People have been rescuing animals for many, many years. I have a photograph collection dating back as early as the 1930’s to prove it. What has changed over the years is the improvement of first responder training and it’s availability to animal rescue professionals. What hasn’t changed is the need for trained personnel to respond and the predicaments animals place themselves into. Gone are the dog catcher days with little or no training.

Animal rescue incidents requiring technical skills occur on a daily basis. It might be a cat extrication from city sanitary sewer drains, a horse trapped in deep mud or a dog in a vertical walled canal typical here in South Florida. One is considered a confined space, another might be considered a collapsed trench, another is considered a water incident. All of them requiring different training, skills and equipment. An animal rescue first responder fulfills the same roles as does a first responder responding to a human emergency. The only difference is the species.

Over the last 20 years fire departments throughout the United States have begun to understand the benefit of responding to animal emergencies. It’s great public relations for a department. The National Fire Protection Association now has training standards for animal rescue. It is understood and accepted that many animal rescue incidents are technical in nature requiring a high level of knowledge and training. However animals will always be a low priority incident for most if not all fire-rescue organizations. Their mission is protection and preservation of human life then property. This is why we need teams of dedicated animal rescue personnel separate from city or county emergency services to respond to incidents when other resources aren’t available.

Animal rescue first responders need to understand the importance of having the right mindset and training to execute a successful action plan for all incidents. Their lives may depend on it. The fact is, if properly trained personnel do not respond to an animal emergency, untrained civilians will. At some point it will become a human emergency requiring fire and/or emergency medical first responders.

Why am I saying this? I have been responding to emergencies since 1979, both human and animal. By conservative estimates I have responded to thousands of animal emergency calls for service over the years. It’s very clear to me how much I relied on my experience working for the fire department and ambulance services to successfully accomplish many of those emergencies. I’ve seen many times over the years animal welfare personnel place themselves in life threatening situations without the benefit of proper training, equipment or other human resources. There are OSHA and NFPA requirements and standards for many incidents and situations animals are extricated or rescued from. The message I’m trying to communicate is how important it is for personnel responding to animal emergencies to have the right training. Their lives depend on it.

Big Boss- Rescue Chief/Founder