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Chico volunteer group holds annual training to educate people on animal handling during emergencies

Training sessions in Chico teach people how to handle animals during emergencies
Training sessions in Chico teach people how to handle animals during emergencies 03:06

CHICO — As the fires continue in Southern California, a volunteer group in Chico is preparing for the next fire season. 

The North Valley Animal Disaster Group (NVDAG) holds an annual training to educate people on how to handle animals and pets during an emergency. The training is on January 18 and 19 in Chico. 

"It was recognized long ago that there was a need to help the animals," said Garrett Needles, North Valley Animal Disaster Group executive director. 

Needles said the organization has seen an uptick in people signing up for the annual training, adding that some of that can maybe be attributed to the Los Angeles-area fires

"During a disaster, we want to help and it is a way to help that helps both animals and people," volunteer Kate Leyden. "Both are vulnerable at that moment. It takes training though." 

Needles said there's no shortage of people wanting to help during natural disasters but to be efficient and safe, training and protocols are crucial. 

"Our individuals that are allowed to go into evacuation zones not only have the fire line training to be behind the lines in a fire zone, but they are also fully backgrounded," he said. 

Each volunteer must be vetted.

"Taking care of animals during a disaster is not like taking care of your cat and dog at home," Leyden said. 

Volunteers will learn how to work in animal shelters, how the emergency response network works, critical incident stress management while talking on the hotline, and how to properly care for animals in an emergency environment. 

"When an incident starts, we place 63 people, and of those, only ten have to do with going behind the fire lines," Leyden said. "The others are taking care of the animals. For every ten dogs we have, we need two people, and it's not unusual to have 150 to 160 dogs." 

After volunteers complete the initial training, they'll be able to attend more in-depth monthly trainings until July to specialize in deeper skills. 

"Being an NVADG volunteer is the honor of my life. There is nothing that I've done that means more to me," Leyden said. "If I have a tombstone, it's going to say, 'She was a NVDAG volunteer.' "

Needles said the organization has 12 animal search and rescue members assisting with the fires down in Southern California.

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