Last year I had the opportunity to work with Michael Steele, Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Sparks, Nevada, as part of emergency planning for "Project Impact."

We began developing a pilot project for animal owners including public information, research, web access to disaster preparedness information, and also an equine disaster preparedness workshop.

My personal involvement in this effort includes my role as the publisher of The Horse Review web site at: http://www.horsereview.com

I have designed sections of the site to provide public information about equine disaster preparedness. I am also a horse owner and equestrian so I know first hand the needs of my readers.

This month I am pleased to announce that  KOLO TV 8 in Nevada www.kolotv.com and Landess Witmer, publisher of Petfolio Magazine, and The Horse Review have joined together to post public information. The Horse Review will host equine, large animal, wildlife and other animal disaster preparedness information. Ms. Witmer’s website, www.petfoliomagazine.com, will also post  pet disaster preparedness articles.

Our research uncovered some very startling facts.
First and utmost is that if a natural or man-made disaster occurs in Northern Nevada, no special needs facilities exist for us to take our horses or pets to safety.

The National Humane Society reported in their Animal Disaster Report, published in the summer of 1996, that 70% of dog and 62% of cat owners would risk their own lives to save their pets! Remember the incredible firestorm in Malibu, California in 1993? None of the thousands of firefighters involved were killed, and none of the homeowners were killed during the evacuation, except for one man who went back into the fire area to try and save his cat.

Our research also shows that only five percent (5%) or less of those evacuating with animals would actually TRY to find a special assistance shelter for animals.

Our goal is to provide public information to animal owners to assist them in developing disaster preparedness plans before a disaster strikes.

There is a critical point in history when immediate action is called for to resolve a crisis. There is now a crisis facing horse owners in Nevada, and that is the lack of structure for protecting horses and other animals before, during and after a disaster.

Yes, there are parts of the puzzle all around us and many people are at last interested in discovering how to put it all together.

We have now reached what the French called a thermador--when the heat of public outcry has reached the boiling point. We saw such an outcry during the recent senseless slaughter of our 34 stray horses.

No one needs to be convinced after floods and fires have challenged us all in the 1990's.

The number of horses and owners continues to increase, but the size of resources to handle warnings, evacuations, and sheltering is actually decreasing. Yet the resources do exist --if they were all pulled together.

I am a believer in studying lessons from history, including the folk stories of how others faced and weathered adversity.

There is a story of troops coming through a village after the napoleonic wars. They were hungry and had no food. The villagers would give them nothing. So, they asked for a pot and began to make stone soup. The villagers laughed but watched. The soldiers tasted the hot water after the rocks had cooked for a while. The soldiers sipped the broth and remarked at its taste, but how much better it would be with just one more ingredient--a little salt! The villagers laughed, but someone found just a pinch of salt to add. Suddenly, there was a little onion. Later, a bit of carrot and celery appeared in the pot. The villagers eventually filled the pot with a delightful stew that fed the entire village as well as the soldiers. How they all remembered that delightful stone soup!

No one knew where all the ingredients were before the soldiers started cooking the soup. But, the ingredients appeared and there was enough to feed everyone.

Well, here we are. We are all hungry to solve the problem in front of us. Each of us has a little bit to add. What a wonderful thing it would be if there were a pot to hold all the wonderful resources in the Truckee Meadows area to save and protect horses and our beloved pets before, during and after disaster. If there were only a way to bring everyone together to find a way to fill the pot.

There is a way.

We can form a plan that brings together all of the ideas and resources of our community, from the Pony Club to the Emergency Management Coordinators.

And what is the broth we will need to hold the soup together? The veterinarians.

And who needs to support the veterinarians, to keep the plan together? The horse owners, stables, clubs and associations are the source of that critical support.

It's time to fit it all together.

California is putting their plan together. Oregon is planning the same. Indiana and Florida have already had working plans together for years. Now it is time for Nevada’s plan.

We hope that the March Equine Disaster Preparedness workshop will start the process in Nevada. We'll be starting the stone soup, by bringing all the best ingredients together.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to surf to the "Disaster Preparedness" sections of the The Horse Review and PetFolio Magazine on-line, I invite you to take a few minutes to review the links and articles.

If a flood, earthquake, fire or man-caused emergency strikes, the steps you’ve taken ahead of time to protect the safety and well-being of your animals can mean the difference between their life and death!

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