By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-19 20:36:19 | Updated at 2025-01-19 23:13:29
2 hours ago
Rescuers across Southern California have worked through endless rubble and thick-black smoke to find the missing pets of families who weren't able to make it back home when the devastating fires hit Los Angeles.
The founder of Malibu-based rescue group Boomer's Buddies, Jessica Davis, was evacuated from her home when the Palisades and Eaton Fires raged.
But that hasn't stopped her from searching for pets that may have survived the destruction.
'These pets weren't intentionally left behind. Many people were at work and raced back home to save their animals, but were stopped by authorities,' Davis told DailyMail.com.
'Imagine the agony of not being able to get to your pet.'
Since embarking on her most recent rescue mission, Davis has saved multiple pets, including a 25-year-old tortoise, koi and goldfish, and a cat that couldn't be retrieved before the deadly fire first flared up over a week ago in the Pacific Palisades community.
'The look on that kitty's face, this sense of relief. You just never know how a cat is going to react. He came right out from under the bed and was as sweet as could be. To see him reunited with his person is priceless.'
'These animals, birds, fish are all someone's pets. No creature is too tiny or big. Every life counts. Every life has value,' said Davis.
Jessica Davis, founder of Malibu-based rescue group Boomer's Buddies, is on a mission to rescue countless missing pets of people who weren't able to get home when the Los Angeles fires began
A dog walks by a firefighter as the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, California on January 8
The fires have claimed the lives of at least 27 people – and countless animals
Davis was delighted when she came upon five chickens that survived the wreckage despite the fires destroying everything around them - including the family's home.
'Their coop was the only structure still standing among the rubble. When I rescued the chickens I was by myself. It was super difficult but I had nets and that's how I captured them,' Davis told DailyMail.com.
'I've taken them to a friend's house that has a larger coop where they can decompress. They will be joining other rescue animals I have brought to her in the past including Tortellini the tortoise and Steve, a rooster I saved.'
The following day, Davis returned to the site and set up a cat trap for a black cat she spotted during her chicken rescue.
'There's a cat up there that also made it. It was one of the outdoor feral cats. I fed it and gave it some water, but I couldn't catch it because it kept running.
But Davis explained that the organization lacks the manpower needed to rescue these animals, given the large area of devastation.
'We need more boots on the ground. There's only a few of us up here. There is so much ground to cover,' said Davis.
'Fortunately, the animal rescues are working together as best they can to get the most accomplished each day.'
Davis of Boomer’s Buddies Rescue said firefighters found this cat inside an evacuated home. Davis is using social media to coordinate with other rescuers to locate the owners of these lost animals
Many people who have had to evacuate from their homes have had to drop off their pets at the Pasadena Humane Society – including Edgar Hernandez who was forced to surrender his cat
HIT (Honesty/Integrity/Trust) Living International have also used social media to update the status of missing pets - they work alongside the Pasadena Humane Society
Social media has played a key role in locating these lost animals - allowing rescues to strategize with each other and continuously update their status.
'We are all working together by sharing photos of missing animals, found pets and providing ongoing updates on our progress. We circulate these photos on Instagram. It really is a team effort,' Davis explained.
HIT (Honesty/Integrity/Trust) Living International is one of many organizations that have used social media to locate missing pets from the Eaton Fire in Altadena, some 35 miles northeast of the Palisades Fire.
On their Instagram story, they post continuous updates on the animals who were found and those who remain lost.
HIT works alongside the Pasadena Humane Society which has taken countless animals from the destruction.
Mel Sobolewski from the Certified Animal Emergency Response Team has been working nonstop in her efforts to save as many pets as possible.
Sobolewski was able to save a woman who was unable to evacuate due to a recent knee replacement surgery along with her two dogs.
She also managed to rescue a cat, a pet hamster named Hammy and Sparkles, a beta fish.
Owners of these lost pets have reached out to Davis and other rescue groups to locate their friends animals - and their own. The status of these two dogs is still unknown
Cats being sheltered at the Pasadena Humane Society look out from their enclosure on January 10
Davis explained that the organization lacks the manpower needed to rescue these animals, given the large number of pets that have been found and need to be reunited with their owners - including this large dog
'When I told the family Sparkles was alive, they screamed.
'Rescuing a goldfish might not seem like a big deal to some, but for one family it makes all the difference in the world. It's the one piece of life left from their house,' Sobolewski told DailyMail.com.
The animal rehabilitator's most recent rescue took a grueling two hours.
'I got a call about some turtles, and when I got to the property I saw koi fish that were alive. Well, I couldn't leave without the fish.
'I never imagined myself saving fish, but here I am thinking to myself, how am I going to transport these fish? I came to learn these koi fish are 20 years old.
'You have to be creative. My car was packed up just in case I had to evacuate at some point, and lo and behold I remember my cat's litter box. I was able to transfer the koi fish into the empty litter box.
'This was perhaps the most physically challenging rescue I have ever done. The pond was full of debris from the winds, the fire. There were dead fish. The water was toxic.
'In order to get the fish, I first had to drain the entire pond,' said Mel. 'I was able to get them all.
A dog being sheltered at the Pasadena Humane Society looks out from its kennel
Sobolewski's Instagram post that showed her saving the fish has led to swaths of emails flooding her inbox with requests to save more koi.
'Who knew there were so many koi fish lovers?' mused the mother-of-one.
Sobolewski said she was used to saving larger animals such as donkeys and goats, even going as far as saving her first horse during the Woolsey Fires in 2018.
So when she had to save Hammy the Hamster she said it 'almost gave me a heart attack' since he was stuck in a little tube inside his cage.
Thankfully, Hammy was alive and Sobolewski was able to save him.
Rescuers have pushed through bad air quality and rubble to follow through on their mission. Davis described the first day as 'brutal'.
'I had a massive migraine and it was difficult to breathe,' said Davis.
Davis takes on the toughest of cases, injured animals that have been abandoned and discarded with her specialty being senior cats with health challenges that require specialized care and lots of TLC.
'It can truly be heartbreaking, but I stay as focused as I can with the one purpose, save as many animals as possible.'
The City of Los Angeles is asking for the public's help in fostering and adopting the thousands of dogs, cats and rabbits already living in the overcrowded and underserved animal shelters across the county.
