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After dozens of hours taking a number of FEMA classes with scintillating names like “Incident Command System for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents”, I went to a training seminar last weekend and am now an official trained Emergency Animal Rescue Service volunteer. In the event of a disaster, whether natural or man-made, I am now authorized to go into a disaster zone to provide shelter and care to displaced animals.

I’ve been interested in getting certified after reading an incredible book called “Rescued: Saving Animals from Disaster” by Allen and Linda Anderson. The book recounts the rescue efforts that took place during Hurricane Katrina, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in animal rescue. It’s not a syrupy, tearjerker kind of book, but rather a practical look at what went right --- and wrong --- with the rescue efforts of animal agencies following the largest disaster they’d ever been faced with.

Anyway, the book made an impact on me, and I’ve spent the past several months (well, almost a year --- those FEMA classes are as dry as Melba toast) getting my prerequisites out of the way so I could take the formal training. It’s only offered a few times a year, and there was only one class on the schedule in California this year, so I went for it.

I have no idea what happens next. There’s a boatload of stuff I have to put together for my “deployment bag”, which means I’ll be eating PB&J for lunch for months to pay for the things I need for it. Plus the shots --- and I hate shots, but I’ll get them started next time I’m at the doctor’s office. And since disasters can’t be planned in advance like vacations, I’ll have to figure out how to deal with the whole work thing if I want to go on an actual emergency (big hint to the boss-people who might be reading this). Then there’s the actual cost of going on a deployment, since we’re kind of on our own for transportation costs. I may never get the chance to leave my driveway.

But now that I’m certified, I can at least think about it. Yea!

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