Red Paw Emergency Relief Team

Last updated
Red Paw Emergency Relief Team
Founded2011 (2011)
FounderJennifer Leary
Type 501(c)(3)
45-2973875
Headquarters1328 S 24th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Area served
Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania
Key people
Lori Albright (COO and President)
Revenue
Donations and grants
Website redpawemergencyreliefteam.org

Red Paw Emergency Relief Team is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit emergency service dedicated to helping pets displaced by house fires and other residential disasters. [1] Their goal is to reunite pets with their families once they have recovered and reduce the number of animals surrendered to shelters due to sudden hardship. The team works with local chapters of the American Red Cross, [2] fire departments, and other disaster relief organizations to provide search and rescue, emergency transport, veterinary care, shelter and supplies for affected pets, at no cost to their owners. [3]

Contents

History

Red Paw Emergency Relief Team was conceived as a pilot program to develop a new kind of emergency response resource for animals. [4] In 2006, the United States Congress recognized the importance of including pets in mass disaster planning with the passage of the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, but no similar provision exists for victims of smaller scale disasters at the household level.

Founder Jennifer Leary states that she was inspired to start Red Paw while a firefighter with the Philadelphia Fire Department after seeing how little help was available to pet owners in the aftermath of devastating house fires. [5] Many local relief organizations offer temporary housing assistance for displaced people, but none include accommodations for pets. In particular, low income and uninsured families faced the difficult decision of leaving their pets behind in the ruined fire dwelling or surrendering them to animal control.

In 2011, Leary presented a proposal to the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania for an emergency service that would respond with the Red Cross and other relief agencies on the scene of household disasters where pets were involved. [6] After months of preparation, Red Paw officially launched on July 25, 2011, and had its first clients—a family with six pit bull terriers—in a matter of hours. [7]

In spite of the Red Paw pilot being originally intended to serve Philadelphia exclusively, demand from surrounding suburban counties caused the group to expand quickly beyond the city limits. [8]

For her efforts in establishing Red Paw, Leary was profiled by CNN as part of its CNN Heroes series in 2014. [9]

In March 2014, Red Paw Emergency Relief Team was added to the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management’s disaster plan. [10] [11]

On April 24, 2014, the Philadelphia City Council honored Leary with a resolution for the founding of Red Paw and the organization’s contributions to the community. [12]

In the summer of 2014, the Office of Emergency Management requested Red Paw’s assistance to shelter neighborhood pets during the controlled implosion of the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s Queen Lane Apartments on September 13, 2014. [13]

On April 13, 2015, the City of Philadelphia recognized Red Paw volunteers for National Volunteer Week. [14] [15]

In May 2015, Red Paw received a grant from NRG Energy subsidiary NRG Home for a new lead response vehicle. [16]

On April 10, 2016, the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management declared Red Paw its "volunteers of the week" for National Volunteer Week. [17] [18]

Services

Red Paw Emergency Relief Team is a volunteer-based organization that responds 24/7, 365 days a year. [19] It operates mainly in the Pennsylvania counties of Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware, with some services extended to neighboring counties and states in the Delaware Valley.

Red Paw is called when residents with pets are displaced by a disaster affecting their home, such as fire, flood, collapse, explosion, natural gas or carbon monoxide leak, or other hazardous incident. [20] The team provides search and rescue, emergency transportation and veterinary care for injured animals, and temporary boarding assistance.

While in Red Paw care, animals receive wellness exams, vaccinations, and spay/neuter services, free of charge. Pets are then placed with volunteer fosters until they can be reunited with their owners. [21]

For specialist services, the team maintains partnerships with animal care providers—including veterinary hospitals, kennels, boarding and training facilities—in every county that it serves. [22] [23]

In addition to providing emergency relief, Red Paw conducts volunteer training and public outreach and participates in fire safety and animal welfare events. [24] The organization makes extensive use of social media to report its activities, promote emergency preparedness, fund raise, and recruit volunteers. [25]

Governance

A 501(c)(3) charitable organization, Red Paw Emergency Relief Team is funded through donations and grants. The team's leadership consists of two full-time staff and seven volunteer coordinators, who manage client and animal casework, fostering, adoptions, in-kind donations and events. [26] Two per-diem emergency responders perform search and rescue and transport animals from the disaster scene. Red Paw's eleven-member advisory board is composed of representatives from the emergency services and animal welfare communities. A network of 500 volunteers train as emergency responders and support the team by fostering pets, staffing events, and transporting animals and supplies. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency management</span> Dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies

Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actually focus on the management of emergencies, which can be understood as minor events with limited impacts and are managed through the day-to-day functions of a community. Instead, emergency management focuses on the management of disasters, which are events that produce more impacts than a community can handle on its own. The management of disasters tends to require some combination of activity from individuals and households, organizations, local, and/or higher levels of government. Although many different terminologies exist globally, the activities of emergency management can be generally categorized into preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery, although other terms such as disaster risk reduction and prevention are also common. The outcome of emergency management is to prevent disasters and where this is not possible, to reduce their harmful impacts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster response</span> Second phase of the disaster management cycle

Disaster response refers to the actions taken directly before, during or in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. The objective is to save lives, ensure health and safety and to meet the subsistence needs of the people affected. This includes warning/evacuation, search and rescue, providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance and the immediate restoration or construction of infrastructure. The aim of emergency response is to provide immediate assistance to maintain life, improve health and support the morale of the affected population. Such assistance may range from providing specific but limited aid, such as assisting refugees with transport, temporary shelter, and food to establishing semi-permanent settlements in camps and other locations. It also may involve initial repairs to damage or diversion to infrastructure.

Many countries and international organizations offered the United States relief aid in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Katrina disaster relief</span>

The disaster recovery response to Hurricane Katrina in late 2005 included U.S. federal government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), state and local-level agencies, federal and National Guard soldiers, non-governmental organizations, charities, and private individuals. Tens of thousands of volunteers and troops responded or were deployed to the disaster; most in the affected area but also throughout the U.S. at shelters set up in at least 19 states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Search and rescue dog</span> Dog trained to locate or retrieve a missing or trapped person

A search-and-rescue dog is one trained to find missing people after a natural or man-made disaster. The dogs detect human scent and have been known to find people under water, under snow, and under collapsed buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Red Cross</span> American nonprofit humanitarian organization

The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the designated US affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the United States movement to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

In American law enforcement, the Emergency Service Unit, or ESU, is a multi-faceted element within a law enforcement agency’s Special Operations Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire and Rescue New South Wales</span> Emergency service in New South Wales, Australia

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) previously known as NSW Fire Brigades (NSWFB), is an agency of the Government of New South Wales, Australia, is responsible for firefighting, rescue and HazMat services in the major cities, metropolitan areas and towns across New South Wales. Fire and Rescue NSW is the fourth largest urban fire service in the world, with over 6,800 firefighters serving at 335 fire stations throughout the state, supported by 465 administrative and trades staff and 5,700 community fire unit volunteers. FRNSW are the busiest fire service in Australia, attending over 124,000 incidents a year.

The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR), formerly Emergency Management BC (EMBC), is a provincial government department in the Canadian province of British Columbia. EMCR works with local governments and other provincial and federal agencies year round, providing coordination and support before, during and after emergencies. EMCR is administered under the Emergency Program Act.

Citizen Corps is a program under the Department of Homeland Security that provides training for the population of the United States to assist in the recovery after a disaster or terrorist attack. Each local Citizen Corps Council partners with organizations, volunteers and businesses to organize responders, volunteers and professional first responders for an efficient response so efforts are not wasted by being duplicated. By training in Incident Command, volunteers know whom to report to and how the incident is organized. This prevents sites from being inundated by untrained and unprepared personnel preventing operation. Citizen Corps also works in conjunction with the Corporation for National and Community Service in promoting national service opportunities for promoting homeland security needs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Red Cross</span> New Zealand humanitarian organization

New Zealand Red Cross or Rīpeka Whero Aotearoa is a humanitarian organisation, which has more than 15,000 members and volunteers. In New Zealand, Red Cross delivers core community services, such as Meals on Wheels, Community Transport, Refugee Services, first aid courses and emergency management operations. Internationally, New Zealand Red Cross sends aid workers overseas to assist in areas where humanitarian assistance is needed; this includes disaster preparedness and response. In 2013, 17 workers were sent to the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan and in 2014, 18 New Zealand aid workers responded to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine Animal Welfare Society</span> Organization

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a volunteer-based, non-government organization whose goal is to prevent animal cruelty through education, animal sheltering and advocacy, based in Quezon City, Philippines. It was founded in 1954 by Muriel Jay. PAWS believes that the creation of a more peaceful society starts with the widening of mankind's circle of compassion which includes animals, thereby envisions a nation that respects animals, practices responsible pet ownership and protects wildlife. The volunteer-based organization rehabilitates these animals in the hope of finding them new homes and a second chance at a good life. PAWS does not take in pets of other people, but only victims of cruelty or neglect where the animal offenders are charged with violation of the Animal Welfare Act in court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensland Fire and Emergency Services</span> State fire and emergency service in Queensland, Australia

