Española Humane gathers donations for firefighters helping pets in evacuation areas

ESPAÑOLA, N.M. — Heartwarming pictures show firefighters on the front lines of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire feeding, comforting, and caring for pets in the evacuation areas.

“We learned that firefighters were actually feeding them their lunches as they were out in the field fighting fires. I saw this photo on Facebook of a dog and a firefighter and the dog had goldfish crackers laying around him and my heart was just shattered to smithereens,” said Mattie Allen, director of communications with Española Humane.

She said the shelter worked with other organizations to deliver thousands of pounds of donated pet food to the fire camp near Las Vegas to help firefighters care for the pets they come across.

“After their morning meetings they come up to a table and the pet food is split up from a big 45-50 pound bag and they’re split up into gallon-sized zip lock bags and the firefighters put those into their already heavy backpacks and carry those out with them for the day to feed any pets who need some help,” said Allen.

Allen says some families forced to evacuate as the fire spread were unable to evacuate their pets while others chose to stay and no longer have access to pet food.

That’s why the help they’re getting from pet-food-carrying firefighters is so important.

“It seems like these firefighters are engaging in heroic acts of compassion and kindness in addition to their heroic acts of bravery which is so heartwarming for all of us to see all of this extra work that they’re doing out there,” said Allen.

If you’d like to help, Allen suggests donating to your local animal shelter.