BELLEVUE, Wash. — As donations continue to pour into Hawaii, some of the island's most vulnerable creatures are finding haven in the Pacific Northwest.
Early Thursday morning, workers from Seattle Humane were taking custody of more than a dozen cats, flown as cargo overnight from Maui, as the state of Hawaii is only beginning to recover.
“Well, I definitely say that the cats and dogs that come through these lifesaver transfers, they’re spending hours at a time either in the back of a plane in a van and it’s a very stressful ordeal the things that go into it,” said Brandon Macz of Seattle Humane.
At their headquarters in Bellevue, the animals have been poked and prodded, prepped for adoption. Hawaii-based nonprofit Good Cat Network coordinated the handoff – one they say will allow them to focus on the growing need on their home island.
For the animals, it’s been a very long day.
“We’re really concerned about helping out with the existing homeless pet population in Maui, bringing in those pets and that will help organizations like Maui Humane help out with the displaced pets and reuniting them with those that may have been displaced in the fires.”
All of these cats were in foster homes spread out across Hawaii until just over a week ago. On Aug. 8, a series of fires broke out across the island of Maui – in that time more than 100 have died, and thousands of pets are still missing.
“Whenever there is a disaster like this people are trying to figure out how can they get involved, how can they help and locally for us it’s to adopt pets who are coming from these areas that frees up space for us to help bring in even more transfers,” Macz said.
The cats have been in western Washington for less than 24 hours and staff say they’re confident they’ll all find a new home.
“Heartbreaking, honestly, I wish I could do more for the people out there,” said Meera Santos of Tukwila while browsing for a new pet.
“I hope that they’re getting the help that they need, and I hope that people are donating to Maui,” she continued.
And as resources pour into the island in the Pacific, these animals will begin a new life more than 2,500 miles across the ocean.