Our mission is to lead collaborative veterinary response efforts to provide exceptional and compassionate care to animals and their families during disasters.
From an identified need of a coordinated approach to veterinary care during disasters, dedicated lawmakers, concerned disaster responders, and a passionate, caring public advocated for the development of CVET to provide veterinary care to animals in disasters wherever they strike in the state of California. The program, administered by the UC Davis One Health Institute (OHI) within the School of Veterinary Medicine, supports and trains a network of government agencies, individuals, and organizations to aid household and domestic animals and livestock during emergencies. CVET has a memorandum of understanding in place with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to oversee veterinary care throughout the state during disasters. In addition, CVET also has memoranda of agreement with the California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps (CAVMRC) and the Northern Association of Equine Practitioners (NCAEP) to provide a collaborative response effort of veterinary professionals during disasters.
The OHI is home to the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership founded in 1994 with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Through 45+ member organizations, the network mobilizes experts and volunteers to rescue and rehabilitate wildlife during oil spills, making California a leader in emergency response for animals in crisis. By adopting this successful template, CVET is similarly becoming a model for response to natural disasters whenever and wherever they may occur.
Addressing the Need
With the establishment of CVET, the program is improving the state’s animal disaster response capacity by standardizing trainings and protocols across California’s 58 counties and coordinating with animal response organizations to provide a unified response. CVET has also facilitated an ongoing effort to evaluate the current animal response capabilities within each county to better understand both the animal and veterinary needs. Findings from these outreach efforts can be found on the CVET website.
CVET has also established a roster of veterinary professional volunteers to respond during disasters. This roster is continuously growing as the team continues additional outreach and provides educational events to the veterinary community. Members of the CVET roster have access to a growing library of training courses inclusive of the basics of CVET operations, mission specific operations, and training requirements for the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Veterinary First Responder Certificate Program.
Between disasters, the team actively recruits, trains, and exercises affiliated veterinarians and veterinary facilities, students, animal health professionals, and collaborating organizations; conducts necessary research to promote “best practices” during disaster response; and proactively establishes preparedness plans, response resources, and mutual aid agreements for shelter and emergency medicine.