21-05-2025
60 cats rescued from from northern Minnesota wildfires
Thursday night, Lauren Fries was preparing for a rescue mission.
"We were loading up the vehicle. We knew a line of storms was coming, so we waited here. Our tornado siren went off, so we all hunkered down downstairs," said Fries, shelter behavior services supervisor for Animal Humane Society.
Once they got the all clear, she drove north to a potential evacuation zone from the Jenkins wildfire in St. Louis County.
"When I got to about Cloquet, definitely noticed that air seemed a little bit smoky. You could smell it a little," said Fries.
Her final stop — a home where the pet owners wanted to evacuate but couldn't because they had over sixty cats they didn't want to leave behind.
They reached out to the Animal Humane Society for help. Fries is a member of their critical response team.
"When we got there, they had secured them to a catio that they had. It was definitely catified. They had shelves, they had cubby holes. They were really loved. They were really friendly, they were coming right up to us," said Fries.
In all, fifty-seven adult cats, four kittens and a 5-year-old great dane are now in AHS care, getting their medical needs addressed including spay and neuter surgeries and eye and ear issues.
WCCO
WCCO was there Thursday morning as the first few felines were moved to cat colonies on the adoption floor.
For Friese, the surrenders and subsequent adoptions are bittersweet.
"They did love these pets. They were clearly taken care of super well so they were very emotional but they did well by these cats by letting us come in and help them so they could safely evacuate," said Fries.
Once the cats and dog are medically cleared, they will be available for adoption at all three locations of the Animal Humane Society.
