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 Jaffray害羞草研究所檚 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.

害羞草研究所淟ast Friday, I had an idea that I needed to help the animals in California,害羞草研究所� Shalley said. 害羞草研究所淚 was literally going to rent a van to drive down there and help them.害羞草研究所�

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

害羞草研究所淲e brainstormed, [Therrien] said 害羞草研究所榣et me see what I can do害羞草研究所� and that害羞草研究所檚 where it started.害羞草研究所�

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

害羞草研究所淭hey made the magic happen,害羞草研究所� Shalley said. 害羞草研究所淭hey picked some dogs, they said 害羞草研究所榙o you want these ones,害羞草研究所� we said 害羞草研究所榶es, we害羞草研究所檒l take them up.害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟

Wings of Rescue 害羞草研究所� a charity that flies endangered pets to new locations where they can be adopted 害羞草研究所� was able to make the transition quickly 害羞草研究所� 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 害羞草研究所� who害羞草研究所檝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.

害羞草研究所淚f they are sick, or acting out, they will not get on the plane,害羞草研究所� 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 害羞草研究所� all pitbulls 害羞草研究所� were given quick walks around the hanger prior to departure.

Many different breeds were represented in the airlift 害羞草研究所� pitfalls, border collies, terriers, a schnauzer cross, a chocolate lab, chihuahuas 害羞草研究所� 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.

害羞草研究所淭hese are dogs who have been surrendered and are available for adoption,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淪trictly dogs who will not be reclaimed.害羞草研究所�

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.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e going to assess them, take a look at their behaviour 害羞草研究所� some of them, due to the expediency of this operation, are still intact, and need to be spayed or neutered. And because of that they害羞草研究所檒l be staying with us at the Playpen for a while until they get their surgery.

害羞草研究所淭hen we害羞草研究所檙e looking for forever homes.害羞草研究所�

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

害羞草研究所淎 lot of people have wanted to meet the dogs, and we害羞草研究所檝e had a great response in terms of donations from the community. People have really stepped up.害羞草研究所�

For more information on the Cranbrook dog rescue efforts, you can go to the Playpen害羞草研究所檚 Facebook Page 害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所淭he Playpen- Pet Boarding & Grooming害羞草研究所� in the search bar.