Animal Shelter Exercise Initial Summary

On October 20 there was an exercise at the Canby Fairgrounds for five County Animal Control Groups to come together and practice setting up and running a small pet (cats and dogs) shelter. The exercise was funded through Federal funds received through the UASI region and was to test a multi-county animal shelter plan. As part of the exercise the Red Cross participated in setting up a service delivery site to support the animals owners and to simulate a co-located facility. The exercise went very well, all companion animals were registered, photographed and received a basic health assessment at the animal shelter and the owners were registered at the Red Cross site.

It will be about a month before lessons learned from the exercise are discussed here are some best practices that we picked up.

1. Reach out to you county animal control group before a disaster occurs to discuss the capacity and resources the county has. Get their after hours contact information and work with them to setup agreements so that if pets do need to be sheltered there is a clear plan.
   
   In many cases unless there are a significant number of animals (i.e. 25 or more) the animal control group may not have the resources to setup and run a shelter that is co-located with a disaster shelter. Instead, they may shelter them within their own shelter system.
   
2. County Animal Control has the legal obligation to ensure the safety of animals in the county. They recommended that we work with them versus reaching out to local kennels and other organizations because these groups do not have the same legal obligation for the animals safety.
   
   In general, it is best to include the County Animal Control Staff in all pet shelter planning and if there is an existing agreement with a local group the Animal Control should be aware of this.
3. Educate your community residents about the importance of preparing a disaster supplies kit for their pets. Pets are family members and they need to be included in the planning process. Make sure that owners have information about their pets vet, medical history, and vaccination history as all of this information is requested when a pet shelter is established. Collaborate with the local Animal Control Groups to spread the message of preparedness.
   
   Oregon Trail is in the initial stages of working with county Animal Control Groups. One of the key next steps for us is to establish agreements with each of our counties that we will work together and if pets do need to be sheltered due to a disaster the kennel fees may be waived.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Curtis Peetz.