As pet care wildfire crisis abates, shelter’s adoptions resume for displaced, unclaimed pets

This week’s column is guest written by Chris Ramon, interim president and CEO of Pasadena Humane.

At Pasadena Humane, we live by our mission of leading the way towards a more caring and compassionate community for all animals. But it’s more than just animals that we help —  it’s the people who love them.

Over the past month, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with our community to help people and animals effected by the Eaton fire.

Like most everyone, my experience with the Eaton fire began the night of January 7. A few of our staff members had been evacuated from their homes. They sought safe shelter in our offices at Pasadena Humane, along with their significant others, most cherished belongings, and of course, their pets.

Around 10 p.m. that night, I received an urgent phone call telling me, “You better come down here.” When I arrived at our Animal Resource Center outside the front our shelter, the line of people seeking help for their evacuated pets was already down the block.

Some folks were there for supplies. They had evacuated so quickly that they didn’t have time to grab everything they needed for their pets.

However, a majority of people that night were pet owners seeking a safe place for their pets while they waited to see what happened with the fire. To date, we have taken in over 550 pets for emergency boarding.

Emotions were high outside the Animal Resource Center, for pets and humans. It was clear that animals coming into our care knew there was something outside of the norm happening.

It was also heart-wrenching for our staff to witness. Seeing a pet owner who lost their home and all their belongings, sobbing while reassuring their pet, “I’ll be back as soon as I can” is something that continues to stick with me.

Effectively reacting to a crisis of this magnitude required quick action across different fronts. Early on, I knew we had to mobilize staff from across the organization to support animal intake and reunification efforts.

We suspended certain programs and services so that we could reassign staff members to the Animal Resource Center and our new mobile command center, which served as the hub for our search and rescue operations.

We created a new process to admit animals coming in from the field, prioritizing animals with burn injuries, and making sure we had the room to accommodate the influx of animals coming into our care for emergency boarding.

It goes without saying that the first couple of weeks after the fire consisted of long days for our entire staff. Even though we were all running on fumes, we never wavered in our commitment to support pets and people in need.

For years, our community has played a vital role in helping us overcome some of the most pressing challenges we face in animal welfare. I’m incredibly proud that we were able to repay their generosity by being there for them in this great time of need.

A month on from the fire, operations are gradually returning to normal. We reopened pet adoptions earlier this week and have already found homes for dozens of stray animals brought in after the fire who were never reclaimed. But the need for more adopters remains.

I’m happy to share that many of the pets who came to us for emergency boarding have been reunited with their families, although we continue to care for more than 250 of these animals. We will provide safe shelter and loving care for these displaced pets for as long as needed.

Stepping into the role of interim president and CEO, I am committed to ensuring that Pasadena Humane remains a trusted resource for animals and the people who love them — whether in times of crisis or in everyday moments of care.

If you need help with a pet affected by the Eaton fire, please visit pasadenahumane.org/fire