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Letters: Pet safety is important too

Two of the most important lessons I learned during this time was the importance of having house insurance and preparing pets for evacuation.
seniors-and-pets
Pets are extremely important to seniors and must be part of a disaster plan writes an Optimist reader in response to our Senior Safety magazine.

Editor:

I want to thank the Optimist and the Delta Police for the excellent magazine “Seniors Safety” that was inserted in the March 9th edition. There is however, a lack of information regarding pets and disasters. Pets are extremely important to seniors and must be part of a disaster plan.

I was a disaster management volunteer for 19 years with Emergency Support Service in Delta, the Red Cross, Noah’s Wish and Canadian Disaster Response Team. During that time, I responded with Noah’s Wish to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Gustav, a flood in Minot, ND, forest fires in Lillooet, and West Kelowna housing and rescuing animals. With the Red Cross I responded to a number of disasters in Alberta, Saskatchewan and events in the Lower Mainland. With ESS, I responded to house and apartment fires in Delta and in the Fraser Valley.

Two of the most important lessons I learned during this time was the importance of having house insurance and preparing pets for evacuation.

Many communities in B.C. include pets in their Emergency Preparedness plans. In the event of a large disaster such as a pet friendly apartment building, ESS has designated buildings to house pets for up to 72 hours. ESS works with the Delta Community Animal Shelter, police and fire to ensure pets are housed or rescued.

Fran Cameron