Rescue missions ongoing for pets in Jasper after residents forced to leave them behind

Some residents in Jasper had to leave their pets behind as a fast-spreading wildfire bore down on the community last week.

Now that the fire is out in the townsite, the municipality has been making trips back in to rescue pets and deliver them to the closest SPCA.

Cathy Thomas is with the Hinton and District SPCA and says her people are still not allowed in town, so Jasper bylaw officers are the ones trying to get the animals out safe.

“The night of the fire we got a phone call from Jasper bylaw saying they were coming in with three cats, one dog and one bird,” she says, adding the municipality asked if they could bring the animals in.

“We said absolutely.”

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Since then, equipped with the SPCA’s bigger van, rescuers have brought back another 16 cats and a bird.

They’ve gone back for more as evacuees whose home are still standing have been reporting their animals all alone.

“If you were a CN worker, or a doctor or nurse at the hospital, you couldn’t go home to get your pet,” Thomas says. “You didn’t have time.”

She says the shelter is getting so full that the SPCA may have to start putting some of the animals in the board room.

Anyone who would like to help can head to the Hinton and District SPCA’s website.