Murder victim Alfred M. Kailihiwa was feeding cats; fire victim Susan Solari stayed with her dogs KAHULUI, Hawaii; ANGELS CAMP, California––Neuter/return cat trapper Alfred M. Kailihiwa, 71, of Waihee, Hawaii, allegedly murdered on August 6, 2026, and German shepherd breeder Susan Solari, 70, of Angel’s Camp, California, a wildfire victim reported dead the same day, […]
Could cruelty to pigs cases in Hawaii, Vermont, & Australia start a trend?
Courts have historically not recognized cruelty to pigs as an offense MAUI, Hawaii; HYDE PARK, Vermont; BANBURY, Australia––Reports of three separate prosecutions of five individuals in widely separated places for cruelty to pigs, all within the third week of July 2025, hardly marks a definitive turning point in human recognition of the moral status of […]
Cat rescue tales from Lahaina, both sad & glad
Two million bucks for the Maui Humane Society: catnip for all? LAHAINA, Maui, Hawaii––A week after animal rescue teams led by the Maui Humane Society were at last allowed into the burn zone, where 115 people and untold numbers of animals died on August 8, 2023 in a wind-driven firestorm ignited by downed electrical wires, […]
Lahaina rescuers win access but find few animals; pigs not to blame for fire
Threat of lawsuit appears to concern officials more than the plight of animals marooned by the firestorm, hundreds already rescued LAHAINA, Maui, Hawaii––Eighteen days of animal rescuers battling bureaucracy to retrieve surviving animals from inside the Lahaina burn zone, leveled by wildfire on August 8, 2023, ended abruptly when Maui County announced that, “As […]
Lahaina: National Guard top brass defends keeping rescuers out on TV
Cats and rare birds are still seen more often in & around the burn zone than the ASPCA LAHAINA, Maui, Hawaii––National Guard adjutant general Kenneth Hara on the evening of August 24, 2023 addressed questions about animals still at large in fire-stricken Lahaina for all of two minutes on Hawaii News Now. The operative word […]
Much grandstanding, but still no access for animal rescuers in Lahaina
How to tell Joe Biden’s Lahaina appearance from ASPCA fundraising appeals KAHULUI, Maui, Hawaii––Among the obvious differences between U.S. President Joe Biden’s August 21, 2023 photo-op appearance at firestorm-razed Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, and American SPCA [ASPCA] fundraising appeals claiming “Our team is on the ground in Maui,” is that visual confirmation of Biden’s six-hour presence […]
Disaster authorities in Lahaina move to save banyan tree, but not animals
The banyan tree is alive––but so are the animals, if they get help now! KAHULUI, Maui, Hawaii––Ten days and counting after the August 8, 2023 firestorm that razed Lahaina, efforts to save a banyan tree spreading over almost two acres have taken the mass media spotlight away from the human body count, stalled over the […]
Will a new Maui disaster chief allow animal rescuers to rescue in Lahaina?
A week after the firestorm, rescuers are still kept out during search for human remains while animals suffer hunger & thirst KAHULUI, Maui, Hawaii––Animal rescuers trying to evacuate surviving cats and dogs from firestorm-devasted Lahaina hope the resignation of Maui emergency chief Herman Andaya late on August 17, 2023 will ease access to the still […]
First firestorm, then frustration: rescuers wait to aid Lahaina animals
Priority goes to finding human dead rather than to rescuing live animals KAHULUI, Maui, Hawaii––Five days into the aftermath of the firestorm that razed Lahaina, shock, sorrow, and anxiety over the fate of nearly 1,000 missing persons from the town that had a human population of just over 13,000 remain the dominant emotions among survivors. […]
Animal updates from the Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii fire disaster
Many animals lost, few found as yet, but rescue teams are searching WAILUKU, Maui, Hawaii––The first flames reached Lahaina at around 6:30 a.m. on August 7, 2023. Hit by the worst of wildfires driven by winds from Hurricane Dora, the small city was obliterated two days later, just hours after the Lahaina fire was reported […]