Today was my first day of animal rescue training. It was at 9 am and I had to take a bus. I was not sure if there was any parking. I got there and there was plenty of all day parking. Oh, we'll, next time. It was such a nice day I enjoyed the walk.
The course was interesting. I sat next to a new person, R. My friend C showed up late so I could not save her a seat. R was hysterical. She is a smart ass like me so we joked the whole time. Not in a disruptive way but in a whispery way. The trainers were very funny but informative. I learned how to do doggy CPR, how to do the doggy heimlich, and various other first aid techniques. I have some homework: make a pet emergency kit, a pet "go bag" and read some chapters. My next class is not for three weeks so I have plenty of time to accomplish all this.
These animal rescue trainings are happening all over the country. After Hurricane Katrina, all states were mandated to come up with a plan to handle pet evacuations as well as human evacuations. During the Hurricane many people died either from not evacuating because they could not take their pets or from returning too soon to come back for their pets. In the San Diego fires in 2007, 10 out of 14 people died while returning to get their pets during the fire. Now during state mandated evacuations there have to be plans for all animals (not just pets). For some places this means there will be Red Cross shelters for people and since they can't allow pets (or reasons such as allergies and asthma) there may be an animal shelter set up nearby so folks can drop their pets off and come back to visit while they are in the shelter. All the states are using the same system. That is what I am learning. If there is an emergency, not just in my hometown, I could be activated and asked to go and help out.
Until tomorrow...
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