Mercy and heroism: Risking their lives, people rescue animals trapped by the California wildfires

Animal rescue operations continue throughout the Los Angeles area catastrophically affected by the California Wildfires.

The pet animal toll among dogs, cats, birds, horses, and others is already known to be many times higher, even though most evacuees appear to have taken their animals with them if there was any way to cram them into cars in what was often only minutes to escape towering fast-moving flames that leaped roads with the ease and speed of a “jumps” racehorse.

Social media is filled with videos of frightened animals running from the flames as their homes burn.

There are also a lot of videos showing courageous behavior of people rescuing the animals trapped by the wildfires. Despite the life-threatening circumstances, people, forgetting fear, rush to help the animals. True mercy, compassion and heroism are inseparably united, this has been clearly manifested in the days of this apocalyptic tragedy.

We cannot measure physically the gratitude of the rescued animals, but we will feel it acutely if we see the expression in their eyes.

Many people involved in these tragic events say their lives will never be the same again. What they have experienced has changed not only the physical space around them, but also their soul. They say they have become different inwardly, and some are trying to rethink their life values now. Many have become convinced that human kindness, heartfelt compassion and selfless friendships are more important than material well-being, which can be lost instantly at any moment.

“I am preparing myself to comfort and support hundreds of human and animal wildfire victims every day”

Dave Pauli, formerly a longtime disaster relief coordinator for the Humane Society of the U.S., and now, post-retirement, sponsored by Greater Good Charities of Seattle, flew in from Montana on January 14, 2024 to lend a hand to the victims of the California wildfires.

Pauli posted to his legion of Facebook followers, “Four very difficult words. ‘We lost our house.’ I met three different couples who shared that phrase with me today, and each of them were walking or clutching their canine family member.”

Many of Pauli’s followers served with him in previous disaster relief missions, from Hurricane Andrew in 1992 through Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the deadly Lahaina fire in August 2023.  No one is known to have participated in animal rescue in the aftermath of more disasters.

“It struck me,” Pauli said, “that all three used the term ‘lost house’ rather than ‘lost home’ ––I think they said so because an important part of their home was on their lap or leashed by their side.”

“The collection box is right in front of my hotel room,” Pauli continued. “It is full of various donations, as the evacuees try their best to help the needy. And this eases the sorrowful state of their souls, they say.”

“My heart will become weighed down,” Pauli predicted, “as I spend every morning distributing badly needed human and animal supplies.  My days look like they will be half material support and half networking and planning for the larger wildlife response.”

“These fires, just like the Maui event, leveled neighborhoods and impacted people of all economic and social levels. I am preparing myself to comfort and support hundreds of human and animal wildfire victims every day!”

California residents rescued several horses from the area engulfed in flames.

A FOX 11 Los Angeles broadcast shared a story about how Altadena residents scrambled to safely lead horses away from a barn near the Eaton Fire. In the clip, the entire hillside in the background of the video and both sides of the street appeared to be on fire.

Reporter Gina Silva dodged still-lit embers swept around by strong winds. As a few firetrucks arrived at the scene, Silva noticed two people and several horses coming up the street from behind flying sparks.

Though embers and flames surrounded the horses, the animals followed their rescuers. Silva asked the horse rescuers how many more animals still lied behind the smoke, looking for help.

“We have a couple we just let loose over there,” said one of the rescuers, who had his sweatshirt up over his nose and mouth. We’re trying to get as many as we can out. We’re not going to let any of them burn,” the rescue said.

“Convoy of incredible people”

Rescuer Brady Heiser described the “terrifying moments” when they were navigating through inflamed trees on the roads, and challenges when he was convincing animals to trust him when time was of the essence.

But, Heiser added, “As fast as you could get trailers in there, they were loaded and gone. It was a convoy of incredible people,” evacuating animals “from mini highland cows to an enormous 175-pound pig named Fancypants.”

