Wildfires spread throughout California, near Los Angeles and San Diego. 80,000 people evacuated and sadly, pets are left in the fires to survive on their own.
Mother and loving animal owner Esther Hahn, like many others, has been tasked with getting her family and 4-legged pals to safety. Hahn has three children, two dogs, ponies Bowie and Logan and a mini donkey named Fannie. All of her animals live on her property in Calabasas, CA. This town is at severe risk of being affected by the wildfires, so Hahn has been constantly on the lookout for dangerous hazards that could affect her and her family.
“When the fires broke out here a couple of weeks ago, I was on high alert,” Hahn said. “I have two ponies and a mini donkey living on my property but I do not own a trailer.”
With all of the possible outcomes that could occur from the fire, Hahn needed to stay calm and keep her emotions in check. Experiencing a state of panic and anxiety near her animals could cause them to act differently which could put them in danger. So, Hahn made a plan on how she and her family would react if the fires got close to her property.
“For the next few days, I did not have power at my house and constantly worried about my ponies and donkey,” Hahn said. “I was definitely panicked during the evacuation but tried my best to keep my emotions in check so they wouldn’t affect the ponies and donkeys.”
When this was happening, Hahn did not have a trailer to transport her 2 ponies and mini donkeys to a safer location. This problem added to the difficulty of moving her animals, meaning she had to rely on someone else to transport her furry family members.
Hahn did not want to let her animals loose like many families are doing. According to ABC news, pet shelters are getting overflowed with all different types of animals, and citizens have been putting out big tubs full of food and water out for the homeless animals left to flee the fires. Hahn did not want her animals to become a part of the thousands of stray animals out on the streets.When the deadly wildfires got uncomfortably close to her property, she ended up waiting 45 minutes for the truck and trailer team to arrive.
“I immediately called the original owner of one of the ponies and asked if they could pick up my crew if the fires got near us,” Hahn said. “When the fire broke out just a mile away from me, I made the call to send them to a safer location.”
While waiting for the truck and trailer to come and pick up her animals, she prepared them to evacuate. Knowing that sometimes her mini donkey doesn’t like to be caught out in the field, Hahn had to plan accordingly in case they were in an urgent situation and needed to move them quickly.
“I prepared my ponies and donkey for evacuation by being sure their halters and lead ropes were close enough to easily attach to them,” Hahn said. “I put the halter onto Frannie well in advance in case she reacted to the urgency and the possibility she wouldn’t let me catch her.”
Still waiting for the truck and trailer to come and pick up her furry friends, Bowie, Logan and Fannie started to become suspicious. To distract them, Hahn gave them their food on the early side of the day. Unfortunately, her animals were still on high alert.
“I did give Bowie, Logan and Frannie their supplements early, while we waited for the trailer to arrive, and they do love their supplements,” said Hahn. “I imagine that they were happy for the early surprise but then when the fire engines came blaring by, they were jumpy.”
Then, her beloved four-legged family were off to an alternate location farther from the fires. Hahn made sure her animals had everything they would need during their stay. She began to relax knowing that her animals were safe and sound. After a couple of days, the animals were able to return to their primary home with Hahn.
“I felt immense relief knowing that they were heading to safety,” said Hahn. “They are now home after spending five or so days at an alternate facility.”
ABC news also highlights that many public areas have been transformed into alternative facilities for families and their 4-legged animals. Area’s like Beverly Hilton, which hosts the Golden Globes, are one of the places that have been altered. People are starting to call these places a “Glamorous zoo.”
“The hotel staff are doing everything possible to accommodate the animals from a hospitality perspective,” said Beverly Hilton.
This California resident wouldn’t leave her animals to fend against the flames and continues to do everything she can to keep her animals and family safe.
“My full focus was making sure Logan, Bowie, and Fannie had a safe escape out of the area,” said Hahn.
