Volunteers at a makeshift emergency animal shelter for pets of B.C. wildfire evacuees recently witnessed the joyful reunion of a pup named Three Leg with her humans.
Residents of ʔaq̓am Community, also known as St. Mary's Indian Band, were ordered to evacuate on July 17 due to the fast-moving St. Mary's River wildfire near Cranbrook. No alert was issued, meaning people had to leave without any notice or preparation.
Ruth Billmann with the Meant 2B Loved Pet Rescue Society says her volunteer-run group was called into action to help evacuees.
"We were scrambling," she says, telling CTV News that after the initial evacuation the organization took in 35 dogs and two cats, setting up a makeshift shelter where volunteers have been spending 24 hours a day ever since trying to provide comfort and care for animals that are stressed out, shocked and facing an uncertain future – not unlike human evacuees.
The suddenness of the evacuation order – which was issued mere hours after the fire sparked, meant that some people were not at home when it came down and others had to make the split-second and heartbreaking decision to leave animals behind.
Three Leg, who is missing a limb, was one of those animals. As the days passed, concern for her well-being mounted.
Each day, RCMP Const. Monte Webb has been going back into the evacuated area and putting down food and water for animals that did not make it out, but what was left for Three Leg was untouched, Billmann explains. In addition, Webb's initial attempts to catch the dog and rescue her had been unsuccessful.
"Three Leg was very skittish. He tried to catch her for two days and he couldn't,” Billmann said. "Of course for the animals, it is a big stress situation."
But on July 20, a team of three RCMP officers was able to catch the dog.
"We rushed her to the veterinary clinic in Cranbrook and got her checked out and thank god she was OK," Billmann said.
Three Leg's owners rushed to meet the team at the vet's office as soon as they got the news that Three Leg had been found safe, with no burns or injuries.
"They were ecstatic. It was a great reunion," Billmann said. "We saw all of a sudden a tail wagging, which we hadn't seen."
Three Leg has settled in at the shelter, where she has a little swimming pool to splash around in and gets special deliveries of her favourite treats from her owners.
On Monday, the evacuation order was partially rescinded meaning some people evacuated can return. However, Billmann notes that homes were destroyed in the fire and that some people and pets may not have anywhere to return to.
In addition, the impact of the fire on the animals left behind hasn’t been fully assessed. The possibility that there are injured animals in the evacuation zone is one Billmann says her group is preparing for, fundraising to assist with any veterinary bills that may ensue.
So while donations to keep the makeshift shelter stocked with food and other essentials have been received, there is concern that people who want to help the animals won’t realize that the need will still be there after the shelter is gone.
"When everybody thinks it's over. That's, I think, when it's actually going to be starting," Billmann says.
