Comment: Five months after wildfire, it remains an animal’s PTSD: Pets try to shake depression
Time and again, while walking in Philadelphia near the Rose Bowl, I bumped into a dog coach named Eldon who generously provided the pointer.
My cheese steak-shaped beagle used to strike during walks, but his progress was attributed to Eldon’s skill. I want to write this, but Elden says he is mostly retired and does not need publicity. He told me that his only new client was the dog who was still fighting PTSD in January at Eaton Wildfire.
Come on, I beg. That’s a story.
Steve Lopez
Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a Los Angeles Times columnist since 2001. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards and is a four-time Pulitz finalist.
Elden said, maybe that’s the case. He reminded me that dogs, like humans, are habitual creatures. They love their homes, communities, familiar smells and routines. Tear all of this overnight and they are eliminated.
Eldon suggested that I call Natalie Langan, owner of Trailhead Hounds, because her clients include displaced Altadenans and their scattered dogs. When Eldon showed me a picture of Langan, I realized she was running on the Gabrielino trail above the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and stationed 30 or more dogs under the lock of four-legged.
“I’m going to say that about a quarter of all the dogs we picked up for the hike were dogs from Altadna and they lost their homes,” Langan told me when he called.
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Some dogs and cats (cats) have taken several actions since the fire and have to get used to the new environment over and over again. This can put them on the edge and exacerbate their separation anxiety, and if their owners are frustrated or distressed by the loss and uncertainty, the animals will absorb those emotions, Langan said.
“Dogs see the world in mode. That’s how we can train them,” Langan said. Langan advises customers who have lost their homes to set up new routines for their pets. “The first thing is to create a new normal, which is also for humanity. My parents lost their homes on fire and I have been helping them build structures and build in their time “rather than sitting around the apartment and feeling sad about what is going on.”
When I first wrote about The impact of fire on dogs, cats, chickens and goldfishI noticed Anthony Rufen and Jonny Miller’s dogs, and the two cats were severely vibrated. Mr Thelma, in particular, refused to go outdoors in a temporary rental in La Crescenta.
The dog waited patiently for the water bowl after walking in the Crescenta Valley Community Regional Park.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Miller reports that Mr. Thelma, who was found wandering around the yard for a few days at their home on West Palm Street in Altadena, was destroyed, but still wouldn’t go out.
I also signed with Jessica Davis, who runs the business Boomer’s partner, Malibu animal rescue activities help families track the wanderings spread by the Palisade fire. She said multiple moves to the temporary quarter were particularly difficult for pets.
“Yes, they can be resilient, but some animals can cause trauma and they want to go back to where they were,” Davis said. “We started to see a lot of people saying, ‘I lost everything and couldn’t keep my animals'” until they were relocated.
Davis said she is currently trying to find someone to raise the Bernese Mountain Dog.
In Altadena, her 14-year-old Pomeranian Sharon Moon and Kimbop once enjoyed regular neighborhood parties with dogs and their owners, and Moon’s mother will join her and Kimbop and follow a hike along the top of the mountain.
“Everything went away,” said Moon, who included her home. She lives in Silver Lake and plans to rebuild in Altadena, Kimbop does a great job but still adapts to different attractions and misses her friends. “We all had a lot of fun parties and chats [in Altadena]. This is where we are from all the crazy places. ”
Meghan Malloy and her family lost their home in Altadena, they moved three times before settling on rent at Sherman Oaks. It’s not easy, as Malloy and her husband have a newborn, two cats (Felix and Mushu) and two golden retrievers (Arthur and Clementine).
The cat is OK, Arthur is fine, but he misses his yard and friends.
Then there was Clementine, who was “somewhat anxious” before the fire, and the situation after that was even more important.
1. Natalie Langan, co-owner of Trailhead Hounds. 2. Assistant Trainer Contest Soyun Ahn gets Gus’s kiss. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
“She is definitely around me or my husband,” Maloy said. “She has always been a dog and has to be with Arthur and Arthur. But she has always been considerate and became so frustrated that she was alone.”
Levi, a 4-year-old bastard who suffered “a month of real instability” and moved into a temporary area with a series of friends in the Pasadena area, said shop owner Jenn Burt. “It’s very difficult to get used to a new place every week… without knowing what the rules are in each house.”
Levi enjoys sofa privileges in Altadena, but these rights do not walk with him. He is improving, but his anxiety is even more anxious than before and is rattled by fireworks during his nightly warm-up on July 4.
Katie Jordan said Boudica was a mixture of shepherds and was “absolutely traumatized.” When they lost Altadena’s home, she, her teenage son, two cats and Boudica tried to squeeze into her boyfriend’s one-bedroom apartment, but that fits well, and Glendale’s rentals were better.
Jordan once brought Budhika back to their destroyed community in Altadna before the debris was removed and realized that this might not be a good idea. “It’s heartbreaking,” Jordan said. “She just complained around, like she was confused.”
Ruby is a Doberman Pinscher displaced by the Eaton Fire, rolling on the grass.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
But there is an event that always makes Boudica feel relieved: “Big packaging is her dream and she feels very safe,” Jordan said.
I know what Jordan means. Every time we put him down in three blocks with Burke Stuart, the man’s best friend’s dog hand, in three blocks, so he could run around with his pack.
Boudica joined 23 more dogs on Wednesday morning at the Crescenta Valley Community Regional Park. Langan joined two other trainers: her husbands Chase Langan and Soyun Ahn.
Boudica has a lot in common with Cosmo, Freckles, Lucy, Ruby and Levi, who all lost their homes or were forced to move out for the time being. But I can’t pick them out. The tail is shaking, and most dogs look like smiling, their mouths are half open and their tongues are shaking. There are plenty of grass, trees, dirt and messy pleasure in the air, and they are dog paradise.
These dogs are trained not to pull the leash to maintain the construction and avoid rattlesnakes from sight, sound or scent. Everything was very impressive, but I kept thinking about Philly – traveling on the ground, zigzag around the world – would have been kicked out of the classroom.
Center Natalie Langan set out for a walk in the Crescenta Valley Community Regional Park with assistant coach Soyun Ahn.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
About halfway through the hike, the dog is pulled from the leash, but keeps it close. Two of them wrestled on the grass, some climbed onto a twisted trunk and posed for a group photo that would be sent to the owners.
All in all, it’s a treatment to start the day. Not just dogs.
steve.lopez@latimes.com