A miracle through networking

Some animal owners were away when fires broke out and could not get back in time to save the animals.  But at least one such case had a miraculous ending, reported Simrin Singh for CBC News.

“Andrea Pasinetti was in San Francisco for work and his wife, Sixuan, was overseas when the Palisades Fire broke out,”  Singh narrated.  “Their dogsitter was stuck in the roads leading to their block, leaving the Pasinettis’ three dogs waiting at home as the flames began ravaging their street.

“Pasinetti said he jumped on a flight to Los Angeles, hoping to make it home in time to get Alma, Archie and Hugo out of danger.”

Meanwhile, “Sixuan saw CBS News’ Jonathan Vigliotti reporting from Palisades Charter High School, which was a short distance from their residence.”

Rapidly networking through social media, Sixuan reached CBS News producer Christian Duran, who was working with Vigliotti, and the two of them freed the dogs from the burning home.

Veterinarian Annie Harvilicz

A brave Los Angeles veterinarian has taken in dozens of animals as their owners had to flee the raging Palisades Fire — sacrificing her own health and safety to care for the critters. Annie Harvilicz, 47, opened her home and an empty pet hospital to more than 40 dogs and cats — along with a lone rabbit named Oreo —  because their owners simply don’t have the space or resources to bring the pets with them, Harvilicz said.

“I had a family bring in 10 dogs, and they had to leave behind their horses,” she said. “To me, this is a no-brainer. I looked around and said, ‘I have a lot of space here. I can help.’” Harvilicz, who runs two animal hospitals in the LA area, began welcoming the fire-displaced pets into the Animal Wellness Center Marina del Rey shortly after the blaze broke. She has also taken four animals into her own home near the Los Angeles airport.

Harvilicz’s effort to coordinate pet rescues and care for the animals — as ash rained down from an “apocalyptic-looking” sky — were exhausting but worth it, she said.

“I haven’t slept at all and my eyes were hurting from the smoke. I did it because I love animals and want to take care of them.”

A miraculous rescue of a dog named Max.

A beautiful story of a miraculous rescue of a dog named Max from the L.A. Fires was told by Dana Feldman, senior contributor for Forbes,

“It was a close call for a dog named Max when fire raged through his Altadena neighborhood. The brindle-coated Corso mix hid, huddled and scared, under some bushes in his yard as the Eaton fire ravaged his street. Firefighters and photojournalists in the area could hear his terrified barks. The situation was dire, and suddenly an explosion went off in a nearby garage.

The moments of Max’s harrowing rescue were caught on camera in some of the most heartwarming photographs of the L.A. fires by freelance photojournalist Nic Coury, who was on the scene that day for the Associated Press.

Coury snapped a series of images of the scared dog amidst an inferno, seeking comfort from a firefighter. The photos captured the magnitude of the situation and the kindness in humanity that has come from it, and Max’s story of survival has tugged at the heartstrings of animal lovers worldwide.

Coury described the terrifying scene. “There was fire everywhere, embers flying, heavy winds. I was dealing with the elements while trying to focus on what would make for a compelling image. This was a quiet moment in the chaos.”

Coury watched as Max wandered the street as houses went up in flames around him.

He eventually approached the kind firefighter, who fought a wall of out-of-control flames with a hose in his right hand as he petted the terrified dog with his left. “I watched as the firefighter was petting the dog and it was just this nice, quiet moment among all this chaos…that this firefighter would take a moment to comfort this scared dog. It just speaks to the humanity of it all. It was a nice moment against a sea of orange and smoke.”

Slater Lee, a firefighter who has only been with the San Marcos Fire Department for six months and is still on probationary status, heard Max’s cries for help and gained the scared dog’s trust with a few gentle pets on the head.

At the same time, freelance photographer Gabe Cortez was also on the scene. He knew he had to get Max out of there immediately. He refused to leave Max and stayed with him for an hour and a half until rescue came. He scrolled through his contacts from the animal rescue world, searching for help. When he came upon dog trainer Christopher Abkarian, who he had never met before, he texted him to inform him of this dog’s desperate circumstances.

