Pulse - October 2023 - 15

UC DAVIS UPDATE
California Veterinary
Emergency Team Ready to
Help Animals in Wildfires
Amy Quinton and Rob Warren, UC Davis
E
vacuating, sheltering, and
caring for animals are
enormous tasks made more difficult
in a state under siege from
wildfires. But the California Veterinary
Emergency Team (CVET)
is ready to lead a statewide
coordinated effort to provide
veterinary care when disasters
like wildfires strike.
Administered by the UC Davis School of
Veterinary Medicine, CVET supports and
trains a network of government agencies and
organizations to aid domestic animals and
livestock during emergencies. This fire season,
CVET is ready to assist counties across
the state with veterinary rescue and care when
local resources have been exhausted and state
assistance is needed.
" We are 100% ready to deploy and respond
should a wildfire or any other disaster
require veterinary response or assistance, "
said William Burke, associate director of
planning for CVET.
Burke said CVET is equipped with 22-foot
and 24-foot trailers that will serve as mobile
in-field hospitals and exam rooms for injured
animals, as well as a horse trailer and several
vehicles. A 44-foot trailer is currently being
retrofitted to provide additional exam space
as well as sleeping quarters for veterinarians
should the team be called to a remote location.
The goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible,
whether responding to wildfires, flooding, or
other disasters.
" Having ready-to-go resources on hand allows
our veterinary team to show up with the
resources they need to provide exceptional veterinary
care in the field, treating burns, injuries,
and other conditions as the need arises, "
said Dr. Ashley Patterson, associate director of
operations for CVET.
With an increasing need for coordinated
veterinary care during emergencies throughout
PULSE
OCTOBER 2023
An alpaca receives care at the UC Davis veterinary hospital after the LNU Lightning Complex Fire
in 2020.
the state, the California Legislature passed a
bill forming CVET in 2021. The team is modeled
after the UC Davis Oiled Wildlife Care
Network (OWCN), which works with the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
and more than 45 organizations throughout
the state to help rescue and treat injured wildlife
during oil spills. Its more than 1,600 active
responders have cared for more than 10,000
oiled animals in more than 100 incidents since
inception in 1994.
According to CVET Director Dr. Michael
Ziccardi, OWCN's history has shown that
proactive partnerships with animal care professionals,
scientific organizations, universities,
and governmental organizations can be
tremendously successful.
Since forming, CVET has partnered with
a variety of state agencies, nongovernmental
organizations, and veterinary medical associations.
CVET works in close collaboration
with California's Office of Emergency Services,
the California Department of Food and
Agriculture, the California Animal Response
Emergency System, the California Veterinary
Medical Reserve Corps, and many other response
organizations throughout the state.
With the formation of CVET, the personnel,
equipment, knowledge, and legacy of the
previous UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response
Team (VERT) was folded into CVET.
This expanded UC Davis' veterinary disaster
response capacity from a local county effort to
a statewide response. VERT typically triaged,
evaluated, treated, or rescued more than 1,000
animals every wildfire season.
If you are a veterinary professional and would
like to learn more about joining CVET as a responder,
please email: cvet@ucdavis.edu. P
15

Pulse - October 2023

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