the lucky ones. The charred corpse of a dog was found on a Maui street.
As the smoke clears and authorities review the extent of the loss and destruction, animal rights advocates are working with the Maui Police Department to enter the affected area to search for missing, injured or dead animals.
“As those areas continue to expand … we will be able to expand the scope of our services,” Lisa Labrecque, CEO of the Humane Society of Maui, said at a news conference Monday.
Dozens of containers filled with food and water have been set up to lure frightened animals out of hiding so they can be tracked and transported to a shelter, where veterinary staff treat both burn injuries and smoke inhalation cases.
The animals found have their identification checked and a microchip is sought to be able to contact their owners. The Maui Humane Society office has requested that deceased animals not be moved or cremated in order to catalog and verify their identification.
“But this is just the beginning,” Shannon said. “People need to understand that we are in the middle of this. And, as you know, a harsh reality will come.”
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
