As fire victims in Los Angeles start the recovery process, people from all over the country are doing what they can to help, including volunteers in the Bay Area who are opening their hearts and homes to help dogs in need.
Love and Second Chances is a rescue group based out of Dublin. It has a network of volunteers around the Bay Area that fosters dogs. Just days after the fire started in Los Angeles, those volunteers stepped up to help.
“It was surprising, and it was a lot,” said Heather Thompson with Love & Second Chances. “But definitely we heard that calling and said OK, we're going to do what we can to help those folks down south.”
Thompson has been with the organization for years and has fostered roughly 70 dogs. She said the call to action started with one fire victim's plea for pet supplies after losing his home. Love and Second Chances then posted that plea for supplies on social media.
There was such a huge response, volunteers had to set up four different collection points.
“Overwhelmed is not the right response,” said Thompson. “Definitely shocked and surprised, but very happy to see the amount of support the community has and wants to help with the LA neighbors and all the animals.”
As supplies have been coming in, volunteers have been driving vans and their own cars to deliver anything from food to crates to LA.
“This is amazing,” said Tiffany Palazzini, with Paws 4 Life K9 Rescue in Los Angeles. “We need these. Thank you!”
The other challenge has been to clear out animal shelters in Southern California to make room for pets that may have been displaced by the fires.
“We are shipping out on 172 animals on Sunday morning,” said Alex Tonner with Paws 4 Life K9 Rescue.
The animals that were already up for adoption are now being sent to areas like Texas and the Bay Area. Love and Second Chances is also taking in some of the dogs to ease the strain on local shelters. For Heather, this is a labor of love.
“Dogs, they're just so devoted to their people,” said Thompson. “They just want to give you their unconditional love. If I can help a dog, especially one that is stressed in a shelter environment, can't handle the noise or separation, I want to help. I want to do that.”
Love and Second Chances could always use more foster families and continues to collect donations. As dog lovers, they want to do their part to find forever homes, one pup at a time.
