SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Emotional reunions are taking place at the San Diego Humane Society as pets separated from their owners during Thursday's horrific jet crash in Murphy Canyon are finally going home.
Weiko, as 12-year-old Alaskan Klee Kai, was one of many dogs that survived the crash.
On Friday, just one day later, she was among those reunited with her owner, Christopher Juel.
"I'm just overjoyed that I'm actually touching her again and that she's right here with me," Juel said.
Juel described how Thursday morning's evacuation happened so quickly that Weiko got caught up in the chaos.
"All the fire and all the chaos and explosions and our car melting down and trying to get the rest of our babies out," Juel said.
The last time Juel saw Weiko was in his backyard, and he didn't know if she had survived until his wife received an unexpected message.
"My wife gets a message that somebody just saw Weiko on the news," Juel said.
Similar reunions have been captured on video by the San Diego Humane Society as other dogs found their way back to their families more than a day after the traumatizing crash.
As of Friday, the San Diego Humane Society still had around 32 pets from the Murphy Canyon crash site in emergency boarding, all requested by their owners.
"We've taken in dogs, a cat, we took in a 20-gallon fish tank with multiple fish, and five geckos," said Nina Murphy, Director of Public Relations with the San Diego Humane Society.
Thompason said that many of the dogs arrived doused in jet fuel on Thursday.
"Our medical team immediately gave them decontamination baths. Then after decompressing for a few hours, and some walks, they seem to be doing a lot better," Thompson said.
Thompson said her team was trained and ready to handle Thursday's situation.
"A tragedy like this really does show the key part that San Diego Humane Society plays in our community. We are here every time there's a disaster," Thompson said. "They train to go behind fire lines or to respond to disasters like this, and yesterday was just the perfect example of how we can be there alongside first responders to help because it's not just people impacted, it's animals too."
Thompson said the SDHS has nearly 1800 animals in their care right now, with around 700 ready for adoption. She said now is the time to either help with donations, adoptions, or fostering pets.
Thompson said her officers helped many family reunite with their pets at the evacuations sites on Thursday, but not every animal ended up with the Humane Society. Therefore, some owners are still searching for their pets.
"If you are missing your pet, we want you to contact us so we know that they're missing," Thompson said.
