What responsibility do Show Committees have in regards to
"happenings/disasters" at dog shows/events and what portion of the
responsibility do the individuals themselves share for their own safety and
that of their dogs.
IN MY OPINION, it is much more than that and I can only hope that others will think about Emergency
Preparedness for themselves and their families and neighbours/communities.
Deborah is, in this case, talking about the terrible storm at the Palm
Springs shows. Last Friday's scary wind storm was of such a short duration that
"disaster preparedness" plans could not take effect. If a situation
looks dangerous, it is. You don't need someone to tell you it is going
bad. You know."
From Deborah:
"I watched the aftermath of Katrina and was disheartened by
the lost opportunity to educate the American public to the plain
bald-faced fact that the help will be there as soon as possible. As soon as
possible is three days. The help got to New Orleans three days after the
hurricane hit. Until then, it is the responsibility of every inpidual to
care for themselves and their own.
Call your local Office of Emergency Preparedness and ask.
They will tell you that your own cool head, your own personal emergency
preparedness plan, and common sense are what will get you through those first few
days. Forget about "someone in charge." That someone is YOU!
If you haven't put together a 72 hour emergency kit for your
home and office, do it. Here is a link to a publication from the
State of Colorado:
http://www.dola.state.co.us/dem/publications/72hrkit.pdf
Also go to:
http://www.ready.gov/?gclid=CJqv7J2q1IkCFSh7YAodtygLzA
If you haven't put together an 24 hour kit for the car, do it
today.
- The following is from Pam Legault
- Langley Emergency Social Services
- Noah's Wish Responder
- Palarset Irish Setters
I was involved in an unusual event a couple of weeks ago
when we had to transport an Eskie to the overnight Emergency Clinic after he
was crated and his home had a fire due to an electrical short while the
family was Christmas shopping. He got the royal treatment by the
firefighters who did mouth to mouth and then had him transported by (human)
ambulance ( a first and likely last) to the nearest Clinic (which happened to be
his Vet). He had severe smoke inhalation and unfortunately did die that
night but he needed to be on continuous oxygen and the Vet's office didn't
have a portable tank. The firemen eventually brought one for him but it is something that isn't
in our community's Pet Plan and I have spoken to our Vet about it for
his Clinic. It is something that I can say I had never thought of for our
Committee's plans but will now.
Our Vet and his staff had to evacuate themselves a couple
of years ago when a gas station in the same block had a Propane fire and
explosion. Luckily, even though it was surgery day, all the animals had
recovered sufficiently from their anaesthetic that they no longer needed
such intensive monitoring. They were all evacuated safely per their
previous plans but also against the Police advice/commands. Luckily one
of the Techs has a big, flat bedded Hummer so there was room for everyone.
Lessons were learned and plans revised.
There is also excellent info and on-line courses on FEMA's
website in regards to personal human and animal preparedness. For those
of us who do not live in the States, we can still do the courses, just not
get the credits they mention.
Here in British Columbia, the BC Emergency Preparedness
Program, aka PEP, has an excellent website with lots of information on it. As
well,
www.noahswish.org
is great for info on several types of animals, not just dogs. In B.C. all communities have their own ESS (Emergency
Social Services) teams that are composed of volunteers from all walks of life
and headed by a Director employed by their district/community. new volunteers
are always welcome and , at least here in Langley we are all
cross-trained to work in all areas during a disaster.
With the unpredictable weather we are all experiencing
around the world, never mind the everyday things that can happen, we all need to
"be Prepared" as best we can. Make sure you have at least 3/4 of a tank of
gas, preferably a full one, in your car in case you are stranded in the cold,
have leashes and collars for all your animals with ID on them all. Have
back up plans with your neighbours to help each other out, esp. in case one
of you is not at home should something happen. Carry rock salt and a shovel
in your vehicle if there is snow and if you get caught in a snow bank,
get that tailpipe free of the snow so you don't die of carbon monoxide
poisoning.
And may you never have to deal with any of these problems.