It was an unfamiliar route for Marc Heethuis-Dubois, on a familiar mission — giving animals a second chance at life.
But on his way home to Boomer’s Haven Animal Rescue & Sanctuary in Irricana, Alta., after picking up two stray cats from Lethbridge, he noticed his vehicle was giving him trouble.
“I started losing power,” Heethuis-Dubois told Global News. “And then I started to think, ‘I’m in the middle of nowhere.’”
Soon, being without a working vehicle would be the least of his worries.
“The moment I pulled into (a rest stop), I noticed it was smoking.
“I popped the hood and got out to look and there was an orange glow coming from under the hood.”
Heethuis-Dubois popped the hood to discover his vehicle was on fire.
After three frantic tries to get into the cargo area to save the cats, he was able to pull them out in the nick of time.
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“As I ran with the blanket I heard this ‘whoosh’ noise. I turned and looked and was maybe 20 feet from the vehicle and the flames had gone from the dash all the way to the back.”
Frantic video taken by Heethuis-Dubois shows fire crews showing up on the highway just minutes later — but the car was already a complete loss.
Crews tend to the aftermath of Marc Heethuis-Dubois’s vehicle after he was narrowly able to escape a fire.
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“There’s maybe one tire (that remains).”
Heethuis-Dubois is happy to be physically unharmed, but the aftermath has left his volunteer rescue without their primary mode of transportation.
They’re working with a loaned vehicle for the time being, but it’s dramatically altered the way they operate.
“To transport animals to medical appointments, to adoption events, to pick up donations, to run out at a moment’s notice to help people in the community.
“Now we have a backup vehicle that can barely fit two humans, let alone any animals.”
Boomer’s Haven is now working with a loaner vehicle, but it doesn’t suit their needs.
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Donations have been pouring in since the incident earlier this month, and the rescue is hoping to get back into some suitable wheels soon.
“Even that night we were still having calls and messages coming in that we weren’t in a state to respond to, but now that we are, we still can’t do anything to help.”
