Photos: Pets, owners reunited following deadly and destructive Camp Fire
Watch this heartwarming video of a woman reuniting with her cat after it ran away from the Camp Fire on Nov. 15. It was under the care of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in Davis, California.
The Camp Fire, the most deadly and destructive wildfire in California history, has destroyed hundreds of homes, put thousands of lives at risk and separated pets from their owners.
People have been using social media to look for and share images of their lost animals in hopes of finding them, and it's working.
The cats above are currently under care at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Some of them have been claimed by their owners, but there are still many waiting to find their owner.
Laci Ping is one of the owners who found out her cat Mayson was safe in the care of UC Davis.
Ping was packing up all of her animals to flee the fire when her light Tabby male escaped his cage.
"I had him in his cat carrier cage loaded in the car ready to go, but a propane tank at the house behind us exploded scaring him and everyone else. He is super small so he ended up scooting the bottom tray aside and slipping sideways through the bars," Ping said.
"When he got out, all of my neighbors heard me scream bloody murder 'NO, MY BABY! NOOOOO!' We couldn't go after him; he kept running," Ping said.
Ping said she was standing in a long line at the airport of about 200 people who were all waiting to see if their animals were saved and inside. They were only allowing one person in at a time due to the massive numbers of animals and people.
"I was about to be called up to go look inside for my cat when I found a picture of my cat on Facebook while I was standing in the line. The people all around me started cheering 'yay, I'm so excited; go get your baby,'" Ping said.
Ping spoke to UC Davis and has to wait one week until she is able to pick up her cat due to the burns on his feet. She said she hopes other pet owners do not give up hope on finding their beloved animals.
If you believe one of the animals above may be yours, please email ucdavisvetmed@gmail.com. You will need to provide photo ID of your missing pet if at all possible.
"Please keep in mind that these animals may have been rescued from a variety of different locations near or far from where they were initially located, and that any identifying items like collars or tags may have been lost while they were escaping the fire," UC Davis said in a Facebook post.
The best information you can provide UC Davis are pictures of your animal or detailed descriptions, especially if they have any unique characteristics.
"We are not legally permitted to manage adoptions or temporary fosters for these animals. If owners are unknown, they are technically the property of county animal services of the county they came from," UC Davis officials said.
If the owner is not found, they will remain hospitalized until they are healthy enough to return to those authorities and only they have the authority to foster or adopt them out.
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine accepts donations for the care of animals here.
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