Nova Scotians offer temporary homes to animals displaced by Halifax-area fire - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Nova Scotians offer temporary homes to animals displaced by Halifax-area fire

Nova Scotia organizations and businesses are stepping up to provide temporary homes for animals displaced by a Halifax-area wildfire.

Windsor, N.S, organization has taken in 50 horses

An orange cat peers out of a cage.
Volunteers helped rescue animals from the fire in the Halifax-area. (Peter Dawson/Radio Canada)

Nova Scotia organizations and businesses are stepping up to provide temporary homes for animals displaced by a Halifax-area wildfire.

Barb Rockwell, facility manager for the Windsor Agricultural Society, said they have taken in 50 horses from the area and have capacity for more.

The society was hosting a barrel racing show when Rockwell started getting calls and messages about the fire andmade arrangements to have the stalls ready to receive incoming horse in a hurry.

A woman looks at the camera.
Barb Rockwell is the facility manager for the Windsor Agricultural Society, which took in about 50 horses. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

"It was stressful but we were glad to be able to help the horse community combined with the fact we'reMaritimers, it was incredible to watch," Rockwell said.

She said people showed up with bales of hay and bedding for the horses to prepare the stalls for the new visitors.

'Unreal'

She said it was "unreal" that it came together so quickly and easily.

A person in a stable prepares hay in a wheelbarrow. Horses can be seen in stalls behind.
Displaced horses housed by the Windsor Agricultural Society are being provided food and bedding. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

Many of the horses now in Windsor are from Restless Pines Farm in Hammonds Plains.

Owner Heidi MacInnessaid she was monitoring the progress of the fire, contacted the societyand asked if she could move them there, if there was a need to evacuate the farm.

MacInnes said she contacted friends with horse trailers to be on standby.

By 5 p.m. when she realizedhow fast the fire was spreading,MacInnes said she decided it was time to move the horses.

A woman in dark sunglasses speaks to the camera.
Heidi MacInnes is the owner of Restless Pines Farm in Hammonds Plains. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

She said she loaded six horses in her trailer and volunteers showed up to help move the others.

"Thankfully a lot of peoplecame with trailers and brought all the horses," she said.

"There was quite a caravan all the way to Windsor and we got them all off the property in under 30 minutes."

She said 47 of the farm's horses are now at the agricultural society and other sites.

A horse stands on a farm with the sun shining through a smoky haze behind it.
Heidi MacInnes of Restless Pines Farm said they decided to move the horses at around 5 p.m. after learning how fast the fire was moving. (Heidi MacInnes)

The Nova Scotia SPCAhas also been taking in pets displaced by the fire.

'Being loved and fed'

At 7 p.m. Sunday, the organization decided it would open its doors to help families who had to leave the area without their pets through thePaws and Support program, spokespersonSarah Lyonsaid.

"We are taking in their dogs, cats, critters and giving them a temporary home," Lyonsaid.

"They are being loved and fed and exercised while their families are sorting out if they can go home or find temporary housing."

A tweet from the SPCAsaid they had already taken in 75animals byMonday morning.

A woman with glasses speaks to the camera.
Sarah Lyon is the director of marketing and communications for the Nova Scotia SPCA. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

Jollytails Resort, a local pet store, was offering after-hours boarding for dogs displaced by the fire.

In addition to helping people forced out of their homes,Kaitlyn Osbourne-MacIntosh said the store has been getting calls from other dog daycare facilities that were in the path of the fire.

"We know a lot of people are in the path of destruction,"Osbourne-MacIntoshsaid.

"They just got to grab their stuff and go so this gives them peace of mind that their dogs can be somewhere while they're finding somewhere safe for themselves."

A pot-bellied pig in a small cage with as pink blanket partially covering it..
A pig was among the animals rescued by volunteers from the fire in the Upper Tantallon area. (Peter Dawson/Radio Canada)

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With files from Paul Palmeter