CMDART In the News

Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Worcester/Wachusett Local News

Monday, March 31, 2008

Pet emergency training held

Responders work through mock rescue

By Sandy Meindersma CORRESPONDENT

WORCESTER— The days of leaving Fido and Fluffy behind when evacuating because of an emergency are gone.

Instead, emergency responders are advising evacuees to take their pets with them whenever they need to leave their home because of an emergency.

To respond to the displaced pets, the Central Massachusetts Disaster Animal Response Team sponsored a two-day training program on emergency animal sheltering training at Girls Inc. over the weekend. The program was offered by the Humane Society of the United States.

Diane Webber, director of disaster preparedness and shelter management for the Humane Society instructed the 68 participants from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and one from as far as Virginia, on how to set up an emergency shelter, the incident command system used by all emergency responders, legal issues, record keeping and animal handling.

“We’re hoping these people will make emergency plans, and then help their communities and do education,” Mrs. Webber said.

Emergency response plans at the federal, state and local level are all required to have an animal component, following the 2006 Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006. The PETS Act was a response to the situation after Hurricane Katrina when many evacuees refused to leave or delayed their departure because of their pets.

“Sixty-three percent of American households have pets,” Mrs. Webber said. “But only 30 percent of American households have minor children.”

Claudia J. McGuire, Northboro Animal Control Officer and chairman of the town’s Disaster Animal Response Team, said she came to the seminar to see how other places had set up their emergency animal shelters. “Seeing them gives us different ideas,” she said.

“The main focus is to go back and get individual people to have a plan (for their animals),” Ms. McGuire said. “If someone says you need to leave in five minutes, you don’t have time to run around and get everything.”

JoAnn Griffin, president of CMDART, said its mission is to plan, prepare for and respond to emergencies and disasters that involve pets.

“We believe in the local community, because disasters happen locally,” she said. “Our goal is to get people trained (to respond to emergencies involving pets).”

CMDART maintains a list of pet-friendly hotels in order to accommodate those who cannot return home after an emergency such as a fire or flood.

The organization is looking for locations near Interstate 290 where its trailers of equipment may be parked until needed to respond to an emergency.

“We have an agreement with Leominster and Uxbridge, so the north and south counties are covered,” Mrs. Griffin said. “But we still need something near Worcester or Auburn.”

Mrs. Griffin said that taking care of the animals is taking care of the people. “This is helping the people (in an emergency) — it helps with their mental health,” she said.

She also pointed out that caring for animals after a disaster is harder than caring for people. “Humans are resilient and can speak up if they have a need. Animals can’t — they need an advocate.”

Click here for direct link to Telegram & Gazette article

(click photo to enlarge)

“Flood victim” Cheryl Noroian, center, with JoAnn Griffin's dog Bobbie, registers at a mock disaster session yesterday at Girls Inc. Taking information at left is Robin Chapman, recording the event is Allan Schwartz, second from the left, and applying a tag to Bobbie at right is triage nurse Dawn Bennett. (Photos / RICH DUGAS)

CMDART In the News

Worcester Telegram & Gazette

(click photo to enlarge)

Kate Hawkins leads Macguire into a cage for decontamination after the dog was rescued from flood waters during the mock disaster.