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UNDER EVACUATION: Dogs and cats get love from volunteers in Kamloops

91ƵThe donations of food has been incredible.91Ƶ
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Four Paws Food Bank volunteers Suzanne Flukinger (left) and Alisa Watts are just two of multiple volunteers helping look after displaced pets at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops were thousands of evacuees have been registered over the past week and a half. (Greg Sabatino photo)

This is part of a ten-part series showcasing the volunteerism, community and resilience surrounding those evacuated due to the wildfires engulfing parts of the B.C. Interior.

Four Paws Food Bank volunteer Suzanne Flukinger describes the efforts to care for displaced animals due to the wildfire crisis in the province as nothing short of incredible.

A shelter located at the evacuation centre at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops is currently housing roughly 200 animals including cats, dogs and other small animals, however, Flukinger noted over the course of the past week and a half roughly 1,000 animals have been cared for.

91ƵThe people helping out here are amazing,91Ƶ she told the Tribune. 91ƵWe have hundreds of volunteers from dog walkers, to people cleaning kennels, and others keeping track of all the animals, making sure they91Ƶre fed and watered and everything else.91Ƶ

She said efforts are being made to provide everything a pet could need. The area is sheltered with large tents, fans are set up, damp, cooling blankets are covering dog and cat cages and, for the cats, lavender cloths are being hung on the doors to calm the pets.

As the shelter fills up, Flukinger said they are also taking registration for families who would like to foster animals while evacuees are displaced from their homes. Anyone interested can sign up at the shelter.

Additionally, thousands upon thousands of dollars of pet food has been donated by multiple businesses, pet stores and pet suppliers and is being handed out free of charge to evacuees.

91ƵThe donations of food has been incredible,91Ƶ she said.

91ƵBusinesses, pet food suppliers are coming in with trucks full of it.91Ƶ

Veterinarians and animal technicians are also on site to make sure animals are safe, along with animal whisperers whose job is to calm pets down should they become stressed.

She added the donations from the public have also been overwhelming.

91ƵWe91Ƶve had little children giving their allowances, kids setting up lemonade stands to raise money,91Ƶ she said.

More than 200 pets are currently being cared for at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops where Four Paws Food Bank members have been busy watering, feeding and walking dogs while evacuees continue to pour into the Sandman Centre.

Flukinger said the main goal is to help people, and they will do whatever they can to make sure the animals can be provided food and water in a safe environment.

91ƵThere91Ƶs enough to worry about right now and to know you can just come here and pickup what you need for your pet whether it be food or leashes or little boxes, we want to be able to take care of that for you for a while,91Ƶ she said.

91ƵPeople just care. For all you people are going through if we can help ease part of that we want to be able to do that.91Ƶ

Outside the Sandman Centre, animals are also being cared for at the Kamloops Exhibition Grounds (KXA), said Four Paws co-ordinator Bonnie McBride.

91ƵWe have goats and sheep and chickens here,91Ƶ she said. 91ƵAnything else we are ill-equipped to handle, but we91Ƶre working collaboratively with the people at the KXA to make sure we help people get their horses or livestock out and make sure they91Ƶre being fed and watered regularly in their absence.91Ƶ

She said currently volunteer fire departments are doing the best they can throughout the Cariboo Regional District to ensure reported animals are being fed and provided water.

91ƵWe91Ƶre urging people to report animals that have been left behind,91Ƶ she said.

If anyone has animals they were forced to leave behind, including livestock, they are asked to call the Emergency Operations Centre at 1-866-759-4977.

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Greg Sabatino

About the Author: Greg Sabatino

Greg Sabatino graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2008.
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