Abkarian didn’t hesitate. He and his wife Sasha co-own the brand-new Whittier Dog Club, a training school for dogs and people wanting to learn how to train. They hadn’t even opened the doors to the facility when the fires started and decided to open early to accommodate dogs in need. Because of this, they had the space to take in dogs displaced from the fires and a Sprinter van to transport them. They became taking in as many dogs as possible and boarding and training them for free.

Though Whittier Dog Club is currently serving as a rescue, it’s a small business that caters to dog training and boarding. They specialize in helping red-listed dogs at shelters and rehabilitate and train them to work with law enforcement and the military. Because of his experience, Abkarian knew he could handle a dog in this type of unpredictable situation.

When the text from Cortez came in, Abkarian headed towards the fire. “I didn’t know what I was about to get myself into but as I got closer, it was devastating. There were black plumes of smoke and it looked like nighttime though it was 11:00 a.m.”

As Abkarian exited the freeway, he came upon a CHP blockade. He didn’t know how to get into the area. The sheriff told him he could park his car and walk to where Max was trapped. He ran three blocks to Cortez, who then guided him to Max’s yard.

“The whole area was covered in smoke and fire. Houses all down the street had burned down and there were also standing houses,” recalls Abkarian. “People were outside of their houses not knowing what to do and people were on their roofs with hoses. Gabe guided me to Max. The property was on a corner and Max was in the bushes, tucked away, next to the house. The moment I opened the gate to the yard, Max was so fearful. He lunged at me and I just stayed calm.”

It took a few tries and some crafty work with an extension cord from a string of Christmas lights and a slip lead, but the two men finally got Max. “Even though he was scared, I knew from working with so many dogs that this was not an aggressive or dominant dog. I knew this was a fearful dog.”

Both men were having trouble with the smoke. “Inhaling the air was hard; we were breathing black smoke. You can just imagine that this dog was in that scenario and he was completely disoriented. I finally lassoed him in and tightened up the slip lead and he gave me the wild bronco. He didn’t want to leave his home but as I pulled him out of the yard, there was a sign of relief and we walked to the end of the block. That’s when he started to calm down. He allowed me to start petting him. We had to walk three blocks back.”

Thankfully, Max wasn’t burned or injured in the commotion, and though he initially appeared to be a black dog, a bath a few days later washed away the soot and revealed his beautiful brindle coat. Veterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart, who has donated his time to help Max and other animals displaced by the fires, estimates Max to be between five and six years old.

“Max has become a voice for the animals,” said Abkarian, acknowledging that he is one of thousands of animals impacted by the fires. Max is now a student in their program and doing extremely well. He couldn’t be a more loving, gentle, and playful dog. It’s a miracle after what he’s been through but this just shows the resilience of animals.

“If it wasn’t for Gabe, this dog wouldn’t have been saved,” Abkarian insists. “I feel like I was in the right place at the right time but it was Gabe who got me in the right place at the right time.”

Abkarian has received donations and offers to foster and adopt, including some falsely claiming to be Max’s owners. Cortez confirmed who the family was at the scene when a neighbor gave him their contact information and Abkarian and his wife have been in touch with them.

Regarding Whittier Dog Club, the Abkarians confirm their dedication to helping as many dogs through this crisis as possible and say they’re in it for the long haul.

“Our mission is to go out to the Pasadena Humane Society, which took 600 animals from the fires, and pick up five dogs every week and get them trained and adopted. We’re open to temporary housing for any displaced dogs for free for any evacuee,” confirmed Abkarian. “This gives us enough room to function as a business and help these animals.”

Thousands of animals impacted by the Los Angeles fire are in need of help right now. Even the smallest help coming from your compassionate heart is invaluable!

By Alex Arlander ! ENC News