Two leading stories on California's Santa Cruz Mountains give updates on the animals who make this lovely part of the state their home.
In one story, many families have brought their horses to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. Horses now outnumber people staying at the Fairgrounds with about 175 horses in residence.
"They are part of our family, like our children," said Cynthia McCook, 45, of Aptos, who brought three of her horses to the fairgrounds as the fire began moving toward the ranch where she was keeping them on Mount Madonna. "There are a lot of ranches around here, a lot of people who love animals and love to ride."
In another story, Chris Puett is dealing with enormous grief as he looks at the ruins of his Taj Meow Animal Sanctuary, which was home to about 120 dogs, cats, and birds. He's aware of four dogs and 17 cats losing their lives in the fire, and is now looking for the rest of them to come back.
"Pretty soon, their stomach is going to overrun their fear, and they'll come back in," he said. "I'm just going to rebuild, start back up as soon as I can, to give the ones who are still alive a place to come back to."
Read full stories: San Francisco Chronicle and ChicoER
