DOUGLAS COUNTY ANIMAL RESPONSE TEAM
EAS – EMERGENCY ANIMAL SHELTER PLAN
I.
Introduction
A. Purpose of the EAS
B. Scope- parameters and situations in which an emergency shelter would be
established and what services the shelter will provide.
II.
Concept of Operations
A. Initial Notification
B. Facility Activism
C. Facility Management
D. Facility De-activation
E. After Actions
III.
Attachments
A. Operational Guidelines
B. Pre-designated DCART Shelter Facilities
C. DCART EAS Members Contact Information
D. DCART Vendor Contacts for Food and Supplies
E. EAS Forms and Reporting System
F. Alternate Animal Housing Facilities
G. Lists and Contacts for Special Assistance
H. Additional EAS Support
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DOUGLAS COUNTY ANIMAL RESPONSE TEAM
EMERGENCY ANIMAL SHELTER PLAN
I. Introduction
A. Purpose:
The purpose of this county’s Emergency Animal Sheltering (EAS) Plan is to
outline how Douglas County will provide a clean, safe place for the housing of all
animals (household pets and livestock) affected by a disaster. This will be done
by the Douglas County Animal Response Team (DCART) either by referral to
existing housing facilities and/or establishing temporary facilities until alternate,
more permanent arrangements can be made, such as when animals can be safely
reunited with their owners or relocated elsewhere.
B. Scope:
When a disaster impacts or threatens Douglas County, causing people and their
animals to be evacuated and where the residents are not able to find alternate
means to house their animals, the County Office of Emergency Management
(OEM) will contact the Director of the Lawrence Humane Society to assist in the
alternative housing for those animals. In the event the Humane Society is unable
to house the animals, the OEM will activate DCART to set up an EAS(s).
Communication will also be established with the OEM and the agency(s)
providing human sheltering in order to try to situate the EAS(s) in the vicinity of
the human shelter(s)
An EAS will be opened by the DCART if the director of the Humane Society
does not have room to accommodate 75 animals or less. Livestock needing
shelter will be handled by the Livestock Commissioner. The director of the
Lawrence Humane Society will be able to assist in transportation and temporary
housing of livestock. DCART will be contacted for more than 5 livestock
animals.
Below this number, the DCART Director will coordinate with the county/local
ACO (Animal Control Officer) and/or other DCART members to place the
animals into county/local animal shelter or other suitable facilities available, i.e.
veterinary hospitals, boarding kennels, and/or to provide owners referrals to pet
friendly hotels and boarding kennels/stables.
If birds, reptiles and/or wildlife need disaster sheltering, the DCART will make
arrangements with their contacts to house these animals.
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Animals that are seriously ill, injured or whose medical needs are beyond the
capability of the EAS; or need medical care beyond basic first aid, will be triaged
and sent to cooperating veterinary medical facilities for assistance.
Contaminated animals will be handled by the county HaxMat Team and will not
be handled by DCART or the Lawrence Humane Society until decontamination
has occurred. Depending on the contaminant these animals will be housed either
in another location, or brought to the EAS and be kept in isolation for observation
and/or treatment.
Utilizing the known, combined, researched, pre-determined and stored resources
of the DCART, it is anticipated that the Douglas County Animal Response Team
can operate two shelters for small animals for 60-90 days and up to 6 shelters for
large animals and livestock for 60-90 days. The Douglas County Animal
Response Team has three approved EAS sites. The Appendix to this document
contains signed and dated copies of each of these pre-designated Emergency
Animal Shelter sites.
It is estimated that DCART can run an emergency shelter up to 300 small
companion animals for approximately 60-90 days at one emergency location.
That location would be at the Lawrence Humane Society located at 1805 E. 19th,
unless that property has been deemed a disaster. A second emergency shelter
would have to be set up for the next 300 small companion animals at a different
location.
II. CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS:
Initial Notification
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Depending upon the disaster, the County OEM will activate the DCART and
notify the County DCART Director to be put alert/stand-by for a potential of
impending disaster, and/or request animal disaster services.
The County DCART Director will request information about the disaster and
document the information on the DCART Activation Disaster Overview
Form.
If the County EOC is operational, the DCART Director will go or send a
liaison to the County EOC.
The DCART Director will contact the DCART Veterinarian and the DCART
ACO to determine the most appropriate use of DCART resources to house
the disaster displaced animals.
