SUPPORT ANIMAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN YOUR AREA

There is no end to what can be accomplished by people who don't care who gets the credit.

-- Support your local fire department
-- Sponsor an First Responder Awareness or Technical Rescue training or fund a scholarship
-- Join a regional volunteer Disaster Animal Response Team (DART), or local Community Animal Response Team (CART)
-- Start a volunteer DART or CART
-- Help equip an Animal Emergency Response trailer for your neighborhood

HOW TO BECOME AN ANIMAL DISASTER SERVICE WORKER (ADSW)
There are several ways you can help during emergencies and disasters depending on your time, availability to train, and physical abilities. Regardless of your age and skills, there is always a place for a trained, informed, and ready volunteer.

Find out if your region has a Community Animal Response Team, (CART), an Animal Disaster Service Response Team, (DART), or, other recognized volunteer response group. For information about joining or starting a community Animal Emergency Response Team, check with your county's Office of Emergency Services (OES), and/or, local animal welfare organizations. Click here for a list of the HALTER Project's community partners.

PREPARATION
To volunteer during an emergency or disaster, there are certain requirements that must be met, regardless of your role. Basic minimum preparation will always include completion of FEMA ICS 100 and ICS 200. These courses are available for free from FEMA, and can be completed at your own pace.

Another great course for anyone interested in volunteering or being better prepared is FEMA IS-10.A Animals in Disasters: Awareness and Preparedness. Understanding the Incident Command System, (ICS),is a requirement of every volunteer group that provides assistance to local and state authorities. "Self-deployed", spontaneous, or convergent volunteers are often counterproductive to efficient rescue efforts and frequently put first responders, animals, and themselves at great risk, resulting in loss of effectiveness.

In Northern California, here are some groups that provide training for volunteers:
-- North Valley Animal Disaster Group (NVADG)
-- Napa-CART
-- Marin Humane
-- Marin County Sheriff Search & Rescue
-- Contra Costa County Animal Response Team
-- Team ELITE (Evacuation of Livestock in Tuolumne Emergencies)

You can also become a volunteer firefighter with an agency that has an animal technical rescue team.

EQUIP A SAFETY SHED OR EMERGENCY TRAILER
Every rural neighborhood should have a cache of equipment ready to go and stored in an accessible safety shed or small trailer. Many regions have a DART or CART trailer ready to deploy in emergencies and disasters. HERE are some ideas to help your neighborhood be prepared. Service organizations, businesses, and individuals can join forces to sponsor a trailer or safety shed. Use our examples below, or create your own.

ANIMAL RESCUE EQUIPMENT and RESOURCES