It has been a week, to say the least.
Sunday, 6pm:
A shelter to the north asked to borrow one of our transport vans. They had been asked to help transport and house animals from a shelter that needed to evacuate due to the fires, but didn't have a large enough van.
Sunday, 8pm:
A few of our staff members headed up to drop off the van so the shelter would be able to spring into action first thing Monday morning.
A shelter to the north asked to borrow one of our transport vans. They had been asked to help transport and house animals from a shelter that needed to evacuate due to the fires, but didn't have a large enough van.
Sunday, 8pm:
A few of our staff members headed up to drop off the van so the shelter would be able to spring into action first thing Monday morning.
This is one of our vans.
Whew.
Now to think about tomorrow - we had scheduled to drive down south Monday and transfer in 37 animals from one of our partner shelters in the Central Valley who needed our help. We spent a few hours Sunday preparing for their arrival - cleaning rooms, preparing for exams, and contacting foster homes.
Wow. Thanks guys.
Sunday, 9pm:
Plans changed. Another shelter near the fires had received an evacuation notice. They needed to evacuate their current shelter animals and asked us for help.
Monday, 3am:
Our team jumped in a van and headed up to rescue 11 dogs and puppies. These guys had already been available for adoption at the shelter, and would now be making a location change to look for their new homes.
One of our staff member's brother, who graciously joined us on our 3am drive. By the way, that ain't a sepia filter - that's just smoke in the background.
Plans changed. Another shelter near the fires had received an evacuation notice. They needed to evacuate their current shelter animals and asked us for help.
Monday, 3am:
Our team jumped in a van and headed up to rescue 11 dogs and puppies. These guys had already been available for adoption at the shelter, and would now be making a location change to look for their new homes.
Whew x 2.
We were happy to help, but didn't want to abandon our friends to the South. Now that one van was loaned out and the other was picking up animals in the north, we needed a way for the Central Valley animals to get to us. Thankfully, the shelter offered to drive them up for us.
Wahoo! We made it!
Monday, 12pm:
The 11 dogs from the northern fire area arrived at our shelter.
Monday, 12:15pm:
The 37 Central Valley animals arrived as well.
The 11 dogs from the northern fire area arrived at our shelter.
Monday, 12:15pm:
The 37 Central Valley animals arrived as well.
Whew x3 and 4.
This is what it looks like when almost 50 animals show up at once.
Monday, 12:20pm:
Our teams got to work. We set up our Community Room as a temporary triage area and started assessing dogs, vaccinating them, and sending 31 of them out to foster homes. The rest were moved into rooms to wait for spay/neuter surgeries, and then adoption space.
Our teams got to work. We set up our Community Room as a temporary triage area and started assessing dogs, vaccinating them, and sending 31 of them out to foster homes. The rest were moved into rooms to wait for spay/neuter surgeries, and then adoption space.
Monday, 7pm:
All 48 animals had been taken care of and were resting quietly, either here or in their new foster homes.
Whew x5.
This is what it looks like after our team kicks butt and processes almost 50 animals in a matter of a few hours.
So how were we able to scramble and make sure we could help out everyone who needed us in less than 24 hours?
Easy. We have some AMAZING staff members - they stepped in to transfer vans and animals at all hours of night and morning. We also have INCREDIBLE volunteers - they raised their hands to help us transport animals, vaccinate them, and get them where they needed to go. We have TREMENDOUS foster families - they answered our calls right away and rushed over to pick up animals when we were out of space and needed their help. And finally, we have STELLAR adopters. Just hours after arriving on our adoption floor, several of the dogs we picked up from the fire areas had already been adopted into loving homes.
This is Tanner. We brought him in after he had to be evacuated due to the fires. His people adopted him after only an hour on our adoption floor. Happy tails, Tanner.
We are so grateful for our community's support - because of you, we have the ability to step up and help when other shelters need us. Lifesaving takes a village, and we have the best village ever.
As for these 48 animals, they've been through a lot. But we're so happy that they'll now get to find their forever homes. If you've been thinking about adopting, now is the time to do it. These guys are already making their way to the adoption floor, and more will be coming over the next few days and weeks.
Like me! Come see me soon!
As for these 48 animals, they've been through a lot. But we're so happy that they'll now get to find their forever homes. If you've been thinking about adopting, now is the time to do it. These guys are already making their way to the adoption floor, and more will be coming over the next few days and weeks.
As for us? We're going to go take a nap, because it's been a very, very long week. And then we'll wake up tomorrow and do it again. We're still in touch with our neighbors to the north, and keeping an eye on the situation with the fires. And if need be, we're ready to jump into action at a moment's notice. Because that's what we do.
So proud of the folks at HSSV, staff and volunteers!
ReplyDeleteit takes a village and I am proud to be one of the villagers!
ReplyDeleteAmazing ! So proud to be a part of the HSSV adoption family
ReplyDeleteWow.That is great! I also a volunteer from a pet adoption near me and we support the pet adoption, for those interested to adopt the pet please inquire at their website, https://wagspetadoption.org/ By the way, thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDelete