Disaster Animal Response

When most people think about a major disaster that has occurred they think about how it has effected the people that were living in that area but very few people think about the effect major disasters have on animals that live in the area, both domestic and wild. Just from doing a simple google search I have found numerous websites and organizations that welcome people that are willing to volunteer in animal response and how to properly become certified to volunteer. Federal regulations require all states to include pets and other animals in their disaster plans. Many sites offered classes both online and in person on how exactly to become certified in disaster response for people. This website: http://www.aspcapro.org/resource/disaster-cruelty-disaster-response/disaster-response-training offfered three online and in-classroom training opportunities, and ten places where someone could get technical training. I also liked how this website listed off places to receive emergency management training and human first aid and crisis response training.

Online there seems to be a large amount of people saying that they would love to become a trained pet disaster response volunteer but they don’t know how to sign up, but there are numerous sites online you just have to put some effort into actually becoming one. Another website I found: https://www.petfinder.com/helping-pets/animals-and-disaster-relief/disaster-animal-response-team-volunteer/ gives people very specific step by step directions on how to best achieve becoming a disaster animal response team volunteer. The first part in any plan is to make sure that you yourself is covered, have a disaster kit in your home that fits your family’s needs including any pets that live with you. There are lists on the above website that tailor specifically for a disaster kit according to what kind of pet you own, whether it be a dog, cat, bird, or a horse.

After a disaster has occurred shelters open up for families and animals in the area that have no where else to go. Many rescue groups go back into the area to find any animals or humans that have survived and could be trapped alone somewhere. Becoming a foster parent to an orphaned animal or to animal whose family is waiting for relocation could greatly improve an animal’s life. Even some animals are critical in the search and rescue team, dogs can sniff out a person or animal under a lot of debris and alert people of their location. Any animal in distress from a disaster that may be sick, injured, or in a rash state of mind will react much differently to humans than will another human in distress. This is especially true if one animal is protecting another sick or injured animal.

For animals a disaster doesn’t have to just be a natural one but it can also be man-made. An example of one is a puppy mill where the conditions animals live in are horrible and they are suffering greatly just for the owners own personal greed. Another example is dogfighting, where countless animals are abused to make them more aggressive and fight another animal until one of them dies for no reason at all. Mobile care stations have been created for easy and fast treatment of these such animals that have suffered greatly.

http://savinganimalsduringdisasters.org/