Kentucky Large Animal Emergency Response Team Up and Running

Lexington, KY - Kentucky Large Animal Emergency Response Team (KLAER), a 501C non-profit organization, providing emergency response to horses and other large animals involved in emergency situations is now in service. On call 24 hours a day, seven days per week, KLAER responds to any type of emergency that involves large animals, focusing on equines, at no cost to the victim¡¦s owner. Typical emergency incidents include horses falling in sink holes or wells, getting stuck in the mud, trailer accidents, and downed horses on sides of cliffs or in ravines. In many of these situations, owners and other lay people place themselves in harms way to attempt a rescue. KLAER¡¦s mission involves helping save lives of both humans and large animals.

KLAER is comprised of a membership of highly trained equine veterinarians and technicians, emergency first responders, and individuals in the horse industry that have been certified in technical large animal emergency response.

"It's comforting to know so many people care about the welfare of horses and other large animals, especially when an emergency situation happens," says KLAER president, LaTonna Wilson, Director of Public Relations and Marketing at Rood & Riddle Veterinary Pharmacy, "Together, we're able to respond and help people when their animals are in danger."

To provide equipment and continuous opportunities for training, KLAER depends on the generousity of the public with donations and membership dues. There are two types of membership.

Active Membership: Individuals interested in volunteering their time by actively responding to emergencies when deployed. There is no membership fee. Completion of KLAER¡¦s Large Animal Emergency Response Course, 16 hours of rope rescue and four hours of incident command training are the minimum requirement for active participation. All those interested may join as an active member and begin training at monthly meetings taught by KLAER instructors, but will not be called out for active response until these requirements have been emet. Continuous training is imperative for all active KLAER members so all vital skills and procedures needed during large animal rescues are efficiently and effectively carried out.

Supporting membership. This is for interested individuals who would like to be supportive of KLAER¡¦s efforts, but not interested in actively responding. The membership fee is $35.00 per year, and all members will receive a KLAER Supporting Member decal and be welcome to attend monthly training meetings and special events and demonstrations.

When an emergency occurs, the best thing for the public to do is call 911. Typically, 911 will dispatch local emergency responders to such incidents. If they do not have the knowledge, manpower or equipment to assist in large animal rescue, they should contact State Emergency Management and request the assistance of KLAER. Individual owners may also make a request to those responders to contact State Emergency Management for KLAER dispatch. A KLAER volunteer response team will be deployed immediately to the site of the incident.

For more information on KLAER and the services it provides in helping horses and other animals, please visit the website at: www.kyanimalresponse.org or contact LaTonna Wilson: latonnaw@yahoo.com (859) 983-2820.

Source: www.kyhorsepark.com