http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakoblue/25684 After dozens of hours taking a number of FEMA classes with scintillating names like &ldquo;Incident Command System for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents&rdquo;, 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&rsquo;ve been interested in getting certified after reading an incredible book called &ldquo;Rescued: Saving Animals from Disaster&rdquo; 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&rsquo;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&rsquo;d ever been faced with. Anyway, the book made an impact on me, and I&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s a boatload of stuff I have to put together for my &ldquo;deployment bag&rdquo;, which means I&rsquo;ll be eating PB&amp;J for lunch for months to pay for the things I need for it. Plus the shots --- and I hate shots, but I&rsquo;ll get them started next time I&rsquo;m at the doctor&rsquo;s office. And since disasters can&rsquo;t be planned in advance like vacations, I&rsquo;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&rsquo;s the actual cost of going on a deployment, since we&rsquo;re kind of on our own for transportation costs. I may never get the chance to leave my driveway. But now that I&rsquo;m certified, I can at least think about it. Yea! Paw Print City Times &nbsp; After dozens of hours taking a number of FEMA classes with scintillating names like &ldquo;Incident Command System for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents&rdquo;, 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&rsquo;ve been interested in getting certified after reading an incredible book called &ldquo;Rescued: Saving Animals from Disaster&rdquo; 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&rsquo;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&rsquo;d ever been faced with. Anyway, the book made an impact on me, and I&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s a boatload of stuff I have to put together for my &ldquo;deployment bag&rdquo;, which means I&rsquo;ll be eating PB&amp;J for lunch for months to pay for the things I need for it. Plus the shots --- and I hate shots, but I&rsquo;ll get them started next time I&rsquo;m at the doctor&rsquo;s office. And since disasters can&rsquo;t be planned in advance like vacations, I&rsquo;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&rsquo;s the actual cost of going on a deployment, since we&rsquo;re kind of on our own for transportation costs. I may never get the chance to leave my driveway. But now that I&rsquo;m certified, I can at least think about it. Yea! Paw Print City Times &nbsp; en-us <p>Congratulations! Sounds like you've embarked on quite an adventure.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakoblue/25684/#c_230796 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakoblue/25684/#c_230796 <p>Congratulations! Sounds like you've embarked on quite an adventure.</p> <p>Good going.........we have 6 cats and 2 dogs and a turtle so I am happy that there are people like you bakoblue that care.....</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakoblue/25684/#c_230800 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakoblue/25684/#c_230800 <p>Good going.........we have 6 cats and 2 dogs and a turtle so I am happy that there are people like you bakoblue that care.....</p> <p>Wow....CONGRATULATIONS!&nbsp; I'm glad there's people like you who care enough to do something like this.&nbsp; You should be proud of yourself for trying to make a difference.&nbsp; I'm sure a lot of pet owners will be happy too, if/when there is a disaster.&nbsp; Best of luck to you in this endeavor.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakoblue/25684/#c_231074 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakoblue/25684/#c_231074 <p>Wow....CONGRATULATIONS!&nbsp; I'm glad there's people like you who care enough to do something like this.&nbsp; You should be proud of yourself for trying to make a difference.&nbsp; I'm sure a lot of pet owners will be happy too, if/when there is a disaster.&nbsp; Best of luck to you in this endeavor.</p> <p>Awwwww, thanks for the kind words. I'm kind of a romantic when it comes to the idea of helping the helpless. It may not be the grandest dream in the world, but it's mine :o)</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakoblue/25684/#c_232035 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakoblue/25684/#c_232035 <p>Awwwww, thanks for the kind words. I'm kind of a romantic when it comes to the idea of helping the helpless. It may not be the grandest dream in the world, but it's mine :o)</p>