The latest winter issue of 4 Legs and a Tail highlights who UVDART is and what they do to help pets during a disaster. Read the whole story on page 10 here
State Farm Helps Prepare Vermonter’s
WHEN A DISASTER STRIKES, JOANNE BOURBEAU IS READY TO DEPLOY HER TEAMS TO STEP UP AND HELP.
During a disaster, Bourbeau, who is the board chair of the nonprofit Vermont Disaster Animal Response Team (VDART) as well as the Northeast Regional Director for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), works behind the scenes to coordinate a response to keep animals out of harm’s way. That means when incidents ranging from widespread floods to traffic accidents overwhelm local resources, they procure and set up temporary animal shelters, transport pets to safety and provide for their needs — such as food, water, shelter and veterinary care — until they can be reunited with their families.
“WE NEVER WANT PEOPLE IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THEIR ANIMALS AND AN EVACUATION.”
Download the PDF State Farm Fall/Winter Good Neighbor (pages 5-6)
Introducing the VDART Video Training Library
Introducing the VDART Video Training Library
This library is meant to be a resource for you to pursue training in the area of your interests. There are numerous websites with thousands of training videos, so the VDART’s Training and Development Committee selected a few that would be pertinent to our emergency sheltering work. Jump in and have fun!
Free Red Cross classes
Free Red Cross classes for non-Red Cross volunteers. One particular class that will assist VDART members is: “Psychological First Aid”. Here’s the link to register: http://bit.ly/ext_register
Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Conference via ASPCApro
https://www.aspcaonline.org/#/catalog/77bf1b6d-aabc-470a-b983-7859c229eeb8
- Caring this much is exhausting
- Engaging volunteers
- Enacting laws that keep pets and people together
ASPCA On-line Learning Lab
https://www.aspcapro.org/training-online-courses/online-courses-aspca-learning-lab
- 7 Ways to Reduce Stress When Handling Dogs and Cats |Register to Enroll
- How to Interact with Dogs to Minimize Stress|Register/Login to Enroll
- How to Communicate Shelter Animal Behavior Clearly|Register/Login to Enroll
ASPCApro Tools & Tips
https://www.aspcapro.org/resource-library
- Emergency Foster Resources https://www.aspcapro.org/resource/emergency-foster-resources
- Are your county and state ready to respond animal emergency https://www.aspcapro.org/webinar/2019-07-18-110000/are-your-county-and-state-ready-respond-animal-emergency
- Travel bag/Pet evacuations https://www.aspcapro.org/resource/travel-bag-download-pet-evacuations-plus-disaster-shareables
- NCARE checklist/Rate your disaster readiness https://www.aspcapro.org/resource/ncare-checklist-rate-your-disaster-readiness
Giving Tuesday 2021
Help Animals in Crisis this Giving Tuesday
The Vermont Disaster Animal Response Team (VDART) was formed in 2007 to improve the state’s response to natural and man-made disasters impacting animals. Since then, hurricanes and tropical storms like Irene in 2011, and most recently Henri in 2021, have directly threatened Vermont, and demonstrated the importance of planning for pets in order to keep ALL members of the family safe. The human/animal bond is never stronger than it is during times of crisis, and VDART volunteers stand ready to assist their communities with animal needs that might arise in the face of life-threatening emergencies.
The covid-19 pandemic has also significantly challenged food-insecure pet families in Vermont, and VDART has been on the front lines of this fight, providing pet food directly to local food pantries across the state for the past 20 months.
VDART receives no federal or state funding to serve this important role as a safety net to pets and pet owners in Vermont, and relies solely on grants and YOUR generous donations to keep our equipment operational and our teams trained and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. VDART now boasts five regional teams covering the Northeast Kingdom, Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties, Central Vermont, the Upper Valley, and Windham County. And we work cooperatively with independent DARTs in Franklin County and Rutland County.
This Giving Tuesday, you can help us make a real difference for animals (and the people who love them) in YOUR community, by making a donation to VDART’s Anne Ackley Memorial Animal Support Fund. Click donate to make your donation today!
