FVSU holds disaster response training for veterinary professionals

FORT VALLEY -- More than 50 veterinary professionals from across the country are expected to gather Saturday and Sunday at Fort Valley State University for disaster response training.

The American Veterinary Medical Association will use the O'Neal Veterinary Science Building as a site to train its veterinary medical assistance teams. Each team is made up of four to six volunteers consisting of veterinarians, veterinary technicians and other animal care specialists.

These first-response teams are trained to provide care to animals in case of disaster or emergencies and are available upon request from state authorities.

"Nowadays, many family members consider their pets family," said Anna Ellis, a veterinary technician for FVSU's Department of Veterinary Sciences. "So, it's important for them to know that there are places they can go and seek help and people to assist them whether they're in an affected area or they have been evacuated."

On Sunday, a live exercise is scheduled to take place from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. It will include the setting up of a mock shelter at the university's State Animal Facility for Emergencies Center.

The 7,800-square-foot facility is a state-designated shelter for animals in the event of a natural disaster, terroristic attack or other event when temporary housing of animals is needed. The center has cages for up to 80 cats and 105 dogs, and can hold up to 30 horses. It also has fenced pasture areas.

"Some of the drills and hands-on exercises will cover post-disaster site assessments, large animal handling and veterinary medicine triage considerations," said Ellis, who served on a team helping animals on the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 10:18 PM with the headline "FVSU holds disaster response training for veterinary professionals ."