- Title: Shelter set up for pets left homeless by Chilean wildfire
- Date: 27th December 2019
- Summary: VALPARAISO, CHILE (DECEMBER 26, 2019) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SHELTER PETS WITH SIGN THAT READS (Spanish) "VETERINARIAN ASSISTANCE" WOMAN GOING INTO TO SHELTER AND HOLDING INJURED CAT WOMEN WAITING AT SHELTER WITH THEIR PETS VARIOUS OF VETERINARIAN ASSISTING INJURED DOG SOUNDBITE (Spanish) PARAMEDIC, ESTEFANI VASCONEZ, SAYING: "I had to bring a puppy because its owner's house burned. The dog ran out of the flame. The next day the dog appeared in my house and its owner was gone. I knew that the dog is his. But the dog has all the legs burned and unfortunately I had to bring the dog to shelter because it is not feeling its legs. It was coughing a lot, then, as the puppy was suffering I had to bring it if or if". CLOSE-UP OF DOG'S PAW BURNED DOG INJURED BY FIRE SOUNDBITE (Spanish) VETERINARIAN, SAMUEL TAPIA CASTILLO, SAYING: "We have a hospital for dogs and a hospital for cats. We are working with the municipality of ValparaÃso for the qualification of a temporary home for what are the animals that are in a good condition, that have not been affected by the flames, but that are lost or the owners cannot have them because they are burned everything. Work is being done to enable these dependencies VETERINARIAN ASSISTING DOG DOG AT THE SHELTER WOMAN HOLDING HER INJURED CAT SOUNDBITE (Spanish) OWNER OF CAT INJURED, GILBERT BUGUENO, SAYING: "My kitten was burned, her 4 legs were burned. Her ears were burned up, her nose, her fur is burned. But now she's a little better. She feels pain because she is shivering." CLOSE-UP OF CAT'S EAR BURNED SOUNDBITE (Spanish) OWNER OF CAT INJURED, GILDA MEDEL, SAYING: "She does not understand what happened. She only understands is our love. What happened is very sad because not only her, many animals have been affected and some have died, that was what we thought. But we had the fortune or the luck, she appeared alive. But you know, it hurts, hurt in the heart, hurt in the soul to see the little animal like that." VETERINARIAN ASSISTING DOG SOUNDBITE (Spanish) VETERINARIAN, SAMUEL TAPIA CASTILLO, SAYING: "If my pet is in good health I am in good health. Therefore, that is what motivates us to be able to make a speedy recovery so that the victims of this disaster can also have the peace of mind that their pets are in recovery." DOG RECOVERING CAT'S OWNER STROKING HIS PET INJURED CAT
- Embargoed: 10th January 2020 16:00
- Keywords: Chile Valparaiso cats dogs forest fire pets wildfire
- Location: VALPARAISO, CHILE
- City: VALPARAISO, CHILE
- Country: Chile
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wildfires/Forest Fires
- Reuters ID: LVA001BBR2EDJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A fire that swept through a poor community of the Chilean seaside city of Valparaiso on Christmas Eve has left not only people but hundreds of pets without homes.
A group of veterinarians has responded by setting up a shelter in a nearby school to tend to animals left injured or abandoned.
"She can´t have understood what happened," said Gilda Medel, a 55-year-old housekeeper, whose cat "Manchita" suffered burns on her legs, ears and fur and has been treated at the shelter.
"I suppose we were lucky to have found her alive, but it hurts the soul to see a little animal like that," she added, fighting back tears.
Valparaiso, known for its colorful wood-frame houses, is popular with tourists in Chile.
The fire broke out Christmas Eve (December 24) in a forested area on the outskirts of the city and spread toward the coast, hitting the Rocuant and San Roque hills, a jumble of settlements that overlook Valparaiso, and was only brought fully under control at midday Thursday. The blaze destroyed 245 homes and left 700 people destitute, the authorities said.
Several people returned to the rubble-strewn hillsides to search for their pets, but other animals remained unclaimed.
"We are working with the municipality of ValparaÃso to get a temporary home approved for the animals that are in good condition and not injured in the fire, but are now without owners, or owners that have nowhere for them to stay because their homes were destroyed," veterinarian Samuel Tapia said.
(Production: Jorge Vega, Carolina Fernandez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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