On Tuesday morning, Annie Harvilicz received a call from her brother, who was evacuating due to the Palisades fire. He asked if he could bring his rabbit, Oreo, and his cat, Winston, to her for safekeeping.
Harvilicz agreed, but then realized there were likely many other animals in need of shelter. As the owner of two veterinary hospitals—the Animal Wellness Centers in Marina del Rey and Laguna Vista Veterinary Center in Harbor City—she quickly posted a message on Facebook offering to house animals in need.
“I have an empty old vet hospital in Marina del Rey. I am happy to house any animals that need to be evacuated,” she wrote.
Since then, her phone has been ringing nonstop. Fortunately, more people have reached out offering to volunteer than asking to surrender their pets. Still, many have had to leave their animals in Harvilicz’s care.
“I had a woman drop off four dogs,” Harvilicz shared. “I was up all night helping people who needed places for their animals.”
As of now, Harvilicz has taken in roughly 20 dogs, 20 cats, and Oreo the rabbit—but she expects that number to rise as the day goes on. With the fire growing to over 2,900 acres by Wednesday morning, she’s also taken some of the dogs into her own home.
“The majority of people reaching out are multiple pet owners,” Harvilicz said. “They might be able to take one dog or cat to a hotel but not two or three.”
In addition to providing shelter, her veterinary hospitals are equipped to treat injured animals, and there’s extra food and bedding available for those in need.
The hardest part for Harvilicz, however, is the animals that can’t be saved. On Tuesday, she worked to arrange transport for nine donkeys whose owner needed help finding shelter. Sadly, by the time she had secured the trailer, the owner had already fled and released the donkeys.
“To me, that’s the saddest story because I feel like we failed the donkeys,” Harvilicz said.
For anyone in need of animal shelter, Harvilicz encourages them to contact one of her veterinary hospitals. The Marina del Rey location can be reached at (310) 450-7387, while the Harbor City location’s number is (310) 737-8600.
