This grand opening went to the dogs fast.
For Chris and Sasha Abkarian, news of the wildfires in Pacific Palisades, Pasadena and Altadena on Jan. 8 razed all thoughts of planning a grand opening for their dog training center out of their minds. The Whittier couple sent out an Instagram message offering their van, car and crates to help evacuate and rescue dogs from the burn areas.
“I drove on the 210 and it went from a bright sunny day to an apocalyptic sky, I didn’t know what I was about to get myself into, but it was a race against time,” he said.
Able to get to Woodbury Road in Altadena, Abkarian was texted the location of a dog that needed rescuing. He parked and walked a mile and a half to find a German shepherd curled up in a bush at the front of a house. The structure beside it was already burning.
“He was trapped in the front yard and as soon as walked in, he was lunging and biting, protecting his property,” Abkarian said.
It took 10 tries before he was able to leash the dog. Both would return to Whittier covered in soot.
“The breathing conditions were horrible, it was all devastating, signs and trees were down, houses were still burning, some houses had collapsed,” he said.
The Abkarians would rescue six dogs that day, rallying a dog-loving community from across the country and worldwide around dogs such as Max and two Shepherd mix puppies Instagram followers named Ash and Phoenix, whom firefighters rescued from a canyon near the Rose Bowl.
Brian Olney, vice president of marketing at Fi, a New York-based company that makes high-tech dog collars and supplements, knew the Abkarians because the couple used Fi collars for their pets. Two days after the fires exploded, Olney happened to be flying into L.A. and was able to mobilize the donation of 500 pounds of dog food for the club.
The company and the hundreds of thousands of users of its app have also raised $115,000 and counting through a GoFundMe campaign, which will do to Los Angeles-area dog shelters and rescues.
“You’d be surprised how strong a community of dog lovers can be,” Olney said. “Nothing divides them.”
Fi (pronounced like Fido) will donate an additional $5,000 when the GoFundMe ends.
“We chose Whittier Dog Club to partner with because they immediately started helping, from rescuing injured dogs or opening their doors for pet owners, so whatever they need, from dog food to dog supplements, whatever help we can give them, we’re there,” he said.
Sasha Abkarian said their new business was licensed and permitted the day they started taking donations and hasn’t paused in wildfire help since. They are boarding, at no charge, two dogs whose owners remain displaced by the Eaton and Palisades wildfires and another whose owner lost her home. Then there’s Ash and Phoenix, who arrived traumatized but are now coming out of their shells.
“We’ve just been holding on to them, and integrating them to our training program because what else can we do?” Sasha Abkarian said. “It’s one stress off of these families who are having so many problems. And all our rescues are really happy.”
Dog owners affected by the wildfires have also been able to pick up everything from dog food, treats, blankets, towels, dog bowls, toys, leashes and collars at the Philadelphia Street business.
The couple do plan on holding a grand opening in a month or so, although it may pale to the fiery start of their business.
“It’s been amazing to see the community, not only in Whittier, but surrounding communities put so much support and donations for these dogs,” Chris Abkarian said.
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