Humans weren’t the only ones impacted by the ongoing Jasper wildfires.
Numerous pets from Jasper are currently being housed at the Hinton and District SPCA Animal Care Centre free of charge until their owners can return home or other accommodations can be made.
Cathy Thomas, fundraising and special projects coordinator at the Hinton SPCA, said the Municipality of Jasper's bylaw enforcement reached out to them the night of the evacuation on July 23 to see if they could take one dog, three cats and a bird.
“And from there, once they were allowed to go back into town, they worked in partnership with us, and we’re housing the animals, but they go and pick them up,” Thomas said.
As of Friday (Aug. 2), the Hinton SPCA had taken in 21 cats, one dog, four birds, two snails, two snakes and four fish.
Out of privacy concerns, pet names and owner details were not disclosed.
Thomas said they had to get creative to make room for the animals, repurposing the pet meeting room to house the fish, snakes and birds.
The Hinton SPCA isn’t too unfamiliar with playing such a role as they also housed pets evacuated from Edson due to wildfire last year. In that case, the Edson Animal Rescue Society (EARS) reached out to the Hinton SPCA.
Thomas said some pet owners might have been out of town during the evacuation or didn’t have time to grab their furry friends.
“If you're a shift worker at all, if you're working at the hospital and this is called in the evening, you just couldn't go home and pick up your animals. And have you ever tried to round up a scared cat? It just doesn't happen well.”
Some of the animals, including the dog, have since been picked up by their owners, but many owners are unable to house them right now.
“It’s kind of hard to have a snake in a hotel,” Thomas said.
She assured that the Hinton SPCA would be willing to house an evacuated pet free of charge until the owner had a place where they could keep it.
Since the Municipality of Jasper bylaw enforcement has already provided the Hinton SPCA with owner information, owners only need to show ID to reclaim their pet.
Some owners who can’t take in their pets yet are nonetheless dropping by to check in on their animals.
“What this is going to look like long-term, we don't know because people still have to find housing and that's difficult,” said Lendy McLeod, board member with the Hinton SPCA.
Thomas added how support from the community had been amazing.
Although most pets have been evacuated from Jasper, evacuees who have a pet still at their residence can submit an online pet rescue form.
Those interested in donating to the Hinton SPCA can visit their website to see a list of donation options.
