'I was crying hysterically': Maui residents search for missing pets after deadly fires

LAHAINA, Hawaii — Lahaina residents Luxmi and Mike Quall arrived full of hope at Maui Humane Society on Tuesday to pick up their lost dog, Hilo. The Quall's home burned to the ground, and they feared Hilo, a whippet greyhound mix, had also perished with the house.

Luxmi Quall filed a missing pet report with the Maui Humane Society and created a post on a "Missing Pets of Maui" Facebook group. At 8:30 p.m. on Monday, she received a Facebook message from someone with screenshots of her dog, Hilo.

"I was crying hysterically. We were trying to drive home from a friend's place so we had to pull over because we just couldn't believe it," Luxmi Quall said.

It’s estimated that 3,000 animals are lost or missing following the Maui wildfires, which nearly destroyed the historic area of Lahaina, and some are being found with severe burns and smoke inhalation. Some pets have injuries so severe they are unrecognizable, which makes reunification even more difficult.

Thousands of pets missing in Maui

As of Monday, the Maui Humane Society had received 367 lost animal reports and are working to "reunite every animal with its owner, in any way we can," said Katie Shannon, director of marketing and communications at Maui Humane Society.

“We are scanning for microchips for any animals that we are finding, whether live or deceased and making sure that we can provide the closure necessary for those that, unfortunately, haven't made it," Shannon said.

Maui Humane Society created a Facebook group with nearly 6,400 members to help connect owners with missing pets. They're also encouraging residents to file a lost or found report to keep track of which animals still need to be found and connected with their loved ones.

Before the fires, the organization was over-capacity, meaning they had no kennels left to house pets harmed by the fire. However, the community rallied together to foster the pets and make space for found animals, Shannon said.

"Yesterday, we had 52 animals that had come in from Lahaina and we've been able to reunite eight of those animals with their owners," Shannon said. "We have cats who almost look unrecognizable. So, they might have a very different type of coat. We have no idea if they were long-haired or short-haired."

Maui pets need medical care, food

The Qualls showed the link to Hilo's profile on the Maui Humane Society's page to a worker who went into the shelter to look for Hilo. Ten painstakingly long minutes later, the worker came back with bad news. Hilo was not there. The Qualls had mistaken a lost report for Hilo as a found report.

The Qualls thanked the staff and walked back to their car silently. Their search for Hilo continues.

Others are also working to find missing pets after the fires.

Kihei Veterinary Clinic and Maui Humane Society opened a pop-up clinic in Napili Plaza to offer free medical care, food and animal medication.

Animals needing extensive treatment are sent to the Maui Humane Society or the Central Maui Animal Clinic. The clinic plans to open a satellite clinic soon at the Civic Center in Lahaina, which will be fully operational, including X-rays and surgeries. 

“We had some burns on the first day we were out here, smoke inhalation– so more residual stuff in the lungs, damage and the eyes– that’s what we’ve been seeing,” said Jacy Perkins, 25, a veterinary assistant at Kihei Veterinary Clinic. 

Community members ranging from technicians to veterinarians have volunteered to join the efforts, said Perkins. Veterinarians have also flown in from other islands to help. 

“I drove in here last night, and I saw the sign. I spoke to the vets, and they were incredibly helpful,” said Elaine Shoemaker, who visited the pop-up with her dog, Windy. She said the veterinarians “had not showered in two days, so I offered my house and offered a shower.” Shoemaker’s house is about seven miles north of the fire and still standing. 

Police dogs need help, housing

Maui Police Department’s K-9 unit was also hit hard by the fires, said Jay Nix, vice president of K9s United, a nonprofit advocating for K9 units across the country. The organization has begun fundraising efforts to help support human and canine officers of Maui’s K-9 unit.

"We're trying to get these guys... some of the stuff they need. Everything from emergency equipment- things they need right now- as well as kennels because they are no longer able to keep their dogs in the agency," Nix said.

K9s United also plans to use fundraising money to buy respirators and filters for the human and canine officers "that are having to work in this environment. The devastation there, it's just almost unimaginable," Nix said. "Every penny that goes there goes directly to the efforts in Maui."

Shannon said finding lost pets who survived the fires has been difficult because most people haven't been able to go back into Lahaina and the town still has limited cell service. Yet, residents have come together to volunteer in reunification efforts and the support from the community has "brought our staff to tears," Shannon said.

"There are people out there that only have the shirt on their back," Shannon said. "These people are coming through and just helping in any way they can."

On Monday, eight animals were reunited with their owners, including a dog named Roman, who had run away from the fires in Lahaina. The Maui Humane Society provided medical services and were able to contact his owners.

"Roman has blisters on his back and burns on his paws and legs, but he's alive," Shannon said. "That is the glimmer of hope through this destruction."