VME 6820
Introduction to Veterinary Disaster Response
Be prepared to respond to veterinary disaster events as a volunteer.

Course Content
Be prepared to respond to veterinary disaster events as a volunteer. Recognize the standards of care for operating emergency animal shelters and transporting pets before and after disaster events. Understand the need for animal shelters to maintain all-hazard plans and adapt plans in the face of a pandemic.
By the end of this course, students will:
- Know the four stages of the disaster cycle.
- Prepare a personal disaster-readiness plan intended to prepare one’s family and pets to be self-sufficient for all potential local hazards.
- Recognize why adhering to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) is important for any incident response.
- Describe the chain of command in an emergency response used at the local, state, or national level. (Incident Command System = ICS)
- Know where to volunteer to serve in an animal-related disaster response and what is required to become a volunteer with that agency.
- Identify the role one might volunteer to serve in an animal-related emergency response.
- Know why it is never appropriate to self-deploy to a disaster response.
- Recognize barriers that might interfere with a volunteer’s ability to respond to an event when activated.
- Describe the standard-of-care that should be met in order to humanely operate a temporary emergency pet shelter.
- Know the principles for safely decontaminating pets exposed to floodwaters.
- Create a checklist for animal intake to a temporary animal shelter.
- Create a checklist that promotes best practices for evacuating/transporting animals between shelters during a disaster event.
- Create a template for an animal shelter to use for all-hazard disaster planning intended to protect animal welfare and promote continuity of shelter operations.
- Discuss the impact that COVID19 has on emergency animal sheltering, animal transports, and disaster response.
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Enrollment Information
- Course Lead Instructor: Dr. Lawrence Garcia, MS, DVM
- Course Number: VME 6820 all sections
- Semester Credit Hours: 1
- Term: Summer
- Syllabus: Syllabus