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June2012
sSaberTails
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andnoheat—fordays.
TherewasaRedCross-administeredshelterformytown,but
pursuanttoRedCrossrulesnopetswereallowed.Likemany
people,Irefusedtoabandonmypetsinahousegetting
evercolder.Seekingtobepartofasolutionandnotmerely
complain,Ijoinedmytown’sCommunityEmergency
ResponseTeam(CERT)andreceivedtrainingonhelping
duringemergencies,largeandsmall.
InJune2010ItookacoursegivenbytheUniversityof
AlbanySchoolofPublicHealth,dealingwithEmergencyAnimal
Sheltering.Following2005’sHurricaneKatrina,inwhichmany
peoplewereseparatedfromtheirpetsordelayedbeingrescued
withouttheirpets(generallynotallowedinsheltersthen),
CongresspassedtheFederalPetsEvacuationandTransportation
StandardsActof2006(PETSAct)requiringstateandlocal
emergencypreparednessoperationalplanstodealwiththe
needsofindividualswithpets,includingrescue,care,sheltering
andessentialassistancetopeoplewithcompanionanimals.
IfoundthatfiveyearsafterKatrina,fouryearsafterthe
PETSActwasenacted,in2010theStateofNewYorkandthe
countiesinitscapitalregionwerejuststartingtotakebaby
stepstoimplementproceduresandacquireequipmentfor
rescuingandshelteringpets.Thatprocessisnowmuchfarther
along.ThispastAprilIattendedatwo-dayseminaronDisaster
ShelteringforCompanionAnimalsgivenbytheAmerican
HumaneAssociationatmycounty’semergencyandtraining
facility.WhilethereIsawtheadjacentnewcountyanimal
shelter,builtabouttwoyearsago,whichhasmorethanenough
capacitytobearesourceforshelteringpetsinanemergency.
Thecountyalsohasafull-sizedtrailerthatisstockedwith
cratesandotherequipmentandmaterialneededtotakecare
ofpets,whichcanbetakentothesiteofalocalemergency
shelter.Thecourseinvolvedmuchmoredetailfordisaster
planningtoincludepets.Eachcommunityneedstosetupits
ownplansforsheltering,makinguseoflocalfacilitiesthatwill
likelybeavailableinanemergency.
Itisnowrecognizedthatitisusuallypreferabletohave
“co-locationsheltering”wheretheanimals’ownerscanbe
shelteredneartoashelterfortheirpetsandoftentakeover
muchoftheresponsibilityofcaringfortheirownanimals.
Ihopetobeabletoworkwiththedirectorofmytown’sCERT
tomakeplansforthetownsothatinfutureemergency
situationsbothpeopleandtheirpetswillbeaccommodated.
***
LasVegasin2015!KathyZavodjancik,whohaspreviously
chairedaPBGVCAnationalandwesternregionalspecialty,has
volunteeredtodoitagain,thistimeinLasVegas.Datesaren't
yetfirmedup,butshehasspokenwithahotelthatlooks
quiteniceandislocatednexttoahotelthathasplentyof
opportunitiesforbetting.Plus,ofcourse,alltheother
attractionsofthecitywillbeavailable.
***
AsIsaidinmylastcolumn,earlyinDecembermyfirst
PBGV,Kiki,hadtobeputtosleepattheageof13-
1
/
2
.Iwas
devastatedbyherloss,butIknewI’dwanttogetanotherPBGV
toaddtomyhousehold.InMarchIdrovetoConnecticutand
returnedwithapupfromJeanneandCharlesHurty.Susieisa
delight.Sheisspunky,prettyandsmartandagoodcompanion
forBernie,whoisnow10,andforme.Bernieisnowrunning
aroundmorethanhehasinyears.Susieisalsoanincompletely
housetrainedpuppy,withallthatimplies.Sheisawork
inprogress!
IhopetotrainSusieforrallyandagility.Andit’spossible
thatSusiemayprovidemyintroductiontotheconformation
ring.Strangerthingshavehappened!
s
PBGVCAPresidentBobCohenresidesinBallstonLake,N.Y.Hecan
bereachedatbobcohen03@gmail.com.
sPBGVHealthWatch
T
heHealthCommitteeneedshealth
informationonshowdogsandpets,
youngandold,withsicknessandin
goodhealth.
Forthepastyear,thePBGVCAHealth
Committeehasbeenconductingashort-
formhealthsurvey.Thedataarebeing
collectedtohelptheHealthCommittee
learnwhichdisordersareprevalentinour
breed.Identificationisacriticalfirststep
incontrollingandultimatelyeliminating
thesemaladiesinourhounds.
Youcanhelp—pleasetakeThe
ZoeChallenge!
Foreverysurveysubmitted,JerryFaust
andLauraLiscumwilldonate$1tothe
PBGVHealth&RescueFoundationin
theirpuppyZoe’sname.
Surveysareneededonasmany
PBGVsaspossible,notjustfromclub
members.PleaseencourageallPBGV
ownersthatyouknowtoparticipate.
Short-formhealthsurveyscanbe
obtainedonlinehere:
http://www.pbgv.org/Health/
HealthCommitteeProjects.shtml
#shortformhealth
Completedsurveysshouldbesentto
LaurenKovaleff,assistantchairofthe
HealthCommittee,at1828BarsacCt.,
Brentwood,CA94513orsubmittedvia
e-mailtolkova@comcast.net.
TheZoeChallengewillendon
Sept.30,2012.Thankyou!
s
TakeTheZoeChallenge!
Zoe,namesakeof
TheZoeChallenge.