Annie Harvilicz got a call from her brother on Tuesday morning.
He was wondering if he could offload his rabbit, Oreo, and his cat, Winston, with her as he fled the Palisades fire that was burning across the canyon from his house.
She said yes, then thought about all the other animals that likely needed places to stay.
Harvilicz runs two veterinary hospitals — the Animal Wellness Centers in Marina del Rey and Laguna Vista Veterinary Center in Harbor City. She put out a call on Facebook on Tuesday morning saying people could bring their animals to her if they needed.
“I have an empty old vet hospital in Marina del Rey. I am happy to house any animals that need to be evacuated,” she wrote.
The messages and calls haven’t stopped since then. The good news, Harvilicz said, is more of the messages have been volunteers offering to help than people who need to give up their animals. Still, many people have had to hand over their pets to Harvilicz for now.
“I had a woman drop off four dogs,” Harvilicz said. “I was up all night helping people who needed places for their animals.”
The count at the moment is roughly 20 dogs, 20 cats, and Oreo the rabbit.
But Harvilicz expects that number to go up over the course of the day Wednesday. She has even taken some of the dogs into her home. The fire had grown to more than 2,900 acres by Wednesday morning.
“The majority of people reaching out are multiple pet owners,” she said. “They might be able to take one dog or cat to a hotel but not two or three.”
Harvilicz said her hospitals can also treat pets with injuries and there is extra food and bedding for the animals that need them.
The saddest part for Harvilicz is the animals that can’t be saved. She spent time Tuesday trying to secure a trailer to go to the Palisades to pick up nine donkeys that a woman needed to find shelter for, but by the time she had gotten the transport prepared, the woman had already fled the area and released her donkeys.
“To me that’s the saddest story because I feel like we failed the donkeys,” Harvilicz said.
For those who need help housing their animals, Harvilicz said to call one of her two veterinary hospitals.
The number for the Marina del Rey location is (310) 450-7387. The number for the Harbor City location is (310) 737-8600.