More than 40 shelter animals from Maui will be looking for homes in the Bay Area following the fatal wildfires on the Hawaiian island, according to animal welfare organization Berkeley Humane.
The animals arrived Friday night at Hayward Executive Airport to make room for an influx of injured or displaced animals at the Maui Humane Society.
Animals will be going to shelters in the region including Berkeley Humane in Berkeley, Marin Humane in Novato, Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek, East Bay SPCA in Oakland and Dublin, Tri-City Animal Shelter in Fremont and Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter in Alameda.
Jeffrey Zerwekh, who is the executive director of the Berkeley Humane Society spearheaded Friday’s effort after seeing the devastation from the Maui wildfires. This is despite the fact that many Bay Area shelters are already at capacity.
“We’re all full with animals already. All take a handful of animals to make a bigger impact,” he said.
Only pets sheltered at the Maui Humane Society before the fires will be coming to the Bay Area, officials with Berkeley Humane said.
However, by taking in the pets, the shelters are helping the Maui Humane Society, which is expecting an influx of unhoused pets.
Each shelter will decide when the pets will go up for adoption.
The Berkeley Humane Society says the Maui shelter pets will be ready for their forever homes at NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48’s Clear the Shelters event happening on August 26.
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