If it is anticipated that the amount of animals impacted will exceed the
capacity of the resource of the DCART to shelter them, the DCART Director
will contact the County OEM for mutual aid. The County OEM should
contact the Kansas Animal Health Department and the Livestock
Commissioner that other resources are needed.
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If applicable, the DCART Director will contact the DCART members and
alert them to the disaster and/or stand-by status.
B. Facility Activation:
If an EAS is needed, the following will be done:
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The DCART Director will contact the DCART Veterinarian and the ACO to
determine the most appropriate type of animal shelter and EAS(s) and the
location(s).
A signed agreement shall be made between the facility owner and the County
OEM as to the current condition of the building/facility prior to activation
and the condition of the building/facility after activation
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The DCART Director or designee will contact the owner of the
facility/property for the EAS and request and arrange for its use.
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The Emergency Animal Shelter Manager, leader or designee, will make
contact with and meet with the owner of the facility/property and conduct an
on-site inspection. The EAS Manager and the facility/property owner will
sign-off on the EAS Use of Facility/Property Form.
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The DCART Director or designee will contact the DCART members to
schedule them for shifts and mobilize them when necessary, along with the
appropriate supplies and equipment.
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When reporting for their shift, DCART members will report to the DCART
member in charge of volunteers. An EAS Shift Flow Chart will be filled out
for each shift. Shifts will be determined by the Shelter Manager.
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The DCART Director will contact Logistics to obtain and deliver supplies
and equipment.
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Ongoing communications will take place throughout the duration of the
incident and existence of the EAS in order to replenish supplies as needed
and requested by the Shelter Manager.
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DCART members will set-up the EAS, depending upon the human and
material resources available, and the size and scope of the disaster.
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A leader for each area in the EAS will be designated. Each EAS leader will
supervise all DCART members working in the EAS area. The EAS leaders
will report to the EAS Manager.
The EAS Manger will notify the DCART Director and the County OEM that
the EAS is open.
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If necessary, the DCART Director will contact the County OEM to request
mental health assistance for the animal owners and/or the shelter workers.
The DCART should reach out to the mental health contact pre-disaster to
discuss the possible needs of the EAS.
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If spontaneous volunteers show up at the EAS, they will be sent to
________________________________. Then, they will fill out an
application form, be interviewed and either be assigned to fill a role at the
EAS or be referred elsewhere.
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If necessary, before their initial shift, DCART members will report to the
County OEM or a designated check in place to get credentialed.
C. Facility Management:
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The DCART Director or designee schedules additional DCART members for
EAS shifts and mobilizes them as necessary.
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Animal Intake and Documentation: The EAS will intake and disposition
animals. Intake cards will be filled out for each animal and be colorcoordinated. Dogs will be on green cards, cats
will be on yellow cards, hand-held pets on lime-green cards and livestock on
blue cards. All information regarding the animal including, weight, breed,
color, etc. will be written on the card. Information regarding where the
animal was found and owner identification will be written on the card.
An exam sheet and medication/vaccination sheet will be attached to each
card.
Animals that are identified by owners will be housed in a separate area
from un-claimed animals and will have owner identification and contact
information on the animal intake card.
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Animal triage and medical care: A licensed veterinarian or a
licensed veterinary technician will oversee medical examinations,
medicating and treatment of animals. All triaged animals will go through the
intake process. Severe cases will be transported to the nearest veterinary
clinic for treatment.
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Animal Euthanasia and Carcass Disposal: A determination to euthanize an
animal will be made by a licensed Kansas veterinarian only. Euthanasia will
be done humanely per Kansas State Statutes. Animal Carcasses will be
buried, incinerated or stored depending upon recommendations from the
County OEM.
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Animal Shelter Bio-security Protocols:
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Animal Isolation and Quarantine: Animals that have bitten will be
quarantined away from general population for a period of ten (10) days, and
not released until cleared by a veterinarian.
Animals that are aggressive will be isolated from the general population and
will not be handled by DCART members without proper training or Rabies
pre-exposure.
Animals with contagious diseases will be isolated from other animals and
under the direct supervision of the veterinarian. The veterinarian may
determine to euthanize an animal with particular contagious diseases such as
Rabies, Distemper, Panleukepenia and Parvo, etc.
