Since we seem to be a bit off-topic today, I hope you'll excuse me for 
posting this:

I ran across this site the other day, and since Mt. Lemmon is so near 
and dear to many of us, thought I would pass it on.
www.lemmonaid.com

Also, the fires in California are just tragic!  If you are looking for 
some way to help and are an animal lover like us, here is a link to the 
San Deigo SPCA.  My friend Cheri in San Diego also sent me a web 
journal from one of her friends who works for the humane society and it 
is just heart wrenching.  I'll include it below if you are interested.

Thanks for putting up with my off-topic-ness!:)
C:)
Team desertSol
Chelby, Kevin & Aiden
+
Kiva and Lancer (German Shepherds)
Apache Junction, AZ


This woman works a job I could never imagine doing in
a time like this:

-----------------
I work for an agency here in the county that I am sure
you all will figure out.... I have spent the last 3
days living on zero sleep rescuing countless animals.
I have seen some of the most horrific things possible
and its no where near over.

On our first day of evactuations we found a horse that
was so emaciated, it took 2 of us (both females) to
pick it up and load it into the trailor. (Sadly we had
to euthanize it on the spot.) Then the owner has the
nerve to try to get into a fist fight with us calling
us "Murderers" because we had to either euthanize it
there or watch her burn. Maybe if you would f*cking
feed your pets or call a vet once in while we wouldnt
have had to "murder" your "oh so beloved pet"
/sarcasm. (Sorry that I dont sound "professional" but
I am human too and my emotions are running high.)

We found 4 dogs that were so old and poorly cared for
they couldnt walk, they were covered in their own
feces and their skin was burned from laying in urine.
They had sores all over their bodies that were
necroptic and infested with maggots.

Later that night we were in route to get a horse off a
desolate dirt road, who's owner was severly burned and
taken to the hospital. The map book listed the street
in the wrong place so we ended up on a totally
different road where we found 4 horses trapped in a
pipe corral burning. We tried everything we could to
get to them but the fire was too high and we just
couldnt. I stood there totally helpless watching the
fire consume them...I had to turn away and bury my
face, it was the most awful thing I have ever seen.
Their screams, my god...I cannot close my eyes without
hearing them, if only I could have gotten there
sooner. I will never ever forget them, this will haunt
me forever. There are no words to describe this.

Further down the road we continued on still trying to
find the other horse, praying we werent too late. We
saw a dog sitting in front of a burnt house. She was
crying and whimpering, as we approached I could see
she had boobies full of milk. We tried to get her and
she paced nervously crying. She walked back over to a
place behind the house where we found her charred
babies. You could see the pain in her eyes, and I
swear to god on the bible, she had tears running down
her face. The twist: the moment we put the leash over
her head, the power line fell 10 feet in front of our
truck. That dog saved our lives, if she wouldnt have
lead us to the back of the property we would have all
been struck by the live wire. She has yet to be
claimed and we have no idea if her owners are even
alive. If no one claims her you better believe I will
return the favor and save her life as she did ours.

There was a burro who was so badly burned his eyes
were melted shut, and HE was the lucky one, his friend
combusted right in front of us.

Tonight we found 3 more emaciated horses who's hooves
looked like sled's. I dont get it, I mean I know this
is my job and I know I see this stuff everyday, but I
never really knew just how many people were hiding in
the woodworks with all the animals living in squalor
conditions. How many more can there be?!

The fire is far from over, and sadly there are more
horrific things I know I will come across. We are
finding charred remains everywhere. This is so
horrible. Honestly, its really hard to keep it
together, its hard to look into the faces of people
who lost it all, its hard to keep a system down and
seem like we are doing an efficient job when we are so
close to the fires all we have time to do is jump out,
grab the animal and get the hell out. No posting, no
time to look for an address, nothing.

Please bare with us, we are doing the best we can to
save every creature, from fish to tigers. We are
trying to give everyone the most accurate information
possible but we are having a hard time keeping up. Our
phone clerks, kennel staff, dispatchers and us
officers have had minimal food, water, and sleep. A
lot of us showed up to work on Sunday because we too
were evacuated and had no where else to go but work.
Most of us dont even know if we have a home to go back
to.

A lot of people are frustrated that we cannot tell
them if we took their animals or not. Well, most
places in the back country are not clearly marked to
begin with, and those that were, were so damaged we
had no idea what the house #'s were. Also keep in mind
that good sumaritins are working just as hard as we
are to rescue animals so while they may eventually end
up at our facility, we may have NO clue at all where
they came from.

Thank all of your with your help and efforts to help
us save the animals out there. You are all wonderful
and I thank you so much.

Also, on another note, if the dog metioned above is
NOT claimed, I will be helping her find a home. She is
a 4 +/- year old cattle dog mix, very shy, but sweet
as can be. Keep her in mind, I will update you all on
her status. I honestly owe my life to her.


Thank you all for listening (reading) I just needed to
get some of this out. My prayers are with you all.