Your Red Cross Update

By Mauri Shuler

There were 3 babies born a few days ago at an evacuation shelter in Santa Rosa, California. Not human babies, but babies, nonetheless. Three little lambs are being sheltered at the County Fairgrounds along with the adult sheep and a motley crew of other large animals.

While the Red Cross takes care of people and their pets during and after a disaster, the large animals affected by a disaster like the massive fires in California are handled by other agencies. In Sonoma County, Animal Control has been sheltering all of the large animals.

When Marilyn Ingstrom heard about the fire, she drove through flames to get to her veterinary hospital to rescue the one cat that was there. Marilyn has been here since that morning. She arrived at 2:30 a.m. with her 6 dogs and 1 cat in the cab of her truck.

“As a veterinary technician, I just knew I could help,” she said. “Also I grew up on a farm and love all the big animals.”

So, they arrived. Horses, alpacas, llamas, goats, pigs, chickens, and sheep. She can’t tell us yet exactly how many. Some of their owners sleep in the tack room or in trailers nearby to be with their animals.

Marilyn did not lose her home but has 32 friends who did. “I guess I’m lucky, but my veterinary hospital burned down so I’m out of a job.”

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Jim Burns provided editorial support for this story.