BY KAREN BOSSICK

The big gorgeous husky stepped off the van at Mountain Humane and breathed in the crisp mountain air.

It was a vast contrast to smoky Los Angeles and its 80-degree heat.

The husky is among 24 refugees brought here from the fires that have raged across southern California, decimating entire neighborhoods, killing at least 28 people and displacing at least 100,000 people. And he’s looking for a new start in the Wood River Valley.

Dog is My Co-Pilot flew the dogs from California to Boise, the transfer facilitated by Kim Alboum of the Bissell Foundation.

“I imagine he thought he was in heaven,” said Christine Ferguson, executive director of Mountain Humane.

Mountain Humane led the way for itself and two other Idaho organizations to take shelter dogs from the Los Angeles area to make room for dogs that had been displaced from their homes by the fires. Five Mountain Humane workers drove two vans to Boise on Friday to pick up the dogs that were flown in by Dog is My CoPilot, a nonprofit organization that transports animals from overcrowded shelters to adoption centers.

“When Mountain Humane learned of the fires burning in California and the loss of thousands of structures, we knew that the Los Angeles area animal shelters would be opening their doors to house displaced family pets. And we understood that they would need to transfer out many of their resident dogs and cats to make room for incoming fire victims,” said Ferguson.

“We immediately reached out to our national animal welfare partners to let them know we were here to help. At the same time, we reached out to our Idaho partners to learn who else could be part of animal transports. Our friends at McPaws Regional Animal Shelter and Idaho Humane Society were on board.”

This pup is about to get an introduction to a very different lifestyle in the Wood River Valley.

Thirty-six dogs were transported to Boise. Mountain Humane took 24; Idaho Humane, nine, and McPaws, three.

“The people in California had this so well planned with all the crates marked that it took us just a half-hour to load the dogs into the vans,” said Ferguson. “The dogs couldn’t have been more well behaved and quiet. And the pilot was so nice—he works for free and couldn’t have been nicer.

The kennel staff met the dogs back at Mountain Humane, their kennels prepared for them based on their size. The two dozen dogs included 10 smaller dogs and 14 bigger ones, including huskies, two blue nose pit bulls and German shepherds.

The medical team is assessing the dogs’ health and administering vaccinations so they can be made available for adoption.

Those making the trip to Boise were Kelly Mitchell, Stephanie Eisenbarth, Christine Ferguson, Megan McCauley and Pita Vega.

Many of the dogs are coming from animals shelters that are being converted into spaces for family reunification. Not only have pets lost their homes but their families are staying in facilities where pets are not allowed.

“Some are sitting in shelters hoping their owners will reclaim them, but many don’t have homes to go to,” said Ferguson.

Ferguson said she expects that Mountain Humane might get another plane load of pets—perhaps, kittens and cats next time.

“I heard 175 animals went to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I think a lot of those were cats.”

The crates were packed tightly so they didn’t slide around during flight.

Other states in which organizations have taken displaced pets are Montana, Utah and Arizona.

Ferguson said it makes her feel good that she’s been able to help out with something as horrific as the California fires.

“It’s so uplifting. We just love doing this—it made us all so happy and inspired,” she said. “There may be additional transfers of both dogs and cats in the weeks ahead as the displaced California residents and local shelters map out life after these horrific fire events. We are here to help if called upon.”

Those interested in adopting one of the California transplants can visit Mountain Humane’s website for daily updates at https://mountainhumane.org/.