- Around 3,000 animals are missing after the Maui wildfires, the Maui Humane Society said Monday.
- But at least one dog has been reunited with his family after fleeing during the fires.
The Maui wildfires have displaced thousands of people, killed at least 106, and devastated one of the island's oldest and most beloved towns. There are also thousands of missing pets, the Maui Humane Society said on Monday, CBS News reported.
But at least one family can celebrate reuniting with its missing pet. On August 12, the Maui Humane Society shared photos on Facebook of Roman the dog reuniting with his owners two days after going missing.
According to the post, Roman was with a dog-sitter when the fire reached his house. Like many other Maui residents, the sitter was forced to jump into the ocean to escape the flames, but Roman took off down the street.
Two days later, he was found by a member of Goodfellow Bros, a general contractor that has been helping with emergency response, and brought to Ma'alaea Harbor and then the Maui Humane Society in Pu'unēnē.
According to the Maui Humane Society's post, Roman "was burned on his paws, legs, back and body." He was microchipped, and his family was contacted. He is "now safe and with his ohana and doing well according to his owners," the post said.
"Roman is just the first of many stories we hope to share about pets being reunited with their owners during this tragedy. We are so grateful to our community coming together to help our beloved pets, like Roman," the Humane Society wrote on Facebook.
A commenter who said he had fostered Roman before he was adopted expressed his gratitude.
"We are so happy to see that he survived," the commenter wrote, adding that while Roman was hurt, he was happy to see he "has plenty of people around him that love him and will take the bestest care of him."
Other animals have been rescued and taken care of throughout the island
Roman isn't the only animal helped by the people of Maui. As of Monday, the Maui Humane Society said it had helped eight pets reunite with their families, with another 50 rescued and waiting to return home, CBS reported.
Other pets are being taken care of by the Hawaii Animal Rescue Foundation in Wailuku. As CBS reported, the facility is ready to take in at least 100 pets, including dogs, cats, and tortoises.