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Animal Care: Cages and kennels will be cleaned and sanitized every
morning. Additionally, cages and kennels will be kept free of feces and
urine throughout the day. Animals will have potable water 24 hours a day
and be fed twice daily. Dogs will be walked multiple times per day for
exercise. All animals will have bedding and when possible toys in their
kennels. Cat boxes will be cleaned of excrement throughout the day.
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Animal Waste Removal and disposal: Animal waste will be placed into
plastic bags and then into a trash receptacle for removal. Feces will be
scooped and disposed of in the “exercise” area in the same manner. The
DCART Director will work with the OEM to schedule dumping of the trash
receptacle.
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Disinfection/sanitation: Bleach used to sanitize kennels must be diluted with
water 1/16. Bleach must sit on an area for 10 minutes on a pre-cleaned
surface to kill germs. You must wear gloves when cleaning kennels and
change gloves between kennels. You must use gloves or sanitizer in
between touching kennel cards or animals.
Dishes will be washed and then left to soak in a bleach and water mixture for
at least 10 minutes prior to use.
Cloth toys and bedding will be washed if washers are available or disposed
of when dirty.
Isolation areas will have foot washed in doorways with bleach and water
mixture.
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Donations from the public and private corporation (items and money)
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Monetary contributions to help the EAS will be routed through the Douglas
County Animal Response Team through the Lawrence Humane Society.
Any items needed will be requested by the EAS Director to the DCART
Director to the County OEM.
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Spontaneous Volunteers will be sent to the volunteer area to fill out an
application form, be interviewed and be assigned to the EAS or be referred
elsewhere.
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Media Interaction: The DCART Director will coordinate with the County
OEM before conversing with any media personnel.
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Reporting and requesting resources. Each area leader will report to the EAS
Director, who in turn will report to the DCART Director functional data and
any needs or resources required. The DCART Director will forward
situation reports to the County OEM.
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The EAS Director will receive disaster updates from the DCART Director or
the County OEM.
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The DCART Director and/or EAS Manager has on-going conversations with
the County OEM to know when the human shelter is closing and who will
not be able to return to their homes.
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Tracking and Financial Expenditures will be tracked be the financial
director for DCART. That individual will work closely with the Logistics
director to coordinate receipts, invoices, etc. Financial information will be
given to the bookkeeper of the Lawrence Humane Society. Follow-through
for compensation will be the duty of the Financial Director for DCART.
D. Facility De-Activation
Depending on the availability of alternative sheltering, the EAS should begin
the process of closing when…
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The human shelter anticipates closing.
When a closing date and time has been established, the DCART and County
OEM will convey this information to the community through the County OEM’s
Public Information Officer (PIO), and if applicable, through the NJDA’s PIO and
the state’s Joint Information Center (JIC). After the decision has been made to
close, the EAS personnel will:
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Alert the animal’s owners of the anticipated closing.
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Work with the agency(s) responsible for the human shelter on alternate
solutions for animal housing for those people who will not be able to return
to their homes.
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Disposition all of the animals with their owners. Owners will be required to
sign the animals intake card to show that they were returned. The owner will
need to have identification and proof of ownership. (You may use the
animal’s reaction toward the owner as identification. Contact information
will also be included on the animal’s card.
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All abandoned and stray animals will be taken to the Lawrence Humane
Society or transferred to licensed animal shelter facilities in Kansas
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Close the EAS and notify the County OEM and the DCART Director that the
EAS has closed.
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Clean and disinfect all equipment and facility premises.
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Have sign-off from owner of the facility.
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Return all borrowed equipment and supplies.
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Each EAS area will inventory their supplies and pack up their area.
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Requests for replacement supplies will be forwarded to the DCART Director
for re-stocking.
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The EAS Manager will contact the County OEM’s Logistics person to
transport any county equipment to the storage facility.
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EAS Manager will contact the DCART manager to transport supplies and
equipment to the storage facility for DCART.
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All reports will be turned over to the DCART Director.
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Final records will be turned over to the DCART Director for processing and
storage.
E. After Actions In order to improve on the EAS process, the DCART
members will review the EAS Plan and its Attachments, Appendices, etc. and
update if necessary.
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After every incident, the DCART will conduct an After Actions Review of
the incident and document the findings. If necessary, DCART will update
the EAS Plan and Attachments/Appendices.
