American Humane’s Rescue Big Rig to “roll” to South Jersey in
event of a disaster thanks to partnership with Camden Co. OEM
                          Care of local animals during disaster, emergencies assured
CAMDEN COUNTY –  June will mark the one-year anniversary of a partnership forged between Camden County’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and American Humane™(AH) in Denver, CO  to ensure the safety, rescue and care of local animals in the event of a natural disaster or emergency situation.
According to Kathy McGuire, president of New Jersey Aid for Animals (NJAFA)  this first-ever official commitment of cooperation (through a Memorandum of Understanding) between the Department of Public Safety’s OEM and  AH assures a win-win situation for Camden County  residents and their pets, as well as rescue personnel and agencies that provide disaster services.

“As we approach the first anniversary of this official partnership, we at NJAFA are thrilled that local government has established this valuable relationship and commitment to cooperation with the American Humane which will hugely benefit people and organizations across the board,” McGuire points out.
The idea for the partnership was conceived when McGuire and Karen Ash, an NJAFA advisory board member, asked American Humane to send its mobile disaster animal rescue and service unit, dubbed “The Rescue Big Rig,” to Camden City in March,  2008.  Over the weekend, the Rig that houses a full surgical suite onboard was headquartered at the Susquehanna Center on the waterfront (old Tweeter Center).   NJAFA vets and volunteers performed free spaying and neutering services to dogs and cats of Camden City residents and provided community education on the importance of altering pets. 

 This fully equipped, 82-foot van is highly customized to help animals in disaster situations. Equipped with living accommodations for up to l2 volunteers, the mobile command center features a satellite dish, and rescue and assistance equipment for flood situations.
 “The difference between this spay and neuter effort for animals and many others we’ve offered is that the Rescue Rig allowed us to boost our sheer numbers of free services because of its state of the art equipment and our volunteer staff.

The weekend event gave McGuire the idea for an official partnership with Camden County’s Office of Emergency Management headed by the late Don Elmer, whose coordination efforts were very instrumental in helping secure a site for the “Rig” and facilitate the Memorandum of Understanding with the Freeholders.
“NJAFA is thrilled that Camden County animals will be provided rescue and care during a disaster situation” McGuire explains. “Also, the mobilization of OEM’s all-volunteer County Animal Rescue Team (CART) will be a valuable asset to help stabilize a disaster situation.”

The 35-40 member CART has been in place for the last seven years and is one of the most active teams in the state. CART volunteers are specially trained in National Incident Management System courses to go into homes in the event of a disaster to turn off gas and water, fight small fires and perform other “band-aid type” procedures, to preserve the home.  OEM officials say that, depending on the size of the disaster, a regional effort would be coordinated.  In the case of a large-scale disaster, the CART team would be joined by two other counties such as Burlington and Gloucester to combine forces and make it a regional effort.

Volunteer membership in CART is open to anyone interested in the welfare of animals. Members are animal rescue workers, game wardens, veterinarians – there is no prerequisite.   For more information about the partnership between Camden County OEM and the American Humane™  please contact Ron Tomasello, at rtom@camdencounty.com or call (856)225-5432.   To find out how to get involved with NJAFA, please call McGuire at (856) 498-3978 or visit  www.njafa.org      To volunteer for CART please contact gmartin@camdencounty.com