Sarah Lightley/The Broadside

Homes and forests burned, and families displaced. On Sept. 12, a small burned and ash-covered cat was taken to the Bend Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center. Her name is Sara. Sara was covered in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns and was taken care of at the vet clinic. Once stabilized, she was taken to the Central Oregon Humane Society on Sept. 15. 

Her burns were extensive, all four of her paws, left eye and ears were severely burned, said Lynne Ouchida from the Central Oregon Humane Society. Sara’s burns were pretty severe, and the vets at Central Oregon Humane Society would sedate her in order to wrap her injuries. Sara’s injuries would take an hour to wrap. When she arrived at the Humane Society, her injuries would “make you cringe,” said Ouchida. 

Originally Sara’s paws were red and raw on the pads and on top, obstructing the view of her true colors. Sara is a black cat with white on her chest and even on her paws, but no one knew until the burns were healed. Her fur is no longer soft like it was before the fire, but due to fur being signed, her coat is now rough. 

The Central Oregon Humane Society tried connecting with Sara’s owner in the beginning of her stay at the Humane Society, but it was hard to stay in touch. Her owners lost their home in the Holiday Farm Fire, and have since been looking for a new place to live for themselves and Sara. 

Sara has her own kitty suite at the Humane Society, and is receiving daily attention from volunteers and workers. One worker for the cat kennels, goes out and uses her own money to get Sara special wet cat food that she likes. She even has a little trick where she jumps on her hind paws and waits for a treat. 

It was quite a surprise how resilient Sara was, “despite her trauma and pain, she is a very very sweet cat, who is friendly and loves attention,” described Ouchida. 

The Humane Society received many more animals, like Sara, and they found themselves having to buy extra small medical supplies. This sudden task of helping tiny animals, because of the fires, made the vet clinic attached to the Humane Society think about their preparedness. What came out of this whole ordeal is that they will be prepared for when another disaster strikes.

Sara is the last of the burn victims that the Humane Society received, and because of her extensive injuries she is still at the Humane Society, in addition to her owners unfortunate loss of their home in the fire. Sara is a fighter and she survived a terrible fire that many other animals did not.

Before: First coming to the Humane Society    

After: Now, what Sara looks like