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This information will be shared with all of the DCART members.
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At least every two years, DCART will review and update the EAS Plan and
its Attachments/Appendices. After the animal review and update, and/or
when major changes have been added after a review of an incident. The
DCART Director or designee will forward copies of the EAS Plan and
Attachments/Appendices to:
The County OEM and KSSART
III.
ATTACHMENTS
A. Operational Guidelines:
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DCART recovery staff will pickup animals that have been abandoned or
turned in by owner during the emergency. Every animal will have a field tag
as to where it was picked up from and will include owner information when
available. The recovery staff will leave a notice at homes where the
animals(s) were recovered. (Attachment 1-2)
Animals brought into the emergency shelter will be given a health
examination upon intake. Animals deemed to be in good health will receive
vaccinations at that time. Any information regarding the animal will be kept
on the health record attached to the intake card. (Attachment 3-4)
The animal intake card will have the information where the animal was
found, who found the animal, age, sex, breed and other necessary
information to identify the animal. Every dog will be given a specific intake
number that will run in numerical order starting with 1 followed by the year.
Cat intake numbers will start with the year and follow in numerical order
starting with one. Handheld pets will start with HH followed by the number
and the year. Special notation of tags and microchips will be kept on the
animal’s card and every effort will be made to contact the owner of the
animal. Owner’s identification will be written on the animal’s card.
(Attachment 5)
All animals will be photographed on intake and the information will be
uploaded into the DCART computer in an effort to find the animal’s owners.
Animals that are injured will go to triage. In an emergency situation, animal
cards and photos can be completed while the veterinarian is examining the
animal. The veterinarian will decide whether to send any animals to
veterinary clinics for surgery or other emergency services. (Attachment 6)
Owned animals will be kept separately from stray animals in the emergency
shelter. Like species will be housed together. Reptiles, birds and small
exotics will be kept away from the canine, feline population in a quiet
environment.
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Cleaning and disinfecting are critical to the health and well-being of the
animals. They are already under great stress and every effort must be made
to reduce the risk of disease in the emergency shelter. (Attachment 7 - 8)
DCART volunteers will be exercising dogs and brushing cats as well as
giving out toys daily at the emergency shelter in an effort to de-stress the
animals. Sheets will be attached to each kennel for daily walks, cleaning,
etc. (Attachment 9)
Lost reports will be compiled by DCART members. Information will be
taken from individuals looking to recover their lost pets. (Attachment 10)
People displaced by a disaster may request rescue of pets left behind.
Information should be taken and then passed on to recovery members.
(Attachment 11)
Animals that have bitten will be quarantined in a separate area from other
animals. The County Health Department will be notified regarding the bite
case and information given to the Co Health Official regarding the person
bitten. The animal will be under veterinary care throughout the quarantine
period and will not be released without approval from the County Health
Official. (Attachment 12 -13)
DCART Members will be given identification badges when they have
finished their credentialing requirements. Volunteers will have a weekly
time record they for tracking hours and a daily duty roster. (Attachment 14 17)
The DCART director will request water from the County OEM. Food
supplies will be acquired from the list of vendors. (Attachment 18)
The Livestock Commissioner will be contacted to asses the needs of the
livestock in the area affected. Transportation of livestock will be handled by
the Livestock Commissioner. (See attachment 18)
The Department of Park and Wildlife will be contact to asses the needs of the
animals in the area affected. (See attachment 18)
Veterinary medical services will be supplied by the DCART Veterinarian
and his associates. Those services include: triage and emergency care,
medical and surgical care, support of public health and zoonotic disease
management, implementation of infection control programs and animal
health monitoring at the emergency animal facility. The DCART
veterinarian will work with the Veterinary Volunteer Corps (VVC) and will
activate members through a calling tree. (Attachment 19 -21)
Mortality Management will include both euthanasia ant the management of
animal carcasses. Every effort will be made to identify the animals prior to
removal. Animal field tags will be logged and animal intake cards made
with attached photos for possible identification. The County OEM will be
contacted regarding disposal of animal carcasses. (Attachment 22 – 23)
Additional attachments – misc. forms
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DCART
Douglas County Animal Response Team
ATTACHMENT 1
LIST OF REFERRALS FOR PERSONS NEEDING ANIMAL HOUSING
SERVICES
COMPANION ANIMALS
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