Santa Cruz Co. Animal Shelter Accepts Animals Displaced By Wildfires

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter will be accepting animals displaced by the wildfires burning in the North Bay. The shelter will be fostering many of the animals left by residents who could not find them before evacuating. Hundreds of animals have been rescued since Sunday. At least 27 people are dead, hundreds more are still missing. Those returning home have started looking for their lost pets and large animals.

To make space for the influx of rescued animals, the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter has reduced adoption fees to $50 through October 31. Shelter officials said the adoptable animals have all been spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. Shelter officials ask residents to have an emergency preparedness plan that includes their pets.

Also See: California Wildfires Are Causing Problems Well Beyond The Fires' Edge

“Santa Cruz County is in an area prone to fire, earthquake, and flooding, and the 2016-17 winter storms were a reminder that we must all be ready to either shelter-in-place or evacuate, sometimes with little or no warning,” shelter officials said. “Families should have emergency plans in place that include household pets. This includes pre-packing and having ready access to Grab-and-Go packs that have a minimum of three days of food and water for all family members, sturdy shoes, personal identification medical documents (spare collar, tags, vaccination record for pets), up-to-date contact information for hotels and pet boarding facilities), required medications, and comfort items for children and pets. Your pet’s Grab-and-Go pack should also include sanitation items such as litter boxes and litter for cats and
plastic bags for waste clean-up.”

Those interested in learning more can visit the shelter website.

Social media pages have been set up to help victims of the North Bay wildfires connect to their lost pets, according to Sonoma County Animal Services.

See Also:

• Northern California Wildfires: Social Media Pages Set Up To Help Fire Victims Find Lost Pets

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