Thank you for your support!
Joanne Bourbeau, VDART Board Chair
CVDART to host emergency pet sheltering training
CVDART to host emergency pet sheltering training
You have probably seen or heard about the massive damage caused by hurricanes Henri and Ida, the fires in the West and the torrential rains in the South. You may know that organizations exist to provide temporary housing for people forced to evacuate their homes, but are you aware that Vermont also has an organization ready to mobilize to care for your pets in such a situation?
When families must evacuate their homes VDART (Vermont Disaster Animal Response Team) steps in to provide emergency shelters for pets. VDART has teams across the state trained to deal with such emergencies. According to their mission statement:
“Our goal is to provide uniformity and excellence in response to animal needs by training and exercising our volunteers in best practices, supporting the development of regional DART teams throughout the state, and providing local emergency managers with guidance on including the community’s pet population in local response plans.”
(Visit their website: https://vermontdart.org/ for more information.)
Recently, hurricane Henri threatened to hit our area and VDART alerted team members to be prepared to mobilize. If the idea of taking part in this rewarding work appeals to you consider attending the free Emergency Animal Sheltering (EAS) training, hosted by CVDART (Central Vermont Disaster Animal Response Team). This is a state wide event, open to both VDART members and interested members of the public. Previous sheltering experience is not required to attend.
This will be hands-on training. Visit https://vermontdart.org/training-2021/ for more information and to register. Open to all. Proof of COVID Vaccination required.
Contact: cvdart2017@gmail.com.
Strengthening Our Community
The Montpelier Food Pantry is rich in partners and this month we’re spotlighting a group that focuses on our four-legged friends. The Central Vermont Disaster Animal Response Team (CVDART) is part of the Vermont DART that helps animals across the state by strengthening and supporting the State’s capacity to respond to animal needs in a disaster. CVDART trains its volunteers in best practices and helps guide local emergency managers on including the pet population in crisis response plans.
In March of 2020, as the threat of the coronavirus became real, VDART had an emergency board meeting to plan how to help animals in the coming pandemic. CVDART then began supplying as much pet food as possible to area food pantries so that those impacted most could still feed their pets. Using a network of volunteers, CVDART supplied 22 area pantries upwards of $38,000 worth of pet food! Much of the food was purchased using CVDART’s emergency funds and individual donations, but some was salvaged from the Pet Food Warehouse (damaged packaging but still safe to eat) and some was surplus food donated by the Central Vermont Humane Society. Volunteers from CVDART have been integral in collecting donated food and helping get it to the pantries who need it — like ours!
CVDART is seeking volunteers and has a September 25th volunteer training in Barre. If you want a rewarding way to help animals, consider attending or contacting them about volunteering in general.
Photo below: Pantry patron and his four-legged friends.
Training – September 25, 2021
Volunteer Training 2021
SAVE THE DATE: September 25th, 2021Emergency Animal Sheltering Training.
Hosted by CVDART (Central Vermont Disaster Animal Response Team).
Saturday September 25th from 9-4 at the BOR (Barre Outdoor Arena), 16 Auditorium Hill Barre, VT 05641. Open to all.
For more information, please check here for updates.
Disaster Animal Response Team Forms in Northeast Kingdom
Disaster Animal Response Team Form in Northeast Kingdom
The Vermont Disaster Animal Response Team (VDART), a statewide non-profit that helps animals impacted by natural and man-made disasters, is excited to announce that its board recently approved the application of the newly formed Northeast Kingdom Disaster Animal Response Team (NEK-DART). NEK-DART will join VDART’s current network of chartered regional response teams for animals across the state, which are currently located in Chittenden County, Central Vermont, the Upper Valley, and Windham County. NEK-DART’s service area will include Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties.
