Pets

I went to get my teeth cleaned today and they hygienist told me that when she evacuated she took her purse, a tooth brush, and all her pets, including a parrot, and their beds, food and toys. She seemed to think that was silly , but I think many of us would do the same. Our pets are more important to us than any of the material things with which we surround ourselves and because they are so dependent on us, we think of them first.

Everyone has an evacuation story. Some of the most amazing were the stories of people and their pets. Dogs are pretty easy. Cats not so much. Dogs tend to stick to their people; cats tend to run away from them. And then there was my friend Tobi with her ten chickens and her border collie in her car....

My hairdresser and her husband chose to stay home rather than round up and transport three dogs, four cats a rat and some goldfish. Plus, she said, the only place they had to go was to her mother's house and she would rather take her chances with the fire than stay with her mother! She and her husband took two hour shifts staying awake on the couch at night instead. Their house and all its occupants were fine.

I suspect that a lot of people's pets, especially cats, spent a lot of time in the bathroom in case they needed to be evacuated. Cats have a way of disappearing when stressed, unlike dogs who tend to stay close. When we thought we would be evacuated from the Berkeley/Oakland Hills fire we had four very pissed off cats in the bathroom....Many cats with burned feet and faces are being cared for at the UC Davis Veterinary School.There is a Facebook page aimed at reuniting people with their pets.

A caretaker at Safari West, a wildlife park in the hills was so busy evacuating and looking after giraffes, zebras, pumas, antelopes, birds and many other wild animals, that he didn't have time to save his own house which burned to the ground. 

A woman convinced her burro to get into her Honda and was able to drive it out ahead of the flames. Dana's two cats lived in her car for ten days.Two donkeys were found wandering on Highway 12 by some firefighters who took them to the fairgrounds. The Sonoma County fairgrounds are now home to many large animals and volunteers are still caring for them while their owners try to figure out how to resettle them.

There are service dogs at Dana's school, Rincon Valley Middle School,  providing love and a cuddle for the the kids   and their teachers. The only problem is, there aren't enough. 113 children  from her school alone lost their homes. Many of the 150 teachers county wide whose homes burned down have returned to teaching.

Ozzie hasn't really missed a beat. He simply moved from our couch to the couch in Sebastopol where we were staying. We took him home for a few hours when the power was restored, but then were evacuated again. He really didn't want to leave....We tried at first to keep the three dogs off the couches, but finally gave up and swathed them (the couches) in sheets. He does seem a little more attached to his special bone,....