California fires

It is fire season here in California. People will loose their homes and some their lives simply because someone is STUPID and sets fires. With the dry brush and strong Santa Ana winds fires can roar through a community in a flash. What you don't hear much about on the news is that the fires also affect the animals in the area. In the Ranch Bernardo fires one year ago, a friend of ours was trying to get through the fire lines so she could rescue her dog. She was stopped by the police but by shear luck, had her fire department ID on her (she is a dispatcher) and they allowed her to proceed through thinking she was there to help fight the fires. The smoke was thick and she was having trouble seeing and breathing. As she proceeded up the street the thing that got to her the most was all of the dead animals lying about. There were dogs, cats, rabbits, raccoons, deer and even a horse. This fire had started up above in the hills from where her condo was located. The animals were trying to flee but not all had escaped. The damage didn't stop in the streets. Not everyone could get pass the police lines and many of the homes that burned to the ground had someone's faithful pet waiting for the owners to come home. Some perished in the homes and others were turned in to the humane society for re-homing because the owners lost everything and could no longer take care of their pets.

Our friend was successful in getting her dog out to safety, and yes her condo was spared from destruction that day (the fire was stopped two buildings away), but many others were not as lucky.

We are very passionate on having stricter laws and punishments for those who set fires. Until such time, arsonists will continue to light the night skies with flames causing heartache, pain and misery in their wake.

Coco's mom