Calgary animal organization gathering donations for pets affected by L.A. wildfires

Staff at Pasadena Humane helping dogs injured in the wildfires around Los Angeles. (Pasadena Humane/Facebook)

A Calgary animal organization is collecting supplies and money to help pets affected by the wildfires in California.

Parachutes for Pets is asking Calgarians for litter, litter boxes, dry dog and cat food, and treats that will be sent down to Southern California, where a series of wildfires has swept through densely populated areas around Los Angeles.

Melissa David, the executive director of Parachutes for Pets, said they were contacted by an organization in Los Angeles on Thursday morning asking for advice.

After providing support for pets affected by wildfires in Canada over the past few summers, it was easy to sympathize with the situation these organizations are in.

“Hearing the panic and the fear and the exhaustion, we know what that’s like, so we offered to help in absolutely any capacity we could,” David said.

A truckload of supplies will be sent down to the Lange Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, in the next 48 hours.

The supplies will help pets that have been displaced or are in need of safekeeping during the crisis.

Financial donations will be sent directly to Pasadena Humane, “who are dealing with a large intake of pets needing serious veterinary care.”

“Lots of injuries, smoke inhalation. I know that the Pasadena Humane has over 300 pets in their care, and I know quite a bunch of them are in ICU because of the significance of the injuries,” David said.

“They’re triaging, and they’re keeping the most critical with them, but I do know they expect the numbers to rise.”

Visit Parachute for Pets’ website for more information on how to donate, including drop-off locations.

The wildfires have killed five people and forced around 130,000 people to evacuate from their homes.

Nearly 2,000 homes and other buildings have been destroyed by the fire.

With files from CTV News Calgary’s Camilla Di Giuseppe and CTVNews.ca