When Michael Rios lost his home following the Jan. 22 floods, he wasn't just worried about where he was going to live. He also wondered where his dog Maxie would go. That's when the San Diego Humane Society stepped in.
For eight years, it's been Rios and his Chihuahua mix Maxie. However, for the past month, their time together has been limited since their Southcrest home flooded on Jan. 22.
”I can’t separate from her really," Rios said. "This is hard now, like I’m having trouble sleeping.”
Soon after the floods, Rios received assistance from the American Red Cross at Lincoln High School, and Maxie received urgent care from the humane society and needed emergency surgery.
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San Diego's historic flooding, one month later:
"She had a mass, which was cancerous, and they took care of her for me," Rios said.
While Maxie recovered and as Rios continued to navigate his situation, Rebecca Smith stepped in to help. She's the associate director of animal placement at the humane society.
"It brings me joy because I can love them and care for them and give the animal some instability knowing that this is just temporary until they can go back to their family," Smith said.
The humane society provided medical care for Maxie through a program intended for pet owners who may need to surrender their animals for medical reasons. It was through their Safety Net Foster Program that they were able to provide a home for Maxie. It's another program that can assist in emergencies, like the one Rios was in.
"The only way we are able to provide that service is for folks who open their homes and are willing to foster," Smith said.
For Rios, the transition has not been easy as any loving pet owner could relate to.
”It’s hard," Rios said. "I hide my feelings a lot in public, but late at night I start crying in my room, but I try to put up the defense like I’m fine, but I’m struggling at night.”
Between a major surgery and being separated from her owner, it hasn't been easy for Maxie either.
”She was nervous," Smith said. "She did have a hard time initially, and I think everyone here just tried to do everything we could to make her comfortable.”
However, Maxie has come around.
”She’s got a ton of personality, and she’s got a voice," Smith said.
”That kind of gives me a little bit of ease knowing that she’s fine while I’m going through this process," Rios said.
When it comes to the next steps for him and Maxie's housing situation, frequent visits will make up for lost time.
"I’m comfortable with the humane society fostering her, so I know she’s being taken care of in this time so I can get us a new home and new place where we can reunite and be together," Rios said.
In the meantime, Smith says five families that were victims of the Jan. 22 floods have used the same program at the humane society to receive care for their pets. Smith says the goal of the program is to reunite pets with their owners.
The humane society says they are in need of volunteers for their Safety Net Foster Program. For more information, click here.
