A new app will give your furry family members a chance if an emergency happens.
While still breathing ash from the Eaton Fire and being happy to have electricity again, I’m thinking of another fire that affected people in my life.
It was December 30, 2021. What was to be later called the Marshall Fire was threatening a friend’s home.
A neighbor told Dave evacuations were underway, so Dave gathered his cats and left his home. Before leaving the neighborhood, he knocked on a few doors. Behind one was a dog, home alone in a crate in the kitchen. Chief’s barking alerted Dave to his presence. Dave and a neighbor evacuated Chief, but Dave didn’t know that a dozen other animals within a block of his home were alone and awaiting rescue that would never come.
By the end of the day over 1,000 dogs, cats, and other furry members of families would be gone.
He made it to a hotel which was then evacuated and burned. Hours later he checked into The Oxford Hotel in downtown Denver where the staff welcomed him and the cats and gave him a small sense of safety.
I was on the other end of the phone with him during the day. It was awful.
The suffering was endless that day. People working had no way to get home to rescue their animal companions.
I’m reminded of this story while I watch the same type of suffering all around me here in the Los Angeles area. Among the thousands of homes destroyed and many human lives lost, I wonder how many family members with “pet” status tragically died.
While my friend was at The Oxford Hotel he was already thinking of a way to make the next disaster different. Having been on the team of the nonprofit Animal Help Now in creating an app to help people who encounter injured wildlife find resources, he began thinking of an app to help people who could not rescue their companion animals in imminent danger.
The Pet Help and Rescue app was about to be born.
This free app connects neighbors and others who can come and rescue your furry family members in an emergency. Rather than explain it all here, go to this website for all of the information.
Our dogs are our family. All I want is for them to be happy, healthy, and safe. We do so much to ensure this, and there may be times when we need help. That’s why we signed up on the PHaR app.
The stories of animal companions lost in the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire are making their way to me, adding more tragedy to the loss.
Check out the PHaR app. See if it’s something that may give you more peace of mind.
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