SPCA Monterey County rescues more than 200 pets from Pajaro River flooding

PÁJARO – While the community of Pájaro was left reeling from disaster over the weekend, as flooding from the massive Pájaro River levee breach forced thousands to evacuate their homes, SPCA Monterey County turned its attention to some family members left behind in the emergency.

“For many people, when they had to evacuate, they were unable to take their pets with them,” said Beth Brookhouser, vice president of marketing and communications for SPCA Monterey County. “We started receiving calls pretty quickly after the flooding started.”

After the Pájaro River levee beached Friday around midnight, Brookhouser said the SPCA’s disaster response team was out at the scene Saturday, alongside the California National Guard and other first responders performing rescues. Using high-water rescue vehicles deployed to help stranded residents, the SPCA was able to rescue pets also trapped by water.

The SPCA has been out in the Pájaro area every day since, responding to requests made by displaced residents worried about their pets still housed in the flooded town. As of Thursday morning, the SPCA was sheltering 212 animals from the small community, including cats, dogs, chickens, parakeets, parrots, a rabbit and an iguana.

“They’re safe and doing very well with us,” Brookhouser said, adding that the organization’s disaster response is “continuing to rescue any pets left behind.”

Brookhouser said most pet rescues have been spurred by owners calling into the SPCA. For evacuees who don’t have access to a phone, Brookhouser said the SPCA’s disaster response team has also been out in the community and at local emergency shelters in case an owner wants to ask for help in person. The SPCA’s disaster response team is bilingual.

While days-long evacuation orders for the Pájaro community stretched into Thursday, Brookhouser the SPCA has already started to reunite some owners with their rescued pets.

“A lot of people are sheltering with their pets,” Brookhouser said.

Apart from rescues, the SPCA is providing pet food and supplies to all local emergency shelters, as well as anyone evacuating with their pets elsewhere, free of charge.

Over the last few days, Brookhouser said new calls into Pájaro have come from concerned owners who did not expect to face evacuation for as long as they have.

“We are still hearing from people that thought they wouldn’t have to be evacuated for too long and left food, but now they’re starting to get worried about their pets,” Brookhouser said.

An evacuation warning for the Pájaro community initially went into effect Thursday, March 9, and escalated into an order a day later. Since evacuating, around 1,700 residents have been blocked from going back to their homes, despite receding floodwaters. Dozens of people gathered at the Main Street bridge over the river between Watsonville and Pájaro Wednesday and complained about the ongoing evacuation orders, The Mercury News reported.

Monterey County officials were scheduled to have a press conference Thursday afternoon to discuss: “Public Safety, Reentry Procedures, (and) Supporting Disaster Victims,” county spokesperson Maia Carroll said in a message to media outlets. Crews working around the clock closed the 400-foot Pajaro River levee breach Tuesday evening, completing the first round of planned repairs. Work will continue over the next week or two to raise the emergency breach repair to the full levee height.

According to county officials, the current levee repair is holding water flows from the Pájaro River, which have, for the most part, been declining since Saturday morning. Meanwhile, a flood warning from the National Weather Service for the levee failure that was set to expire Thursday at noon was extended to Friday at noon instead.

Amid uncertainty, Brookhouser assured the pets of Pájaro are and will continue to be safe with the SPCA.

“Pets are family,” she said. “We are so thankful that Monterey County recognizes that. SPCA Monterey County has a seat with the Office of Emergency Services in a situation like this. They understand that pets are a part of the family. …We’ll always be there when a disaster happens in our community.”

To keep services going, Brookhouser said the SPCA is looking for donations, particularly pet food. For more information, go to www.SPCAmc.org/donate.