Protecting Animals in Times of Disaster Is Vet’s Pet Project : Preparedness: Al Schwartz hopes his efforts to improve public readiness for emergencies will save the lives of man and beast alike.

When planning for the next time the rivers rise, or the winds whip up wildfires, or the earth begins to shake, few people think of what to do for their pets.

That’s where veterinarian Al Schwartz comes in.

Calling himself the “voice of the voiceless,” Schwartz has helped set up a disaster-response team for dogs, cats and other pets in Ventura County over the past two years. And now he’s trying to encourage pet owners to set up disaster kits for their animals and ready themselves just in case they have to evacuate with their pets.

“We depend on our pets to give us love unconditionally,” he said. “I think they depend on us to help them when a disaster strikes.”

The team of volunteers and veterinarians that Schwartz has helped put together has already been “tested by fire,” as he likes to say.

This year’s floods, last year’s Northridge earthquake and the wildfires that scorched the county two years ago helped local veterinarians and volunteers hone their skills and map out strategies.

The biggest challenge is what to do with the pets of people evacuated from their homes. The Red Cross doesn’t accept animals, and Schwartz said the county’s animal shelter has limited space, so he works with other veterinarians to find kennels and animal hospitals that will house pets during emergencies.

Schwartz acknowledges that all the effort to save animals might seem somewhat misplaced when one looks at the human tragedy during disasters. But he and others say a good plan for pets can also save human lives.

During the fires in the fall of 1993, several people were injured trying to rescue their pets, and one man, filmmaker Duncan Gibbins of Malibu, died trying to rescue his pet Siamese cat, Elsa, which came out of the fire singed but alive.

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Others refused to evacuate threatened areas unless they could take their dogs, cats, birds, fish or horses with them, said Kathy Jenks, director of Ventura County’s Animal Regulation Department.

“You know, I don’t really think it’s about the animals themselves,” said Jenks, who is encouraging the volunteer effort. “But that incident in Malibu shows that if we don’t make some kind of an effort for pets, people won’t leave, and that can strain the resources of emergency teams. The big picture is we save people by saving those pets.”

During January’s floods in Ventura, the local Humane Society hired a helicopter to save a black Labrador retriever named Bear that was stuck on a small piece of land in the Ventura River, while rescue crews fished out homeless people from the raging waters.

The effort to save Bear seemed to garner more public interest than the effort to pluck people from the river, Jenks said.

Perhaps it was because the animal was so helpless that people were touched by the rescue, Schwartz said. Or it could be an indication of something deeper.

“Animals have been man’s companion since man first walked on this planet,” Schwartz said. “There’s a bond there. Who knows, maybe it’s because animals give their love so devotedly to people that people feel they must care for them?”

After the Northridge earthquake, Schwartz helped set up what turned out to be a crowded workshop to help people cope with the loss of their pets in the quake.

There is even a Pet Loss Hotline at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Science, where researchers examine the psychological connections between humans and animals.

“It just shows you how important family pets are to some people,” Schwartz said.

Although the figures are purely anecdotal, Schwartz estimates that at least 30 Ventura County cats, dogs and other household pets were killed in the Northridge earthquake.

Perhaps as many as 500 others were injured in the disaster. About 400 more were missing for several days--spooked by the quake and its many aftershocks.

Veterinarians responded well to the disaster by providing quality care under difficult circumstances, Schwartz said. But he believes that several things must still be done to improve efforts to save pets after disasters.

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The first is to educate people about what they can do to prepare, he said. Pet owners should set aside a “calamity kit” for their animals, including a pet carrier and three days’ worth of pet food, water and medicine. In addition, pets should have identification collars, and owners should have a color picture of the animal in case it gets lost.

Finally, because traditional emergency shelters do not accept pets, Schwartz wants to let people know where they can take their animals if they must evacuate their homes. Often animals are accepted by the county’s shelter in Camarillo, which has room for about 500 dogs and an equal number of cats. During wildfires, when large animals such as horses must be relocated, the department uses the fairgrounds to hold them.

Schwartz also has lists of veterinarians, animal hospitals and kennels that will open their doors during emergencies.

“We’re hoping that people will prepare and become aware that we’re out there ready to help,” Schwartz said.