Support from San Diego County for wildfire victims includes donations for pets and animals injured and found wandering through the aftermath of destruction. NBC 7’s M.G. Perez has more on a special road trip to LA to help in the recovery.
Support from San Diego County for Los Angeles wildfire victims this weekend included donations for pets and animals found injured or wandering adrift through the aftermath of the destruction.
Workers at the Animal and Bird Hospital of Del Mar organized a drive to collect bedding, pet carriers, canned food and other essential items.
“Working in the field, we want to be there for animals. We want to help them the best we can," said Julia Darrow, the hospital’s assistant manager.
“They don’t know what’s going on. They don’t know why they were dropped off at a shelter. They don’t know if they’re getting picked up. They don’t know if they have a home anymore."
Julia Darrow, Assistant Manager, Animal and Bird Hospital of Del Mar
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Just two days ago, she posted messages on social media asking nearby neighbors for donations. The message requested items to bring relief to suffering animals.
“They don’t know what’s going on. They don’t know why they were dropped off at a shelter. They don’t know if they’re getting picked up. They don’t know if they have a home anymore. A lot of them are coming in injured from the flames," Darrow said.
The collection was initially small enough to fit into a pickup truck and a car. But, in a matter of hours after the social media posts, the hospital’s storage closet was stacked to the ceiling with donations. The recovery road trip had to add a small trailer and a large storage truck before heading north on Saturday morning.
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Organizers planned to make stops at Pasadena Humane and the Agoura Animal Care Center. As well as a couple of smaller animal rescue places.
The hospital usually cares for every kind of animal in the North County. The response for donations has come from people everywhere else, too.
“They [donors] either had an animal and or have an animal. We all [workers] pretty much have our own animals. We get it. This is why we do what we do," Darian Bergum, veterinary surgery technician.
Paul Romano lives in Del Mar and got to the hospital just in time for his donation to be loaded before the caravan left.
Romano said, “People are first and then pets, prescriptions, and papers. Pets are family members, let’s face it. They're just like one of us. I consider them one of my children.”
The Animal and Bird Hospital of Del Mar is not currently collecting additional donations.
