Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kelownavet.ca
August 30, 2021 - 7:31 AM
Roughly 100 cats and dogs displaced by wildfires have taken refuge over the course of this summer at the Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital in West Kelowna.
At one point, the team was looking after 60 pets at one time – mostly cats.
Before this summer, clinic owner Dr. Moshe Oz said the most he was ever looking after once was upwards of 40 pets. Along with a team member, we would stay up as late as 2 to 3 a.m. tending to animals on the busiest nights.
The facility was full to capacity so the team had to make use of surgical kennels.
“Surgical kennels are a little bit smaller but we were able to it work – give everybody a clean, safe place to be,” Dr. Oz said.
“It was busier for us this year, certainly in a very short period of time when the White Rock Lake fire got really bad.”
READ MORE: West Kelowna vet again offering safe haven for displaced pets
Currently, there are 25 to 30 displaced pets staying at the hospital, most belonging to families from the North Westside.
“Once those evacuee can go back, then the last of the cats and dogs here will get to be home again with their moms and dads.”
Dr. Oz expects them to be able to return home in the next 5 to 10 days, but said he’s happy to continue taking care of them for as long as necessary. He’s also appreciative of the community for donating towels to his hospital for the pets.
The need for so much extra care this summer led the hospital to hire two new employees.
“We needed some extra help to clean out every kennel, and give them some love and affection and comfort.”
The new staffers are both students working 20 hours a week and the positions are permanent, but when they return to school in September their shifts will be on the weekends.
“When they go back to school, hopefully the fires will go down.”
Dr. Oz has also rescued turtles and guinea pigs, but those were unrelated to wildfire displacement.
READ MORE: Kelowna dog to be euthanized finds new home
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