Colorado Springs senior dog sanctuary raising money for wildfire evacuation van

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) —  A Colorado Springs dog sanctuary is working to make sure they can get all their dogs out safely and quickly if a wildfire was to break out.

The Old Mutt Hut is a retirement home for senior dogs that have been abandoned. Right now, the non-profit has about 12 dogs in its care.

In the event of a wildfire, the non-profit says it can be difficult to get all of the dogs out of danger quickly. That's why are raising money to invest in a cargo van.

Organizers of Old Mutt Hutt say that they've had about three wildfires break out near their area just this year alone, which has prompted them to put a lot of thought into their evacuation plan.

“Our caregiver has a jeep and we've done every configuration we possibly can to try to figure out how can we get all these dogs in the jeep. It's not going to work”, Sharon Peters, co-founder of the Old Mutt Hutt said. 

With dogs who are over 10 years old of different breeds and sizes, Peters says cramming them into a jeep, while doable, is not ideal. That's why they hope to get a van to accommodate all the dogs.

“We all have our phones set on evacuation alert so that if a fire occurs within a close distance to the old hut, we'll all go out there and attempt to help. The problem is, during these fires, they spread so fast in high wind conditions, we might not be able to get out there in time” Peters added. 

Additionally, Peters says having the van will get everyone out of danger faster without having to wait for any additional to help evacuate and transport the dogs out safely.

To help meet that goal, the Old Mutt Hut created a GoFundMe to raise money for that van. Peters hopes to get the van as soon as possible as the potential for wildfires is still high right now.

The non-profit says they hope they never have to use the van to evacuate, but want one just in case. Peters says the van will also be used for transporting the dogs for vet visits and other needs.

For more information on Old Mutt Hut, click here.