Dog, Puppies Saved During Butte Fire Reunite With Mission Viejo Veterinarian And City Staff

Press release from the City of Mission Viejo:

November 19, 2020

A dog and her puppies that were saved by a Mission Viejo veterinarian will be reunited with the doctor and City staff who delivered and treated them during a devastating Northern California fire.

Skylar and her 13 puppies are reuniting at the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center this afternoon with the special veterinarian and City personnel who deployed to Butte County in September to help and save animals displaced by the fire.

During the wildfire response, Mission Viejo Animal Services set up a mobile veterinary field hospital utilizing the Emergency Response Trailer. One of the patients was an extremely pregnant German Shepherd found wandering in the fire area. She had minor burns and was in distress. Volunteer veterinarian Dr. Farhtash worked to stabilize and provide her with the needed care during her pregnancy. On September 25, Skylar delivered 13 puppies. One puppy was non-responsive, so Dr. Farhtash worked diligently to bring life into the lifeless newborn by giving mouth-to-snout CPR for several minutes before the puppy let out a squeak and began to regain life.

By the fourth day, Dr. Farhtash and staff had treated more than 40 animals with injuries ranging from severe burns to respiratory issues and even a dog that was hit by a car.

At the end of the deployment, the team offered to take animals that were available for adoption to make room for the animals coming out of the fire zones. This included Skylar and her 13 puppies, which were in local foster care and will go home with approved adopters. Dr. Farhtash is adopting one of the pups. Mama Skylar is still available for adoption.

The Mission Viejo Animal Services Center is grateful to Dr. Farhtash, our staff and volunteers for their amazing efforts in saving the lives of innocent animals impacted by the fire.

If you are interested in adopting Skylar or any other homeless animal, contact 949-470-3045 or visit cmvas.org.

This press release was produced by the City of Mission Viejo. The views expressed here are the author’s own.