Pets Lost in L.A. Fires Are Being Reunited with Their Desperate Owners, Thanks to This Charity
"You could see the look of relief on her face," says Paws Of War volunteer Niki Dawson after retrieving and reconnecting a lost cat with its elderly owner
Niki Dawson has spent nearly two weeks searching for animals around Los Angeles and recently reunited a cat named Ziggy with his elderly worried owner, Sheila Swarts
“You could see the look of relief on her face,” Dawson, a volunteer with Paws Of War, tells PEOPLE
“In all my conversations with her, she had been very stoic," she adds. "But as soon as she saw Ziggy that façade just crumbled and she let her guard down"
After nearly two weeks spent searching for animals in the decimated fire zones around Los Angeles, Niki Dawson has long lost track of what day of the week it is.
But she can recall every detail of a moment that transpired several days ago, when she reunited a cat named Ziggy with his elderly worried owner, Sheila Swarts, who had been unable to catch her beloved pet before being forced to flee her Pacific Palisades home.
“You could see the look of relief on her face,” says Dawson — a volunteer with the group Paws Of War, which provides dogs to soldiers suffering from PTSD — who found Ziggy hiding under a bed in a box spring inside Swarts’ ash-covered, but still-standing residence.
“In all my conversations with her, she had been very stoic," she says. "But as soon as she saw Ziggy that façade just crumbled and she let her guard down.”
Dawson is part of a group of big-hearted volunteers who have swung into action since a series of massive wildfires began burning their way through parts of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Amid the death and destruction brought on by the fires, they’ve provided hope and solace to the thousands of residents worried about the fate of their pets.
Courtesy Jenny Earhart (2)
L.A.-based emergency rescue specialist Austin Muhs assembled a team of volunteers to help evacuate and save animals during the recent wildfires.Some were forced to flee their homes so quickly that they had no chance to grab their panicked animals. Others were never able to reach their properties before the authorities sealed off their neighborhoods as the flames consumed everything in sight.
In many ways, Ziggy’s story is similar to dozens of other searches that Dawson — whose organization has provided oxygen masks to injured four-legged fire survivors — has performed in the days after the wildfires broke out.
For more on pet rescues during the L.A. fires pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.
After getting the key to Swarts’ home, she was able to get access to the property while accompanied by Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies. “These fires were like tornado events,” says Dawson. “There can be complete and utter destruction on one side of the street and then on the other side everything is completely untouched.”
She navigated her way through the darkened home with a flashlight, amazed by how every surface was covered in soot and ash. Before she fled, Swarts had left bowls of food and water throughout the home — but they were all bone dry. “I knew,” says Dawson, “Ziggy couldn’t survive much longer in there.”
Related: 2 Cats Trapped in Their Home amid L.A. Fires Reunited with Owner: 'Touching Moment Filled with Hugs'
Realizing she didn’t have much time to spend in the house before deputies would ask her to move on, she finally located the terrified, dehydrated feline under a bed. She was able to quickly scoop him into a carrier and make her way to Swarts, who was staying with friends in nearby Santa Monica.
“Even the hardened sheriff’s officers celebrated with us,” says Dawson. “You could see a little smile on their faces, even if they didn’t really want to smile, because they’re pet lovers too.”
Not long afterwards, Swarts, who feared that Ziggy had perished, was reunited with her beloved pet. “She just sank down and sat on the floor, petting him,” adds Dawson. “She was so happy. She told me, ‘It’s okay if I don’t back to my home for weeks. Wherever Ziggy is is home for me.’ "
Click here to learn more about how to help the victims of the L.A. fires.
Read the original article on People
