By Rebecca Goldfine,Staff Writer

Oxford County will soon have an animal rescue team to help creatures great and small affected by disasters, from gerbils to cows, say organizers.

Scott Parker, director of Oxford County’s Emergency Management Agency, said, “There is not that support system embedded in the community like there is for people. We need to develop that infrastructure.” He said a nucleus of local people, with support from the state, is working to put the unit in place by winter.

Images of pets left behind after Hurricane Katrina flooded the Gulf Coast have increased people’s interest in rescuing animals in disaster areas. And the widespread evacuations after Maine’s ice storm in 1998 have also made it more apparent that a crisis plan for animals is needed.

Dr. Donald Hoenig, state veterinarian, said it is not just a humane impulse to rescue animals, but often a necessary move to get pet owners to leave their homes. “The main reason people don’t evacuate when they should is because there is no provision for their animals,” he said. American Red Cross shelters do not accept animals.

Lynette Miller of Maine’s Emergency Management Agency also said that “It could be a public safety problem if you have untended animals in a public area.”

Hoenig said the state used homeland security money to hire Dr. Elizabeth Stone last year to assemble a Maine animal response team, nicknamed SMART. Stone was unavailable for an interview Monday.

Part of Stone’s work is to counsel local animal teams on how to deal with calamitous events, Hoenig said. “All of the response is handled locally,” he said. “What kind of shelters we have for dogs, where do we bring a herd of dairy cows if their farm is about to be flooded, how do we make provisions for power outages for dairy cows.”

On Oct. 18, the state will hold a conference in Augusta to discuss animal response strategies on the county level.

Robert Bohlmann, director of York County’s emergency agency, four years ago set up an animal response unit that many people point to as a model. “We have an animal team to put shelters up, vets who do inoculations, and we can do animal first aid,” he said.

Caryl McIntire Edwards of Paris, who is executive director of Voice for Animals, said animal response units will collaborate with emergency teams in their areas, and volunteers should be certified in animal evacuation. She said developing pet shelters close to human shelters is a priority, because both people and their animals are comforted by being close to each other when they cannot be at home together.

Kris McAllister, who owns The Little Jungle pet shop in Paris, said volunteers will be taking a survey to see what local equipment is available to rescue animals.

“We’re not going to go hog wild,” she said. “Realistically, a bunch of us here have large trucks, and we’ll look for people who have trucks.”

She said, too, that the team will search for barns and facilities that could be converted into temporary shelters for livestock and indoor animals. Also, a large number of volunteers will be needed to respond to calls, and they will have to be trained for all sorts of possibilities, from hurricanes to hazardous waste emergencies, she said.

Meanwhile, Edwards said pet owners should prepare in advance.

In a letter Edwards wrote to the county’s emergency agency, she said “We owe it to these wonderful creatures who ask so little and give so much to have a plan for their survival and well-being in place so that we can enjoy their presence within our family circle for many years to come.”