County team seeks pet-rescue volunteers
Disaster Animal Response Team leader Rhonda Bender and Joseph Mead, Anderson County Emergency Agency director, stand next to the trailer the group has ready to use for helping pets during disasters. (photo:Ben Pounds )
A county emergency response group is looking for supplies and volunteers to rescue pets in emergencies.
The program is Disaster Animal Response Team a project of Anderson County Emergency Management Agency.
DART, as the group is known, is preparing to serve animals of human county residents registered at an American Red Cross human shelter.
Its next meeting will be on Nov. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at 111 South Charles G Seivers Blvd. in Clinton, open to all, especially people curious about volunteering.
Karen Ooten, program manager for the Anderson County Emergency Management Agency, said the county hadn’t needed to use a DART shelter yet, but believed situations warranting one may come.
“What happened with Helene, up in [East] Tennessee and North Carolina, is a prime example,” she said.
As outlined at its August meeting, DART will accept dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents and turtles, but not other animals, such as livestock.
“Once we have to open a shelter for humans, the ones that have pets, if they don’t have any place for their pets to go, they may not leave their homes,” Ooten told The Courier News. “And that’s putting their lives in jeopardy.”
“If people know that there’s a place for their animals to go that’s safe, they’ll go,” said volunteer Jessica Heider.
“In every disaster, you have to remember there’s always the unforgotten,” Joseph Mead, Anderson County Emergency Agency director, said. “And that’s not just people.”
Ooten said DART is looking for volunteers, ranging from ones who just do registration to pet-care providers.
Responsibilities covered by volunteers will include setting up the shelter during a disaster, providing care for animals and keeping the shelter area clean.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides online training courses for DART volunteers.
The state Depaertment of Agriculture offers training for volunteers who may want to deploy during disasters in areas outside of Anderson County.
Volunteers gathered at the DART’s Aug. 18 meeting to learn about the policies.
Some, like Allison Tapley, a member of the Class of 2029 at University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, came from outside the county but were ready to help its residents.
“I think as a veterinary student there’s an actual drive to serve the community and be there to help families and animals in times of need,” she said.
She said she’d seen the impacts natural disasters had on farmers. As an assistant to a veterinarian, she helped a farm hit by a tornado in New York state.
“Being able to be there and spend that time with them is really important and rewarding and valuable to me,” she said regarding helping with disasters. “In a time of disaster, you never know what’s going to happen.”
Rhonda Bender is the leader of both the previous and current DART team. She said saw the value in the team easing the burden, not just of citizens but on fire and rescue personnel as well.
“We need it,” Bender said. “A disaster could be major, or it could be a house fire or a barn fire, a stable fire.” She said fires were the highest concern based on her previous similar work in Knox County, followed by floods.
Trailer, supplies
The ACEMA currently has a trailer from its previous DART team, although it may upgrade to a newer one.
Mead said the team still could use other supplies. As a part of the county government, it can’t accept monetary donations. However, it’s interested in animal crates, bowls, leashes and collars. These supplies must be new to prevent spreading disease.
Slightly used towels and blankets are fine, however. DART does not want pet food donations, Mead said, due to its perishability.
Mead recommended contacting ACEMA for more information on donations. People may email jmead@andersoncountytn.gov, call 865-264-6394 or go to the office at 111 S. Charles G Seivers Blvd.
“Are we ready now? Probably not, but we’re close,” Mead said.
He said the group would likely be ready to take on a smaller scale incident by the end of the year.
“Could we, in theory, activate today if we had to?” he said. “Yeah, but we’d be limited in our capacity.”
Ooten said the trailer is for setting up a shelter.
The location and type of disaster will determine where the team will put its shelter.
