A remarkable airlift of animals from an overcrowded California shelter touched down in Cranbrook Sunday evening, December 17, bringing 32 dogs to Canada and to new forever homes.

The Wings of Rescue flight from Camarillo brought the dogs in from the Ventura County Animal Services shelter (VCAS), which has seen its population of animals swell by hundreds over a matter of days, due to the devastation caused by the wildfires burning across southern California.

In an effort to help out, Karla Shalley, who operates Playpen Boarding And Grooming in Cranbrook, and JaffrayB次元官网网址檚 Deb Therrien, who heads up the Calgary Chapter of BARCS, a dog rescue service, took on the arrangement of the flight to Canada and the transfer of the dogs to new homes in Cranbrook, Jaffray and Calgary.

B次元官网网址淟ast Friday, I had an idea that I needed to help the animals in California,B次元官网网址� Shalley said. B次元官网网址淚 was literally going to rent a van to drive down there and help them.B次元官网网址�

Instead, Shalley started working with Therrien on the plan, and things went forward quickly.

B次元官网网址淲e brainstormed, [Therrien] said B次元官网网址榣et me see what I can doB次元官网网址� and thatB次元官网网址檚 where it started.B次元官网网址�

Therrien, through her own contacts with Ventura Animal Rescue Services, was able to arrange the Wings of Rescue flight from Camarillo to Cranbrook.

B次元官网网址淭hey made the magic happen,B次元官网网址� Shalley said. B次元官网网址淭hey picked some dogs, they said B次元官网网址榙o you want these ones,B次元官网网址� we said B次元官网网址榶es, weB次元官网网址檒l take them up.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Wings of Rescue B次元官网网址� a charity that flies endangered pets to new locations where they can be adopted B次元官网网址� was able to make the transition quickly B次元官网网址� within the week, Shalley said. The plane took off from Camarillo Sunday morning, after delays caused by wildfire smoke, carrying the dogs in portable kennels, and touched down at the Canadian Rockies International Airport (CRIA) late afternoon on Sunday, Dec. 17

Shalley, Therrien, and a team of volunteers were there to welcome the dogs to Canadian soil.

Therrien moved from Calgary to Jaffray in recent years, taking the opportunity to expand BARCS area of operations. She said the havoc wrought by the California fires have put massive pressure on animal shelters. The big VCAS shelter, for example, normally has a population of around 400 animals. This number quickly rose to 800 when the fires started burning. At present there are some 1,100 animals in the shelter B次元官网网址� whoB次元官网网址檝e become separated from their owners or whose homes have been destroyed. The Thomas Fire burning though Ventura County, where Camarillo is located, has destroyed some 114,000 acres (more than 46,000 hectares). BARCS, Wings of Rescue and other organizations have been working to help relieve the pressure and find homes for the unclaimed animals, with flights all over North America. The Cranbrook flight was the biggest Canadian operation to date.

On Sunday afternoon, the plane landed at CRIA, and the team of volunteers pushed it into the ELT Aviation hanger. The volunteers had spent an hour in advance arranging the travel kennels for each of the dogs to be transferred to.

Customs officials were on hand to check the paperwork. Such an operation as a cross-border animal shelter airlift requires a great deal of preparation.

Therrien said that all the dogs have had to pass a rigorous battery of health certificate tests, and are completely up to date with their shots. And it is essential that they were calm and healthy before getting on the plane.

B次元官网网址淚f they are sick, or acting out, they will not get on the plane,B次元官网网址� Therrien said.

From the plane, the volunteers unloaded the dogs in their cages and placed them on the hanger floor, so the paperwork could be checked, and the dogs transferred one at a time, to their Canadian travel kennels. The four dogs going to Calgary B次元官网网址� all pitbulls B次元官网网址� were given quick walks around the hanger prior to departure.

Many different breeds were represented in the airlift B次元官网网址� pitfalls, border collies, terriers, a schnauzer cross, a chocolate lab, chihuahuas B次元官网网址� bearing names like Biscuit and Bandit, Molly, Mary, Martini and Max. The dogs were calm and subdued after their flight, though a chorus of barking soon rang out throughout the hanger. When released from their cages, for a brief stretch, the canines joy and relief was palpable.

Shalley stressed that the dogs flown to Canada were dogs who would not be claimed by former owners, who had been in the shelter before the fires began.

B次元官网网址淭hese are dogs who have been surrendered and are available for adoption,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪trictly dogs who will not be reclaimed.B次元官网网址�

The dogs did who did not go on to Calgary Sunday night were off for a sojourn at the Playpen in Cranbrook for a couple of days, to stretch their legs.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to assess them, take a look at their behaviour B次元官网网址� some of them, due to the expediency of this operation, are still intact, and need to be spayed or neutered. And because of that theyB次元官网网址檒l be staying with us at the Playpen for a while until they get their surgery.

B次元官网网址淭hen weB次元官网网址檙e looking for forever homes.B次元官网网址�

Shalley said that over the past week, there has been a great feedback from the local public.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of people have wanted to meet the dogs, and weB次元官网网址檝e had a great response in terms of donations from the community. People have really stepped up.B次元官网网址�

For more information on the Cranbrook dog rescue efforts, you can go to the PlaypenB次元官网网址檚 Facebook Page B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭he Playpen- Pet Boarding & GroomingB次元官网网址� in the search bar.