BONINI, Hawaii (AP) — A dog with two hind legs bandaged tightly from paw to hip groaned in pain through a plastic medical cone, his chest rising and falling rapidly in shallow breaths.
This animal is one of the pets and people with its tags escaping the smoke and flames from the Maui wildfires that have killed more than 90 people and decimated a historic city.
We’ve seen dogs that had their claws burned to the bone from escaping from the fire,” said Katie Shannon, director of marketing and communications for the Maui Humane Society.
America’s deadliest wildfire in more than 100 years has caused the loss, injury or death of hundreds of dogs, cats and other pets. An estimated 3,000 Lahaina animals are still missing, according to the Maui Humane Society, which is now trying to reunite the pets with their owners and treat many of the animals who arrived at the clinics wrapped in blankets covering their wounds.
Shannon said, “We’ve had chickens, lovebirds, guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, cats. We’ve got a pig here.”
supplied with dry herb It is driven by strong winds from A Hurricane passesFires raced at a mile (1.6 kilometres) every minute in one area, forcing people to scramble and flee Terrifying escape They were later passed on to family members who Painfully waiting to find out their fate.
However, the animals have been told stories of the damage done to their bodies.
A cat arrived with pitted fur and patches of leg burns. The chicken needed both claws burned and wrapped in thick blue medical tape.
A clinic staff member used surgical tweezers to delicately remove debris from the dog’s paws while another technician cradled its head, rubbed the neck with light thumb strokes, and spoke softly into the animal’s ear.
They were the lucky ones. On Maui Street, the charred body of a dog was found.
As smoke and officials disappear Scan the scope of loss and destructionAnimal welfare advocates work with the Maui Police Department to enter the cremation area in search of lost, injured, or deceased animals.
“As these areas continue to expand, we will be able to expand our services,” Lisa Labrecque, CEO of the Maui Humane Society, said at a news conference Monday.
Dozens of feeding stations stocked with food and water have been set up to pull frightened animals from their hiding places so they can be tracked down and taken to a sanctuary, where veterinary personnel treat burn injuries and cases of smoke inhalation.
Found animals are scanned for identification and microchipped so that the owners can be contacted. The Maui Humane Society requested that the deceased animals not be moved or destroyed so they could be cataloged and examined for identification.
“But this is only the beginning,” Shannon said. “People need to understand that we’re in the middle of this. And, you know, there’s a harsh reality coming in.”
