Amid fires, CA pets start new lives in Salt Lake City

The past few days have been a whirlwind for Stella. On Saturday afternoon, the 5-year-old husky was up in the clouds, flying with 83 other pets from Burbank, California, to Kanab, Utah, and then tucked into a van to end her journey in Salt Lake City. She was just one of hundreds of adoptable pets Best Friends has taken in from shelters near the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. By Sunday evening, she was curled up on the couch at home with her new best friend, Griz.

“She’s still warming up to us, but she took to Griz right away,” says Jodi Petersen, who, along with her fiancé, Nicholas Howard, adopted Stella.

After saying goodbye to their 11-year-old dog last summer, the couple was ready to get a new pup, and when they met Stella, they were drawn to her right away.

“She was just super calm, and she did remind me of my dog that had passed because he had a very calm demeanor about him,” says Jodi. The couple decided to adopt her on the spot, and Stella was officially home.

It’s also been a whirlwind time for Best Friends. When the worst happened — mass evacuations and entire neighborhoods burning — the L.A. team jumped into action. One of their first stops was Pasadena Humane, where they took in dogs and cats who were already available for adoption to make room for future pets in need of care. In no time, Best Friends made arrangements with Wings of Rescue to fly these pets to Utah, which would allow the L.A. team to continue taking in pets to lighten the load on shelters in areas impacted by the fires.

“(Best Friends is) an organization that is all about flexing and meeting the needs in the moment of what's happening nationally,” says Makena Yarbrough, senior director with Best Friends.

Seven hundred miles away from Los Angeles, the Best Friends team in Salt Lake City learned about these pets who needed a safe place to land and offered to help without hesitation.

“Everyone rallied together. People were willing to come in to help and work overtime if needed,” says Danielle Barnhart, senior manager with Best Friends in Salt Lake City, adding that employees from other departments even stepped up to help get everything ready for the new arrivals. “It was pretty inspiring this week.”

With the California wildfires continuing to burn, impacting people and pets, the Salt Lake City community has been showing up to offer support. An unprecedented number of people have signed up to foster and adopt, and volunteers drove vans to pick up pets when the plane landed near Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, where some of the pets would remain.

When animals arrived at the lifesaving center in Salt Lake City, some of them stayed on-site like Stella and Lavender (who was adopted on the same day as Stella). However, many pets continued onward, going to eight area rescue groups that agreed to take them in and place them in homes.

[Best Friends mobilizes to save pets from L.A. wildfires]

Simply put, Danielle says, “We couldn't have done it without the community.”

Stella’s new family is feeling the love from the community, too. Since her adoption photo was shared on social media, they’ve received hundreds of positive messages and well wishes from people across the country. “It’s been really overwhelming, and it makes us feel really good,” says Jodi.

For now, Stella is settling into her new home, where she loves romping around the yard (although, in true husky fashion, she adores the cold and is a little stubborn about coming back inside). Jodi and Nicolas plan to take Stella camping in the mountains, where she might see snow for the very first time.

“We just like to be outside and be where we can take our dogs. They go everywhere and do everything with us,” says Jodi, who’s also looking forward to standup paddleboarding on the lake with the pups next summer.

[Adoptable pets from L.A. wildfires arrive in Utah]

As Salt Lake City prepares to welcome even more pets from L.A., community members are ready to open their homes and hearts. Each pet adopted in Salt Lake City frees up space at a shelter in California, allowing them to help another animal displaced or injured by the fires.

“We're always happy to help,” says Jodi. “We have the space. We have the yard. Why wouldn’t we (adopt a dog)?”

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.