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  Chilean vet helps dogs, cats and rabbits injured in wildfires
  07-02-2024

Reuters

Among the mountains of debris left over from raging wildfires that have killed more than 120 people in Chile are lost dogs and cats, wandering the streets covered in ash and burns.

Some whine behind gates where houses used to be, others stick to new people they have found, and others still feed on piles of dog food people have left on street corners for them.

Christopher Romero, 22, was out buying groceries when the fire struck his home in Vina del Mar on Friday. He says his father was able to get his family to safety but their two dogs, Black and Kiara, fled into the night.

Romero and his family finally returned to their home on Sunday to clear through the rubble and look for their pets but had no luck. Then neighbours told them there was an Akita in a ravine, burnt and not moving.


"We checked and it was (Black)," Romero said. "He couldn`t walk, he was scared, in shock, he didn`t let anyone get close to him."

More neighbours then came to help Romero and his family pick up Black and get him to the Americas University veterinary clinic in Vina del Mar, which has been treating pets injured in the wildfires.