When Nikki Dawson entered the Los Angeles home, she knew it was unlikely to find any survivors. But giving up wasn’t an option — she and her fellow volunteers from Nesconset-based nonprofit Paws of War were the only ones capable of reuniting 80-year-old Sheila Silber with the only family she has left: her cat, Ziggy.
The fires that started on Jan. 7 are finally mostly contained, but only after thousands of homes were destroyed. In many cases, those houses contained a pet whose owner had to make an impossible decision as the flames closed in. Paws of War, which connects veterans with service dogs and provides disaster relief for animals, came on the scene on Jan. 13 to find swaths of destruction.
“It does become incredibly sad when you’re looking at a lifetime of memories and where people’s children have grown up, or their grandparents used to live there, and now it’s just gone,” Dawson, director of animal welfare and logistics for Paws of War, told the Press.
“Having been an East Coaster, working in NYC at the time of 9/11, I know the acrid smell of the Palisades fire has been more much akin to that than to any forest fire,” said Robin Keats, board chair and media manager for Paws of War who now lives in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
“Severely dry wild mustard and other plants of the chaparral burst into flames but none of their aromas seemed to mix with the smoke of burning homes and schools,” he said. “The library in the Palisades burned and I am grateful not to have been able to distinguish the the real and metaphorical stench of burning books.”
Paws of War found that, despite California’s high burn risk, officials were woefully unprepared to manage the fallout from the fire, especially in terms of animal rescue.
“They had cats and dogs coming out with smoke inhalation, and they couldn’t save them because they didn’t have the proper oxygen masks,” said Rob Misseri, Paws of War cofounder. “So we started getting those oxygen masks out. It’s mind boggling that a city like that is not equipped with that kind of equipment.”
“What little such equipment they had is either nonexistent, in very short supply, or so antiquated that no replaceable parts are available,” Keats said.
In addition to providing animal oxygen masks, Paws of War is also setting up temporary feeding stations. Because local authorities have barred access to some neighborhoods, owners haven’t been able to get to their pets for weeks, and “the animals that were fortunate enough not to burn to death are now starving to death,” Misseri said.
Many on social media have levied high judgment and criticism toward those who had to leave their pets behind — but, Dawson said, everyone should take a moment and ask themselves, “what could you do in five minutes?”
That was the situation 80-year-old Sheila Silber found herself in when she got the evacuation notice as flames rapidly approached her neighborhood. Silber, who lives alone, tried to get her cat Ziggy into his carrier, but he simply wouldn’t comply. In a life-or-death situation, she was forced to leave her home — and her companion.
Later, as Nikki Dawson was volunteering, a vet handed her a slip of paper. It was Silber’s contact information. She’d learned her house was one of the few left standing, but the authorities would let no one into the neighborhood. It had been more than a week — if Ziggy had survived the flames, he was running out of time.
The Paws of War team convinced the sheriff’s department to let them in. They were given one hour. When they got to the home and opened the door, they were greeted by an environment that seemed unlivable.
“Even though the windows were closed, every surface was covered in soot,” Dawson said. Fine particles filled the air, choking Dawson and her fellow volunteers through their masks. When they washed their hands, the water ran black with soot.
But against all odds, when volunteers checked the box spring in Silber’s spare bedroom, they found a pair of eyes blinking back at them. Ziggy was scared, dehydrated and weak — but alive.
Reconnecting Ziggy and Silber was one of those rare, beautiful successes that make the weeks of emotionally taxing disaster relief worth it.
“That was just such an incredible moment,” Dawson said. “She knew that her house was standing, but she said to us, ‘I don’t even care if anything happened in the house, I just want my cat back.’”
Paws of War is continuing to help animals affected by the fires. For more information or to donate, visit pawsofwar.org.
