Salem LA Wildfire Rescue Dogs Ready For Adoption: MSPCA

SALEM, MA — Most of the nine shelter rescue dogs brought from the Los Angeles area to Salem this past weekend in the wake of the devastating California wildfires are now ready for adoption to their forever homes in New England.

An MSPCA-Angell spokesperson told Patch on Wednesday that nearly all of the nine larger-breed dogs had been cleared for adoption and that interested adopters can visit them at the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem daily from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The California dogs range in age from roughly 1 to 10 years old and include mixes of hounds, German shepherds, pit bulls, and cattle dogs and come from Pasadena Humane Society, where they had been living prior to the fires that have displaced thousands of people and pets.

The dog transport follows the rescue of more than three dozen cats from blizzard-stricken New Orleans in recent weeks.

• Dozens Of New Orleans Blizzard Rescue Cats Arrive In MA

Best Friends Animal Society organized the flight from Los Angeles to the East Coast with an MSPCA-Angell van then taking the dogs from Delaware to the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem on Friday.

"Obviously, there's a tremendous amount of need in the Los Angeles area right now," Josie Waldron, MSPCA-Angell relocation manager, said. "Plenty of groups nearby stepped up to help and transported animals out of danger, but given the magnitude of the situation, more assistance is needed, and that's where we come in.

"Relief efforts in California will probably take weeks if not months, so it's likely that we'll have the opportunity to help even more animals in the future. But, in order for us to do that, we definitely need people to come in and adopt, so we can free up space to help these new arrivals, as well as those we hope to help in the future, both in California and here in Massachusetts."

Those who cannot adopt but who would be willing to foster the California dogs and others in MSPCA-Angell care can learn more about fostering here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)