The animals in the volcanic ash

I have been busy working in the erupting area for the last days. It has been very interesting - and hard at the same time. The ground is filled with gray sand-ashes. When you walk around it is just like you are walking in asphalt. Your feet get heavy and everything gets muddy.
But that is not all.
There has been storm in the area so the wind has been blowing the ashes around. It gets everywhere. Into the houses, into the cars, where the animals are. Everywhere. And then you see the small animals, e.g. the mice and birds, trying to find some shelter from the ash.
The ash is poisonous so we don't know how and if the wild animals are going to survive.
We humans don't like it when the volcanic ash fills our eyes, noses and lungs. The animals definitely don't like it either.