(English) The American Red Cross and the Arizona Humane Society work hand in hand during the Telegraph and Mescal fires. Together they are providing disaster services to individuals as well as their pets displaced by the fires.
The Arizona Humane Society is the state-designated responder for pets and is responsible for caring for sick and injured animals. When they deploy to a disaster, they bring a whole shelter animal team that includes behavior staff, medical staff, a veterinarian, and various field officers who can care for pets during different disasters.
Just as the Red Cross meets with and registers clients into a shelter, the Arizona Humane Society meets with and registers pets when brought to a shelter. Animals will get a complete veterinary exam and vaccinations if they don’t have current vaccinations. If they come in sick or injured, the veterinarian treats them, and if needed, they are referred to a veterinarian trauma hospital for more care.
When animals are brought to a shelter, their needs are taken care of and include feeding, walking, watering, and giving medications. Currently, there are 32 animals at the Skyline High School shelter – 19 dogs and 13 cats. One kitty sustained a snake bite, and one dog has a soft tissue injury that occurred during the evacuation. They have a few animals with upper respiratory infections brought on by the stress of the fire and evacuation, and on the brighter side, they have one pregnant dog in the shelter!
Responding to disasters is a team effort, and no single organization can do it alone. This partnership shows how working together helps people and pets displaced by disasters.