“We are thrilled to be able to launch a chapter of VDART in the Northeast Kingdom”, said Giovanna Zaccaria, who will be co-leading the team with Chrysta Murray. “The Northeast Kingdom covers a vast rural area in the eastern corner of Vermont bordering Canada. In the event of a disaster, it will be imperative to offer timely support to the animals and individuals residing here that may not be available from other areas of the state. On a personal level, Chrysta and I are lifelong animal lovers. Between our two households we have four dogs, four cats, one hedgehog and one turtle! We are deeply committed to building a local resource to help support our animal loving neighbors in the event of a disaster as we would want to be supported and thank VDART for allowing us to be a part of their mission.” VDART was formed in 2007 after Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the severe negative impact that not planning for animals in disasters can have on not only animals, but the people who care for them. Thousands of animals died needlessly in Louisiana and Mississippi without proper planning, and human lives were also lost because owners refused to leave their pets behind.
Since the pandemic hit in March, 2020, VDART has focused efforts on fundraising for pet food to provide to food insecure pet families here in Vermont. Response Team volunteers have coordinated the dispersal of thousands of pounds of pet food to local food pantries, animal shelters and homeless shelters in every corner of the state, including the Northeast Kingdom.
If you’re interested in volunteering with the NEK-DART or another response team in your community, go to www.VermontDART.org/volunteer to learn more and apply.
Compassion Fatigue: Building Resiliency for Vermont Animal Protection Community
Photo Credit: Chad Sisneros, The Humane Society of the United States
This workshop will provide attendees with the tools needed to stay resilient as they face the day-to-day challenges of their work in the animal protection field.
We’ll provide participants with a shared language and understanding of the causes and symptoms of compassion fatigue as well as a suite of skills to become a non-anxious presence, and that can be used to build and maintain a healthy and intentional culture of skillful communication, openness, and personal responsibility. Participants will also have the opportunity to create a personal plan of action.
This webinar is geared toward those in the animal protection field, whether as volunteer or staff, in shelters, animal control/humane law enforcement, spay/neuter clinic, advocacy, disaster response, sanctuary or wildlife rehabilitation, but is suitable for anyone in any caring profession.
Link to Register for training
Vermont Disaster Animal Response Teams and State Farm Ensure Pets are Included in Emergency Preparedness Plans
During a disaster, evacuating your home is oftentimes necessary. You may have an evacuation plan for you and your family, but preparing to vacate with your pets is also important. Pet owners will often refuse to evacuate without their animals, so including them in your emergency plan is vital to the safety of the entire family.
Disaster Animal Response Teams (DARTs) across Vermont are committed to educating pet owners on how to prepare their furry friends for emergencies. To further ensure preparedness, Vermont DARTs have partnered with State Farm to provide go-bags for cat and dog owners to be used during an evacuation. State Farm has donated nearly 2,000 items, including collapsible water and food bowls, waste bag carriers shaped like dog bones, dog bite prevention coloring books, leashes and compact first aid kits, as well as cat and dog drawstring bags in which to store the items. Also included in the bags are enrichment pet toys from the Greater Good Foundation, and pet food lids and disaster preparedness information from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
Some regional teams have distributed go-bags to local animals shelters to be given out with every cat and dog adoption, as well as distributed them at community events. They are also provided at food distribution events to ensure that pet families with food insecurities are included.
“Thanks to the generous donation of disaster supplies from our friends at State Farm, Greater Good and the HSUS, the Windham Disaster Animal Response Team (WinDART) assembled 200 starter go-kits to be distributed to pet families in Windham County,” said Joanne Bourbeau. “WinDART has been giving the kits away during pop-up food pantry events. Recently, we also distributed bags to pet families who are sheltering with their pets in homeless shelters.”
“Our team held two events – one in Barre and one in Cabot – where we passed out 200 bags,” adds Lisa Lemieux with the Central Vermont DART. “Needless to say, they were a big hit! More importantly, we were able to educate local communities on the importance of pet and human preparation in the event of an emergency. Thank you, State Farm!”
For more information on how to prepare your pet for an emergency, visit the Vermont Disaster Animal Response Team.
Jennifer Young, CPCU
State Farm
Corporate Responsibility Analyst – NJ, NY, CT, NH, VT & ME