Your downloading of this manual indicates either your interest in forming a local, first responder group for the rescue and care of animals in a disaster situation, or your interest in addressing some of the more pragmatic issues for a group already in existence.

Please realize that this will always be a work in progress. In fact, this current manual has its roots in Help Us Get Them To Safety, a manual I wrote in June of 1997 as a farewell gift to the local group I founded in the fall of 1988.

During the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I was unable to volunteer at the front lines due to serious health issues. I am thankful to Veterinary Information Network for giving me a place to connect with other veterinarians and veterinary technicians interesting in helping animals, colleagues, friends, and family (and a lot of soon to be friends, as it turned out) living within the disaster zone.

Since that time I have renewed old acquaintances and generated new ones in the process of planning a series of veterinary rounds for VIN and VSPN members and guests involved in the hurricane relief effort.

The rounds transcripts and accompanying material will be placed in an information folder for the future use of VIN and VSPN members; this manual will be included in that folder. I have agreed to create this manual upon the stipulation that it be made available at no charge to anyone interested, not just VIN and VSPN members.

There may be errors in this document - typographical, technical, philosophical, or procedural - and neither VIN nor I can be responsible for any mistakes your group may make based on the information presented. Please take the information and evaluate it in view of your own situation, particularly local and state law.

If you reprint this document in whole or part, please give us the courtesy of an acknowledgement.

If even one group uses this manual to perform successfully during a disaster incident, I will find the effort to type it well spent.

Melissa J. Nixon, DVM
Figaro@saber.net