Cockatoos aren't the easiest critters to reassure. The large parrots don't like change and quickly get nervous in a new environment.

So when an all-white cockatoo showed up at the Española Valley Humane Society late Monday as part of the flock of Los Alamos evacuees, the shelter's Nina Chiotasso thought it best to connect with professionals. She called Anna Sloan, director of McCaw and Cockatoo Rescue of New Mexico in Rio Rancho, who had already reached out to the shelter to offer the group's services.

"I know a little bit about birds," Chiotasso said. "But we just felt unprepared to handle a parrot. They need a specific environment, and if they stop eating they can run into trouble within 24 hours."

The long drive didn't deter Sloan, who pulled into the shelter around 2 a.m. Tuesday. Along the way, she picked up bottled water for shelter workers and cat litter for dozens of feline evacuees. "We ran out of cat litter, and all the stores were closed," Chiotasso said. "So she was happy to bring us some."

Sloan spent time with the bird, showing Timon that she was there as a friend, not as a predator. "She was awesome," Chiotasso said. "She sat down with the stressed-out bird, made some chirping noises, and by the time she was done, the bird was totally manageable."

That kind of personal attention for animals brought to safety from fire-affected areas since Monday's mandatory evacuation order in Los Alamos has been an oft-reported occurrence in area animal shelters. Not only did both shelters see an outpouring of support for help, including offers of foster homes for farm and companion animals, but staff and volunteers worked around the clock to make sure the animals that they took in were safe and comfortable.

Late Tuesday, for example, Bill Hutchison, the Santa Fe animal shelter's communications director, and the group's executive director, Mary Martin, were on their hands and knees in the receiving building's sally port, trying to coax a reluctant cat out of a sport utility vehicle.

The cat's owner said his 11-year-old cat had been in the vehicle since Monday when the family fled their home. But the cat wouldn't come out and stayed under the vehicle's seat until finally tricked into a carrier by Martin and Hutchison.

"It's not unusual for a family cat to be so stressed that it reacts that way," said Martin. "She just needs some time to cool off and feel safe."

Area animal shelters have been working hard to offer both animal guardians and their animal companions a sense of comfort during the Los Alamos evacuation. The two shelters geared up their staff and volunteers for the disaster, first freeing up space by finding foster homes for the current adoptable dogs and cats in their facilities, and then providing an orderly means for people to place their beloved animal companions.

All animals admitted for temporary care were documented, photographed and given vaccinations to assure their health during their stay, however long that may be. Several animal-welfare groups and boarding kennels, including Felines & Friends New Mexico and Braemarr Pet Resort, offered their services to evacuees.

Many of the people who dropped off their pets at the shelters had experienced the Cerro Grande Fire, and were reliving that horrible experience, said Chiotasso. Almost 100 pets were left for safekeeping at the Española shelter, while more than 150 found safe harbor at the Santa Fe shelter.

Timon the cockatoo was one of two parrots picked up by Sloan. The other, an Amazon named Woody, was in better shape than the cockatoo, but both are adjusting well at her Rio Rancho rescue, where she cares for about 35 parrots and a flock of budgies.

They are welcome to stay as long as needed, Sloan said.

“Parrots are fragile animals,” she said. “They don’t fight off bacteria well, and when their body stresses they are susceptible to infections. They are prey animals, so probably felt stressed around shelter dogs and cats.”

The lessons of the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire weren't lost on anyone, said the Santa Fe shelter's Hutchison. Thanks to the urging of animal-advocate Evelyn Ward, co-owner of Tribes Coffeehouse and a member of New Mexico Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, almost all of the shelter's managers had been certified to some extent in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's procedures. The same was true for Española's managers, who had experienced an earlier crisis when power was cut during the winter's deep freeze.

"We prayed we wouldn't have to bring that knowledge to bear, but thanks to Evelyn, as well as having dry runs and practice disasters, we had everything we needed in case of a fire or other disaster," Hutchison said. "We literally have had everything we needed in case of an emergency in a storage shed for several years — emergency tags, collars and information — everything that you would need to mount an organized response to a disaster."

