Maui Humane Society continues to recover live animals from the burn zone where an estimated 500 cats still remain. Owners of pets are still prohibited from entering the area due to safety concerns, so MHS trapping teams are operating 7 nights a week.

Our first priority has been to maintain the cats in the burn zone by providing food and water. 75 feeding stations have been established to ensure that the cats have sustenance as trapping will take a considerable amount of time.

The next priority is to trap cats who are burned/injured and known pets.

Once cats arrive at MHS, their photo is automatically uploaded to our website as they are checked in. Owners of missing pets are welcome to view animals at our shelter 7 days a week and reunifications are happening frequently. Within 24 hours, cats are provided with a veterinary exam and within 48 hours they are spay/neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, microchipped and treated for fleas/ticks.

Cats remain at Maui Humane Society in family rooms for 2 weeks as they decompress and potentially get reunited with their owners. After 2 weeks, the cats will move to our new offsite location where they'll be set up in their own kitty studio. Staff will be monitoring and caring for the cats on a daily basis. Once a cat has been in our care for 30 days (since intake), they are available for adoption.

We are actively seeking mainland barn cat programs and rescues for undersocialized cats on the Mainland as an eventual outcome for many of the feral/community cats.

As we have been faced with unprecedented times, we appreciate your patience and understanding that our plans continue to evolve and adapt as our situation and needs of the animals also continues to evolve.

Exciting news! The Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation's $1,000,000 matching campaign goal HAS BEEN MET! The Facebook fundraiser ended yesterday with a total of $877,115 and offline donations brought us up to the incredible $1M which will now be matched!

Mahalo nui loa to our entire community of supporters for contributing to this success, which allows us to further our fire-relief efforts. Maui Humane Society is deeply grateful to the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation for its generous support of our organization, and for improving the lives of Maui's animals and community. 

As of September 27, 2023, Maui Humane Society has received permission to access the Lahaina burn zone to rescue animals past the existing curfew of 1:00 AM. 

With roughly 500 cats estimated to be living in the burn zone, Maui Humane Society has been removing animals from the toxic environment to provide veterinary care and opportunities for reunification with owners. Trapping is most effective during late night hours when traumatized and shy cats feel safe to emerge from the rubble to feed. .

Maui Humane Society would like to thank Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), the National Guard and the Mayor’s Office for allowing our rescuers to stay in the burn zone past curfew hours starting tonight. This is a win for the community and animals!

Our main goal for our Lahaina animals is always reunification, but during these next months while our island recovers that won't always be an option. We have had many animals in our care now for weeks, no one has come looking for them and despite our best efforts we aren't always able to locate their families. We now have animals that came to us after the fire who are now being made available for adoption.

These are just a few of those animals! They have spent over the last 30 days in the shelter with us. Here we got to know them, love them and support them. They are now ready to start the process of finding a new family.

Although our main goal is reunification, we do hope that our Lahaina survivors find new homes soon, just in case reunification isn't an option. We don't want animals sitting around at the shelter any longer than they need to, they deserve to start the process of healing just like the rest of our island has been doing.

Our updated animal adoption policy states that animals who are stray from Lahaina may only be adopted in the state of Hawaii. Until 90 days has passed we can begin looking at mainland adoptions and transfers.

Burned kitten Nigel is in the home stretch!

Many of you may recognize Nigel from some of our other social media posts, but today we share with you Nigel's story.

The small kitten was found by a first responder in Lahaina on August 18th. He was brought to Maui Humane Society in desperate need of medical attention. All 4 of his paw pads were badly burned, he was suffering. Our vet staff got to work on Nigel right away. He went to foster with one of our staff members, Foster Technician Tiffaney, there she could closely monitor him and continue some of his treatments in her care in the comfort of her home. There she gave him the name Nigel.

Nigel returned to the shelter every few days so our vet staff could treat his burns. He had to be sedated because the pain was so severe. His burns were flushed and debrided, he received laser treatment to his paws, medicated burn creams and then they were wrapped up in bandages. This would continue for weeks. Because of the hard work and dedication of our vet team and his foster mom, Nigel has been bandage free for a little more than a week now!

Here is an update from his foster mom Tiffaney:

"He's been doing great out of his bandages for about a week now, he's been hanging with the big cats (Tiffaney's cats at home) and enjoying being a full kitten again. I get one more week with my little love to make sure recovery from his surgery goes well and as long as he has no medical setbacks he gets to go this finders/adopters on the 30th!"

