Helping Prepare The Best For The Worst (NAPSA)—Amongthelonglist of heroes of the September 11 terrorist attacks are the dogs and their handlers who worked rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero and the Pentagon. But with new awareness of the important role these highly trained canine/ human teams play has also come the recognition that there simply aren’t enough of them ready to respond whendisasterstrikes. To address this problem, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)—which has an agreement to work closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)to provide disaster services and information to help people with pets, horses andlivestock—has developed the HSUS Disaster Dog program. This program provides direct financial support to FEMA Urban Search and Rescue canine handlers to help cover the costs of training and travel. The HSUS Disaster Dog pro- gram supports Disaster Dog teamsby: Sponsoring individuals, canine handlers, and their search dogs; Promoting mentorship pro- grams to assist training of lessexperienced handlers, and Increasing public awareness of the skills and functions of Disaster Dogs and their handlers. Specifically, the program provides up to $2,500 per year to handler/dog teams to defray the costs of their extensive FEMA-certified training, which qualifies them for task forces. The program also provides support to designated volunteer evaluators who A newprogram is helping train dogsto help out as part of emer- gencytask forces. travel across the country certifying FEMAteams, thereby helping to increase their numbers. Closer to home, HSUS urges people to prepare a disaster plan that includes their animals and offers the followingtips: If you are forced to evacuate, take your animals with you. You mayhave no opportunity to return for them; Prepare a disaster kit with essentials for your animals; Make arrangements with a friend or neighbor to care for or evacuate your animals in case you can’t get hometo do so; and * Don’t wait until a disaster hits to act. Plan now so you will know how to get yourself and all family members, including your animals, to safety. To learn more about the Disaster Dog program, visit the Web site at www.hsus.org/disaster.
