By Dr. Ginger Gabriel
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
If you are a Line Fire or Bridge Fire evacuee with pets, there is a coalition of pet rescue teams ready to help you. Their two blue pop-ups are at the Lake Gregory parking lot in Crestline, across the street from Goodwin’s Market. The pet advocates have been there between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
A large number of evacuated pet owners are in Crestline with friends or family and in rentals. If you are a pet owner, hopefully you were able to bring your beloved pets with you in evacuation. Keep in mind that evacuated humans and animals are likely to be in distress because of what they have just left behind.
Gotti, a service dog, was bitten by an extremely irritated dog. He was rescued by Calli, a veterinarian with Viva Global Rescue.
There are a number of animal rescue groups here on the mountain to work with you: Mountain Animal Disaster Relief, Dogs Without Borders.org, Animal Advocacy Network.org, Grateful Hearts Sanctuary, Spoof Dawg to the Rescue, Hera the Dog Vodka, Present Moment Rescue and Sanctuary, Viva Global Rescue.org and Frost Fund. They have joined together to rescue in place with food, bedding, crates, medical supplies and their extraordinary expertise.
In a few words these incredible animal support people are here for you and your pets. Frost Fund’s slogan is, “Saving one animal might not change the world, but surely for that one animal, the world will change forever.”
Since the fires have started, these groups have been helping all mountain communities, wherever their field operations are needed. They often can go into areas you would not be allowed, in order to rescue your pet.
Here are some true Line Fire stories. The family is evacuated. Everyone is nervous and scared. The “go bags” are grabbed, the family runs for the car, but somehow the pet carrier wasn’t shut completely and the scared animal makes a run for it. The family is in tears, but the traumatized pet is in hiding and they can’t find their pet.
Or the dog you rescued just had a litter of puppies and you have no way of cramming everyone and the puppies in the car. Sometimes the fire catches people unaware and unprepared. A shopping trip off the mountain “needs” to happen; the mountain catches fire and the mountain road is closed. You cannot go home to get your pet.
In the case of this fire, some pets have been left on their own for seven or more days. The number of pets that have been left in the wake of this fire is astonishing, but sadly not unusual.
Scott drops by to inquire about pet adoption. Patrice provides need supplies.
Many of the volunteer pet rescuers for the Line Fire had not met before. The volunteers were amazed at the variety of skill sets that came together during the Line Fire. A few had met Patrice Monk and her family at the Blue Jay theater during Snowmageddon in 2023, where Patrice helped coordinate the Mountains Disaster Relief. Spoof Dawg stepped up and donated supplies during Snowmageddon and currently also donated all the supplies under the two blue pop-ups.
If you have pets, make sure that they have, if possible, a collar with ID on it. Make sure you have a leash for your dog and you know where it is. In your “go bag” for your animal, have a two to three day supply of food and two to three water bottles.
When you leave the mountain, during fire season, you never know when a fire could erupt. Leave your pet in as safe a situation as possible. Exchange phone numbers with your neighbors. Have a key hidden somewhere so a friend could have access to your animal or bring the pet to you in evacuation. Don’t assume that someone else will be able to rescue the pet you left behind.
Aaron and Shyann with Animal Advocacy Network have some capability of entering closed areas, but even they can’t be everywhere. A number you can try is (949) 680-8846 to explain your difficulty and perhaps find help.
One slogan that was heard a few times, was “Don’t shop, adopt.” Local resident Scott came by the blue pop-ups and said that his cat had died the week before and felt he was ready to get a new cat. As I left, he and Patrice were in conversation about how that adoption would work.
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