Nigel's rescuers knew he belonged with their Ohana from the moment they saved him. Our fingers are crossed hoping Nigel has a successful recovery from his surgery so that way he can be adopted and reunited with his rescuers once again! Mahalo to Nigel's finders for saving him off the street and bringing him to Maui Humane Society, Mahalo to our vet staff and to Tiffaney for taking such great care of Nigel, and all of the burn patients/animals in Maui Humane Society's care!

After 6 weeks, Oliver is HOME!

On August 8th, Sahar and her husband lost everything in the Lahaina fire, since then, they have been desperately searching for their 6 cats. They filed lost reports right away, monitored social media posts closely to see if any of their cats were spotted and they came into the shelter daily in hopes of finding their babies unharmed.

Sahar put out a video on social media pleading to officials about the decision of restricting access to animal rescuers into the burn zone. Rocky Kanaka shared her video, they hoped to spread awareness about the frustrations and heartbreak that many others like Sahar felt when it came to looking for their pets, their Ohana members. About a week later Maui Humane Society was granted access into the burn zone.

On Thursday night, September 21st (over 6 weeks since the fire) our trapping team brought back one of Sahar's cats, Oliver. On Friday September 22nd the family was made just a little more complete again. Aside from singed whiskers, a wound on his paw and an ashy coat, Oliver is physically doing okay and just so happy to be with his mom and dad again. We still have hope for Sahar's 5 other cats, we hope to share with you again this Ohana becoming whole, one reunion at a time.

Mission Bring Jaguar home: Completed!

Jaguar was separated from his Ohana and at home on August 8th during the fire. His family filed a lost report for him with the Maui Humane Society the very next day, hoping that he made it out alive somehow. 3 days later one of our Humane Enforcement Officers (HEO) spotted Jaguar, he was terrified and our HEO was unable to catch Jaguar. It would be weeks before Jaguar would be spotted again.

A few days after that Animal Search and Rescue (ASAR) came to Maui to assist Maui Humane Society in our search and rescue efforts. ASAR specialist Summer Piper saw Jaguar for the first time out in the field. She became determined to reunite Jaguar with his family. Every night for a week Summer set traps and waited but by the end of her deployment she still hadn't caught him.

When Summer & Diane Chelsen (another rescue specialist) returned to Maui last week they began their mission to capture Jaguar again. Night after night they tried every trapping trick in the book (camouflaging the traps, using extra-tempting bait including a whole entire rotisserie chicken, etc) and on Wednesday night, September 27th (50 days after the fire) they got him! Thankfully Jaguar has been getting food and water daily from a team of dedicated caregivers and he appeared to be in good shape.

Jaguar was reunited with his family on Thursday afternoon! Elaine is Jaguar's aunty and she will be keeping Jaguar safe at her home until the rest of the family is able to settle in someplace more permanent. Elaine was also out in Lahaina trying to lure Jaguar in using scented clothes and items from her and her family. Jaguar being home with her safe is a huge relief for the Ohana during these challenging times.

Our search and rescue efforts is a huge project involving so many helping hands, without our staff, volunteers and partners, sharing stories like Jaguar's wouldn't be possible! We are so grateful for all the support we are receiving, it truly fuels us to continue this work every single day, for the many months to come. Each reunion and every Ohana becoming whole again is what pushes us to keep going. Mahalo Maui and happy tails to Jaguar and his Ohana.

We are in need of dog fosters ASAP! Since the devastating Lahaina wildfire, like many Maui Humane Society had to shift our priorities. Focusing on search and rescue, reunification, treating burn patients, housing stray animals from Lahaina and supporting our community in every way possible, while also juggling normal shelter duties. The days at Maui Humane Society have not slowed down, there are still many animals who are not from Lahaina, making their way through our shelter doors every day. Maui Humane Society is the only open admission shelter in the county, our dog kennels are getting full, we need dog fosters (and adopters) TODAY!

(Dogs with a "LAHAINA" banner are not available for foster and dogs with a "Foster Home" banner are already in foster homes.)

• Already a foster? Email dogfoster with availability or come in and SOS!
• Not a foster yet? Come in for SOS foster as a community member!
• Want to join the foster program? Sign up to become a dog foster using this link!