But not every crisis can be carefully crafted. Unexpected critters like exotic birds and snakes popped up regularly. One bull snake found a safe place in Valerie Ingram's office at the Santa Fe shelter. The development director gladly accepted the reptile, fitting it with a box to hide in and disregarding the occasional hiss.

"I'm told they don't bite," Ingram said, adjusting the snake's new glass-enclosed environment. "They just make kind of a hissing sound."

Clarissa the snake was part of a family of dogs and cats that Robert Villegas and Aaron Honey dropped off early Monday before mandatory evacuations. The two were back to check on their critters on Tuesday, walking their three dogs and getting ready to greet their two cats.

The chance for evacuees to visit their animal companions and walk them or simply hug them offered relief to all species, said shelter workers. The pampered pets are very different from the strays and homeless critters the shelters usually deal with.

"Our shelter has never been so full or so clean," said Chiotasso, who spent Monday night in a sleeping bag at the shelter with her two dogs. "We had our staff come in early, but most of the dogs are house-trained, so I started walking them as soon as I could."

Some evacuees found stray animals while they fled the town. Larissa Holt picked up a stray she saw on the side of highway. The sweet-natured dog was scared and Holt said she worried the untagged dog might get hit.

Her own dogs didn't get along with the stray, so Holt brought her into the Santa Fe shelter for safekeeping. "We got all of our dogs and cat out, but I don't know about her," said Holt, who spent the night in a hotel. "I couldn't leave her."

Volunteer Leslie Rich, who was helping people Tuesday process their animals at the Santa Fe shelter, said she was familiar with the routine. She, along with shelter workers Monica Rodriguez and Felice Rodriguez, helped during the Cerro Grande Fire.

This time, however, the evacuees were calm and well-prepared, said Felice Rodriguez, who handles the receiving desk. During the Cerro Grande Fire, many of the residents were caught unprepared and weren't able to retrieve their pets.

"The last time, everybody went to work," she said. "And then they closed Los Alamos, so nobody could get back in. They had everything stuck in their houses. We had two weeks of animal control breaking into houses to help pets."

The attitude about pets and disasters has also changed, said Courtney McBride, a preparedness coordinator with Homeland Security. McBride, who was visiting area shelters accompanied by Ward, said she's been trying for years to include pets as a part of disaster planning.

She was able to meet with several statewide groups a few months ago, and recent disasters, including the arctic storm and statewide fires, have helped underscore the importance.

"I think we have enough attention now, with all these disasters," she said, "that they are letting me go out and do research and case studies."

The documentation will help and emergency response agencies, including animal shelters, get federal grants to help offset their costs. But equally important is to show that animals are important to save.

"They keep saying it's about lives, it's about property," she said. "But if you're an animal lover, and some of these emergency managers are, they get it. Pets have got to be a whole part of the process. I've got it on their radar now."

While city and county animal services weren't called in to help in Los Alamos, the officers helped process animals at the shelter and talk to evacuees. Martin, the shelter's executive director, said everyone came together to help the animals.

That made everything easier, Hutchison said.

"While the fire is terrifying and dramatic, the reality on the ground for most people and their pets has been calm and safe," he said. "Half the calls have been from people who need help, and half have been from those who offer help, everything from helping horses and livestock to ducks. It's a different kind of matchmaking, but one that makes us feel just as good."

Animal Rescue Services

• Santa Fe Animal Shelter& Humane Society, 505-983-4309, 100 Caja del Rio Road

• Española Valley Humane Society, 505-753-8662, 108 Hamm Parkway

• Northern New Mexico Horseman’s Association, 505-471-6654, 3233 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe

• The Horse Shelter, 505-471-6179, 100 A/B Old Cash Ranch Road, Cerrillos

• The Wildlife Center, 505-753-9505, 19 Wheat Road, Española