Nearly 80 dogs rehoused after being displaced by Kilauea

Animal rescue groups and volunteer pilots are finding new homes on Maui for dogs displaced by the Kilauea Volcano eruption on the Big Island.

The Hawaii Animal Rescue Foundation has taken in about 80 dogs from the Big Island, finding homes for almost all of them, The Maui News reported Sunday.

Most of the rescued dogs have been given up by people whose homes were destroyed by lava flows, said Dawn Hall, the organization’s executive director.

“For a lot of these folks, because the shelters for humans are full, they’re living in their cars with their kids and their pets,” Hall said. “It’s not like they’re going to be able to move back. A lot of them are relinquishing their pets so they can be safe and have a good life.”

The rescue foundation is working with the Hawaii Island Humane Society, KARES Hawaii and Aloha Ilio Rescue. Many of the dogs were transported to Maui by volunteers flying small planes.

HAWAII ISLAND

Mysterious disease felling wild horses in Waipio Valley

Veterinarians and state agencies are investigating a mysterious disease affecting wild horses in Waipio Valley.

The disease makes the animals unable to walk, resulting in a number of wild horse deaths, West Hawaii Today reported Monday.

The condition appears to be neurological, said veterinarian Tim Richards, a Hawaii County councilman. Symptoms first show through an abnormal gait as the horse’s muscles begin to atrophy, usually starting with the hind limbs.

Veterinarian Kelleyerin Clabaugh said she first heard about the outbreak nearly a month ago. No symptoms have appeared in the area’s domestic horse population, she said.

A necropsy on a recently deceased horse was conducted last week by Richards and a team from the state Department of Agriculture. Samples from the horse were sent to labs for testing. Results are expected in about three weeks.