Because Disasters Don’t Just Happen to People

By Sarah Speed Gabel, Esq.

Have you ever considered what would happen to a veterinary clinic if there were a major natural disaster? Perhaps you’ve faced one, or at least an instance when you and your staff were unable to get to work because of a power outage or flooding.

There is nothing more terrifying than being responsible for lives and facing an emergency. We know that the human-animal bond is strong and only becomes stronger when endangered.

Pennsylvania’s number one industry is agriculture. We are home to a nationally recognized cradle of horse breeding, and an estimated 70% of our households contain pets. We have seen what happens when disaster strikes and there isn’t a plan for the animals — it makes national news.

Fortunately, Pennsylvania is prepared, and you can be too. The Pennsylvania Animal Response Team is embedded in the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and charged with overseeing 50 active all-volunteer county animal response teams (CARTs) that provide statewide coverage to respond to emergencies involving animals.

In our day-to-day work, we respond to house fires, floods, and vehicle accidents, providing temporary shelter and transportation with our partners in emergency response and the animal sheltering community. We also assist with planning at the county and local level, helping officials and business owners create and practice their emergency plans and provide training to responders and residents alike in preparing for an emergency.

Many of our teams have veterinarians as members, and we rely heavily on their expertise in safely removing animals from drains or as we use our specialized equipment to lift a large animal. Our teams are available with equipment and trained volunteers to support veterinarians in tricky situations where an animal is stuck or they just need support or access to special equipment

to get an animal up and moving.

At our core, our mission is large scale disasters and we have answered that call many times over the years, including running the mega animal shelter at West Chester University in response to the ice storms of 2014, opening six emergency shelters in response to Hurricane Irene, assisting the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement in the removal of more than 250 chihuahuas off a property, and most recently, assisting Philadelphia Animal Care and Control and the Brandywine SPCA in setting up a temporary shelter to quarantine dogs during a canine influenza outbreak.

While we work and train to respond to every conceivable emergency, there are always those that no one could predict. The recent derailment of a train just over the border recently tested our readiness. I am proud to report that our skills and preparedness served us well as our Washington County CART team swiftly responded to move the residents of an animal sanctuary threatened by pollution to a safer location within hours.

The Pennsylvania Animal Response Team is ready to set up temporary animal shelters of any size and scale anywhere within the Commonwealth when disaster strikes. Recently, we created our own 16-hour emergency response for animals course and we have added a basic large animal handling course to our offerings as well. Our classes are designed to provide a crash course on emergency response within PA to anyone interested in volunteering or just learning more about how to be prepared.

There are a wealth of resources on our website (www. PaAnimalResponse.org) on emergency planning for your home, business, and community. We would love to grow our ranks of veterinary partners, so please get in touch.