The Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) says it is caring for pets from communities affected by the wildfires in northwestern Ontario.
Two cats and three dogs were brought to the shelter Wednesday night, the OHS said.
“The five animals arrived safely after a long journey. Gus and Arlo, two young cats, are beginning to settle in. Six-week-old puppies Karai and April are already winning over everyone they meet, and Rio, a gentle young dog, is now resting safely in our care,” the OHS said in a fundraising email.
Ottawa Humane Society president and CEO Sharon Miko told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal on Thursday that the five animals that arrived in the city are from other shelters in northwestern Ontario that are working to help pets and families in their own communities.
“These are animals that have already either been stray or surrendered because those communities are working really hard with owners of pets to be able to be there for those owned animals, to try to keep the owner with a pet,” she said. “So, we’re helping them by taking in the stray and already surrendered pets that don’t have anybody for them. We take those animals in to allow them to be able to provide support to their community.”
OHS senior manager Stephen Smith said the animals are still adjusting to their new surroundings.
“The two cats, I’d say they were very skittish when they arrived, as you might imagine. They’re a little bit shy right now, but I’m not too surprised. If I was in a car for that long, too. I’d be a bit skittish as well,” he said.
“The puppies are full of puppy energy. They want to love. They want to play. We estimate the puppies to be about six weeks old and we estimate Rio to be about 10 months old.”
As of Thursday, the Ontario government was reporting 155 active wildfires in the province, including 16 that are not under control.
The humane society says it is working with the Northern Reach Network and is on standby to welcome other animals, if need be.
“Since the outset of the fires, the OHS has been in close contact with our partners throughout the province to determine how we can best support pets and their people during this crisis,” Miko said in a news release. “Helping animals, no matter where they are, always takes the support of a community.”
The OHS says it has more than 400 animals in its care, about 140 of which are currently looking for new homes.
“Summer is one of our busiest seasons at the Ottawa Humane Society,” said Miko. “But when disaster strikes, and animals have nowhere else to go, we’re ready to help however we can. With the support of our caring community, we are here for Ottawa’s homeless animals and can help animals in crisis in Ontario.”
Smith added that there are other ways to support the humane society.
“We’re also looking for foster volunteers, specifically anyone with big dog experience. We got lots of big dogs at the OHS who would love to spend some time in a foster home. And finally, we rely on our caring community to provide life saving care every single day for all those homeless animals, including these five who just came in from this crisis situation happening out in northwestern Ontario.”
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Natalie van Rooy
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Correction
A previous version of this article said the pets taken in by the OHS were displaced by the wildfires. That was inaccurate. The animals were strays or surrendered pets that were already in shelters that needed space for displaced pets.