We are housing more cats than ever since the devastating Lahaina Fire. We want to provide the best care possible to all our our cats! The Stretch & Scratch cat kennel scratchers are important because they are an outlet for our cats' natural need to scratch, as well as provide a place for the cats to rub on, soak their scent, and be a familiar, comforting item. These scratchers move with the cats and the ultimate goal is for the scratchers to follow the cat all the way to their new home! 

These cat scratchers are the best exercise and stress relief tool for our shelter cats!

RELIEVES STRESS

• Keeps cats exercised & entertained
• Encourages natural behaviors
• Enrichment for quarantine cages

EASY TO INSTALL

• Attaches to most cage doors
• 2 twist ties fasten securely
• Send home with cat when adopted or moving locations in shelter

Brian Bassett raises funds for animal nonprofits!

This Friday, cartoonist Brian Bassett of the popular Red and Rover series set up in front of The Maui Humane Society to help fundraise for Maui animals! He designed a custom print to be sold and signed by him personally! The funds for the print will go to The Maui Humane Society, The Boo Boo Zoo and the Hawaii Animal Rescue Foundation.

He also made the artwork available for us to use for new retail items we may sell, so keep an eye out on our online store for new Brian Bassett merchandise!

MAHALO BRIAN!

We are helping the Maui Community with obtaining free Health Certificates and free airline approved kennels so that we can assist to keep furry family members with their family.

You can help Maui fire survivors with pets by volunteering to open your home and provide emergency housing via Airbnb.org.

Governor Green's announcement with Airbnb.org:

Governor Green and Airbnb.org announce housing support for Maui

With thousands in need of temporary housing following the devastating wildfires, Airbnb.org is working with nonprofit organizations like Maui Economic Opportunity to connect people with temporary housing. Airbnb.org is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis.

If you host through Airbnb.org’s program, Airbnb will provide AirCover, which includes $1 million USD in liability insurance, $3 million USD in damage protection, and more. 

Here's how it works: 

1. Sign up here.
2. You don’t have to be an Airbnb Host - anyone with space to share can sign up to host exclusively through Airbnb.org. 
3. Airbnb.org’s nonprofit partners on the ground verify guests’ eligibility. Their partners include Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Maui Economic Opportunity, Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) and Operation Blessing. 

Here is some more information about about Airbnb.org’s program: 

• Airbnb.org Hosts offer short-term stays for free
• Existing Airbnb Hosts can offer a discount or offer their place for free
• Airbnb.org guests don't pay anything. Stays are covered by donations to Airbnb.org.
• Airbnb provides Hosts with AirCover, which includes $1 million USD in liability insurance, $3 million USD in damage protection, and more. 
• You can offer a private room or an entire place 
• Airbnb waives Host and guest service fees on all Airbnb.org stays for survivors and first responders
• Airbnb.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating emergency stays for people impacted by humanitarian crises around the world.

The fastest way that pets will be reunited with their owners is by FILING A LOST PET REPORT. Be prepared to upload a photo and add microchip information if you have it. This will allow us to match owners with their pets as they come through our doors as strays or we are able to rescue them in Lahaina and Kula.

As many people in Lahaina do not have access to internet, please advise them to use our FILE A LOST PET HOTLINE by calling 808-877-3680 ext. 9 and someone will file it for them. If they are unable to speak to a person, advise them to leave a message with their name and number, and MHS staff/volunteers will call them back.

Lost reports with images are automatically uploaded to PetcoLoveLost.com, which allows facial recognition to be matched between lost and found pet.

Please share this information with anyone you know who is missing their pet.

We cannot thank the community enough. From donations to the hundreds of people who have showed up at our doorstep saying "I'm here to help", to the meals provided to all of our staff and volunteers from Lima, Salt Water Deli, Fat Daddy’s and more, it has brought our staff to tears. We truly appreciate all the support, far and wide. We know it is going to be a marathon, not a sprint, to get Maui back on its feet paws. Banding together as a community, sharing and spreading the aloha spirit is how we will get through this together. Mahalo, from the bottom of our hearts.

Check out our new exclusive rescue shirts available in our online store - free shipping as always!

Mana Moments Photography

Maui Excellent

Maui Lani Veterinary Hospital

Ole Surfboards

The Pet Shop

The Man Cave by Home Remedies Interior Design

Wailuku Pet Clinic

(808) 877-3680

Info@MauiHumaneSociety.org

NEW OPERATING DAYS:

7 Days a Week 11am to 5pm

No Appointment Needed to Adopt

24/7 Emergency Line 877-3680 ext. 222