Wildfire Evacuees Reunite With Pets They Didn't Think Had Survived

MARIN (KPIX 5) -- Amid all the destruction, there is a ray of light as beloved pets lost during the wildfires are reunited with their families.

As soon as the fires started, Marin Humane Society transferred all its adoptable animals to other shelters and opened its doors to the four-legged evacuees and rescues.

Now that things have started to calm down, people are coming to claim, or just visit, their animals, making for a happy ending to a story that's heartbreaking in so many cases.

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Many pets and owners have been separated for the better part of a week, during the worst of conditions. In some cases, the human half of these pairs spent that time wondering if their animals even made it.

Grace said, "We were in a hotel when we found out our house burned down and we thought that he was dead."

So their reunions are the bright spot in an otherwise charred out several days. This family lost their home, and thought their dog, Bill, was lost with it. He wasn't.

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Thanks to the Marin Humane Society, both Bill the dog and Timothy the kitten are home in arms that won't be letting them go anytime soon

Other pets, like Jax, were brought to the shelter by their owners when they evacuated.

Marin Humane Society handled the four-legged evacuees so the two-legged ones could worry about their homes, their family and the future.

At the fires' height, Marin Humane Society was housing 375 evacuated or rescued animals, all for free. That's now down to about 260, thanks to lots of happy reunions.

Marin Humane Society has seen an outpouring of support, so it has enough dog food and beds. But if you do want to help, they are asking that you make monetary donations.