Why does Payne need a CART?
In Payne County we have over 35,000 households and
20,000 of them have at least one pet. According to the AVMA 63% of pet owners consider their pets to be family members!
20,000 of them have at least one pet. According to the AVMA 63% of pet owners consider their pets to be family members!
Payne County also has:
Wildfires. Tornadoes. Floods. Earthquakes.
Potential accidents with livestock trailers.
Potential accidents with livestock trailers.
But we also have:
Hopefully every family has an emergency plan in place, but does your plan also include the animals under your care?
Imagine the pets that depend on you, or the livestock your family depends on, wandering alone, injured, and terrified. All it may take is a damaged fence.
Your resources are already stretched to the limit - you have your family and belongings to secure and can't spend hours looking for the animals. You may not have a place to keep them safe even if you do find them. How will you get them the medical care they need in the midst of the chaos, and if our first responders rescue them, how will your animals find their way to you?
Imagine the pets that depend on you, or the livestock your family depends on, wandering alone, injured, and terrified. All it may take is a damaged fence.
Your resources are already stretched to the limit - you have your family and belongings to secure and can't spend hours looking for the animals. You may not have a place to keep them safe even if you do find them. How will you get them the medical care they need in the midst of the chaos, and if our first responders rescue them, how will your animals find their way to you?
When our dedicated professional emergency responders pull animals from a burning house, or a home or barn that is damaged or destroyed, they don't have the expertise to treat their injuries. They don't have the time, manpower or equipment to keep the animals from running off, or the resources to make sure they are reunited with you, their owners. Although many are trained in animal rescue, their priority must be the people.
Now picture having a central location, staffed by trained veterinary and animal response personnel, volunteering to care for your animals until you can be reunited.
Payne County Animal Response Team, or Payne CART, is a non-profit, specialized team of animal professionals and Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corp credentialed volunteers that respond to animal disasters and emergencies in Payne and surrounding counties in Oklahoma.
PCART currently has several willing team members who are trained to help in responding to disasters, but we are also in desperate need of materials, equipment, additional volunteers, and new training opportunities to help us provide this assistance as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Please explore the pages of our website to learn more about what Payne CART can do for you and your animals, what we will be able to do once we have more materials, equipment, and volunteers, and what YOU can do to help us protect the animals of Payne and surrounding counties. And please make sure you are prepared for the upcoming storm season and wildfires! You will find resources on our page to help you learn what to do.
Pages where you can learn more about PCART, our events, and other animal response teams can be accessed from the dropdown menu at the top of each page.
Thank you for your interest in the animals of Payne County, Oklahoma!
Dr. Daniel J. Burba, DVM
President, PCART
Stacy Mason, PCART Co-Director
And other members of the PCART team
P.S. Keeping pets & people together is our goal! A disaster often rips everything away from a family. Please help make sure the loss of their animal companions or their livelihood is not another burden they must bear.
Pages where you can learn more about PCART, our events, and other animal response teams can be accessed from the dropdown menu at the top of each page.
Thank you for your interest in the animals of Payne County, Oklahoma!
Dr. Daniel J. Burba, DVM
President, PCART
Stacy Mason, PCART Co-Director
And other members of the PCART team
P.S. Keeping pets & people together is our goal! A disaster often rips everything away from a family. Please help make sure the loss of their animal companions or their livelihood is not another burden they must bear.
Resources for statistics:
- https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Statistics/Pages/US-pet-ownership-calculator.aspx
- https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Statistics/Pages/Market-research-statistics-US-pet-ownership.aspx
- U.S. Pet Ownership Statistics - Companion animals | Exotic animals | Formulas/Calculator
- 2012 U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook
Photo credits:
- Photos of emergency responders and animals were provided by Oklahoma State University's Fire Protection Publications Library.
- Photos from the AKC.org website were used with permission.
- Some photos were borrowed from website of organizations that we collaborate with.
- Photos downloaded from the web were listed as "Free to modify, share, and use" or a link to the news organization is included. If in any case an image was used inappropriately, please contact us and the image will be removed.