How to Help Our Furry and Feathered Friends Affected by the Kincade Fire

 

The destruction and evacuations caused by the Kincade Fire have put so many humans under stress that it’s easy to forget how many animals are at risk, too. Fortunately, a number of  local agencies and volunteers are battling the effects of the blaze on pets, livestock and wildlife, and welcome you to donate your time, specific supplies and/or financial support. Here are a few key ways to help:

Marin Humane Society

Make a financial donation to the Marin Humane Society, which is caring for more than 200 evacuated animals at Marin County Civic Center and its shelter in Novato, even though the latter is operating mostly without power. The shelter at 171 Bel Marin Keys is also accepting donations of clean towels, since they can’t do laundry for now. Note: The shelter has temporarily halted adoptions and sent its charges to other shelters in the region, so that evacuees who simply can’t find a refuge for their animals may bring them to Novato. Guardians may visit their animals at the shelter; veterinary care is also available.

Goatlandia Farm Animal Sanctuary

Goatlandia Farm Animal Sanctuary safely evacuated all of its animals from the rural outskirts of Santa Rosa to Animal Place at 70 Lynch Road in Petaluma this week, but has an urgent need for volunteers to feed animals, clean their areas, socialize and comfort them since many regular volunteers have also had to evacuate, leaving Goatlandia short-staffed. For details, text or call Goatlandia volunteer coordinator Valerie at (707) 510-9497.

Goatlandia founder Deborah Blum also requests food donations — orchard grass hay, wheat straw, pig kibble, chicken feed, and any good food scraps” (the latter preferably organic, for the pigs) — which can be bought at Rivertown, 200 First St., in Petaluma; she’s also seeking material donations of chicken wire, flexible fencing, large enclosures or other supplies so that rescued chickens don’t have to stay literally cooped up in emergency sheds. Call or text Deborah at (415) 710-0164 before dropping off any supplies. Your equally needed financial donations will help purchase feed bowls, water bowls, temporary animal runs, aviaries and other materials.

Sonoma CART

Sonoma CART (Community Animal Response Team) seeks volunteers of experienced handlers of large animals (e.g. horses, alpacas, llamas) and veterinarians (for large or small animals) to care for evacuated and rescued creatures at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa and Sonoma Horse Park in Petaluma. On-call and regular shifts are available, with a convenient online signup sheet. And yes, financial donations are also very welcome.

Sindisa Sanctuary

Fire has destroyed all of the permanent structures, including animal shelters and the ranch residence, at the 125-acre Sindisa Sanctuary in Healdsburg. Although founder Sara Shaw was able to safely evacuate the sanctuary’s 60 farm-rescue animals (among them Huacaya alpacas, Mangalitsa pigs and Choctaw ponies), financial donations will help feed them and eventually rebuild the property, which also offered glamping and group retreats.

Kincade Fire Pet Rescue and Reunification Group

Browse this photo gallery on SFGate.com or scroll through the frequently updated Facebook posts of the Kincade Fire Pet Rescue and Reunification Group to see pets that have gone missing — often in areas unfamiliar to them, due to evacuations — or recently arrived in shelters and remain unidentified. Your insights could be the source of a happy reunion.

 


Jeane Cooper

Travel and features writer Jeanne Cooper fell in love with Marin and the Bay Area as a graduate student at Stanford University. After 20 years as an editor and writer for the Washington Post, Boston Globe and San Francisco Chronicle, she began a freelance career that has taken her from the Austral Islands to Zimbabwe, with many visits to Hawaii in between. Her stories have appeared in numerous national and regional magazines, including Hemispheres, Sunset, San Francisco and Nob Hill Gazette, as well as Marin and Local Getaways. The author of several Frommer’s guidebooks, she now lives on the Big Island, where she’s active in animal rescue. She still enjoys exploring Northern California with her husband and friends.