Crime & Safety

Pets, People Fill RivCo Evacuation Shelters; Singed Kitty Doing Well

As nearly 1,000 people packed into local emergency relief shelters last night upon evacuation from the Idyllwild and Fern Valley areas due to the nearby Mountain Fire, many of their furry friends were also cared for.

A total of 940 people stayed at the three shelters on Wednesday night: one set up at Beaumont High School, one at Hemet High School and another at Hamilton High School in Anza, according to American Red Cross Spokeswoman Ishell Linares.

Of those hundreds, it's not surprising that many of them had to find a place for their pets to stay.  

"Everybody up in Idyllwild has a ton of pets," evacuee Suzanne Swanson told Patch when she was checking into the Beaumont shelter, along with her four cats.  "It's just a zoo up there."

That's where the Riverside County Department of Animal Services stepped in, opening up a 24-hour shelter for people to drop off pets.  What's more, the Beaumont animal services department also took in animals.

The county animal services agency set up an emergency shelter for pets in San Jacinto, and dozens of critters have since filled the place, according to Spokesman John Welsh.

Of those animals, the majority were cats and dogs, but there are some other interesting tenants.  Welsh said that the following were checked in at the San Jacinto shelter as of Thursday night:

  • Approx. 30 cats
  • Approx. 30 dogs
  • 1 rabbit named Snuggles
  • 1 African grey parrot named Gracie
  • 2 pygmy goats
  • 5 chickens
  • 1 tree frog named Cherry Soda Pop
  • 2 horses
According to Welsh, the majority of those animals were brought into them by evacuees, and the agency hasn't found many strays wondering around the Idyllwild area yet.

"For the most part, mountain community folks are used to getting everything on the go quickly, so we're not actually impounding a lot of animals from neighborhoods in rescue type situations," Welsh said.

However, one such animal that was rescued by animal services personnel was a small, weeks-old female kitten.  When workers found her, she had singed paws and fur from the fire, according to Welsh.

That kitten-- who is yet to be named-- is expected to be okay, and availabe for adoption in the next several weeks after she is old enough to be spayed.

"She's going to be fine," he said Thursday afternoon.  "Totally is going to be fine; she's getting cared for at our main shelter."

The kitten was originally taken to the San Jacinto shelter, but transferred over to the main Riverside location to be looked after.   

"We've got all the gear up at the main shelter, since the San Jacinto shelter isn't officially open yet," he said.  

The only other pet injuries reported were on two show horses which also had minimal singe marks on them, according to Welsh.

Any additional evacuees with pets can bring their animals to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus (581 S. Grand Ave. San Jacinto 92582) effective immediately, free of charge.

The shelter is located between south of Cottonwood Avenue, east of Palm Avenue, west of State Street and north of 7th Street.  

"All pets will receive animal ID numbers and pet owners will receive those numbers for their records," Welsh said.  "The pets will be provided food and water and proper care."



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