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) is the primary provider of fire and emergency services in Queensland, Australia. The QFES was established in 2013 to improve the coordination and planning of emergency services, adopting an "all hazards" approach to emergency management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humanitarian response by non-governmental organizations to the 2010 Haiti earthquake</span>

The humanitarian responses by non-governmental organizations to the 2010 Haiti earthquake included many organisations, such as international, religious, and regionally based NGOs, which immediately pledged support in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Besides a large multi-contingency contribution by national governments, NGOs contributed significantly to both on-the-ground rescue efforts and external solicitation of aid for the rescue efforts.

Many countries around the world have civil defense organizations dedicated to protecting civilians from military attacks and providing rescue services after widespread disasters. In most countries, civil defense is a government-managed and often volunteer-staffed organization.

The San Rafael Fire Department (SRFD) provides fire and emergency medical services to the City of San Rafael, California. The San Rafael Fire Department serves an estimated population of 72,000 people with approximately 70 firefighting and emergency medical field personnel. The ISO Class 1 department responds to, on average, approximately 9,000 emergency calls annually, with about 70% being emergency medical calls. EMS patients are transported to the hospital of their choice, unless the call is urgent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PetSmart Charities</span>

PetSmart Charities and PetSmart Charities of Canada, are non-profit organizations dedicated to saving the lives of homeless pets. In the United States, PetSmart Charities is the largest financial supporter of animal welfare and among the 400 largest philanthropic organizations working on any issue. PetSmart Charities was formed in 1994 by PetSmart founders Jim and Janice Dougherty, who chose never to sell dogs and cats within their stores. Their primary goal is to save the lives of homeless pets through programs such as their In-Store Adoption Centers in many PetSmart locations, Rescue Waggin' disaster relief program, grant program for animal welfare agencies across North America, and community adoption events. Another focus of the organization is increasing spay/neuter services to help communities solve the problem of pet overpopulation.

Red Star Rescue is a program run by the American Humane Association. The purpose of the program is to send volunteer responders to rescue animals in the event of a disaster, or from animal cruelty. The Red Star Rescue team is trained to handle a variety of catastrophes, and they carry resources to set up and operate temporary shelters. The team has nearly 200 volunteers nationwide. In the past five years, Red Star Rescue has saved and sheltered 64,000 pets.

RedRover is an animal welfare nonprofit that focuses on bringing animals from crisis to care and strengthening the human-animal bond. It was founded in Sacramento, California in 1987. It is not affiliated with United Animal Nations (International) based in Switzerland.

The Sato Project is an animal rescue and protection organization founded in 2011 by British-born Christina Beckles. It works to rescue abused and abandoned dogs in Puerto Rico, educating the public and advocating for abused and abandoned dogs. "Sato" is the Spanish word used in Puerto Rico and Cuba for referring to stray dogs or cats. Many of the project's missions have involved airlifting dogs before and after natural disasters, including Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the earthquakes that struck Puerto Rico in 2019 and 2020. "Spayathon" is a spaying and neutering program, attended by Sato Project and other animal rights organizations in Puerto Rico, which has had an impact on the stray dog population.

References

  1. ↑ "Red Paw Mission". Red Paw Emergency Relief Team. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ American Red Cross (August 31, 2012). "Red Cross and Red Paw Emergency Relief Celebrate Partnership" (Press release). American Red Cross. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Pa. Group Gives Helping Paw to Displaced Pets". USA Today . Associated Press . Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  4. ↑ Barnea, Matan; Nowak, Erin & Trainer, Megan (Winter 2013). "Innovation Responds: Red Paw Emergency Relief". Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal. No. 16. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  5. ↑ Shaw, Steven (October 27, 2011). "Scuttlebutt 12/11: Firefighter Lends a Helping 'Paw'". Firehouse. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ Ferguson, Gailynne M. (August 8, 2013). "Red Paw Emergency Relief Team Is Prepared for Upcoming Disasters". Berks-Mont News. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ Murtha, Tara (August 31, 2011). "Emergency Relief Team for Pets Launches in Philly". Philadelphia Weekly . Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  8. ↑ Donahue, Bill (May 2013). "Pet Project". Suburban Life Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ Toner, Kathleen (April 21, 2015). "Former Firefighter Rescues Pets in Disasters". CNN Heroes. CNN . Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ Moran, Robert (March 9, 2014). "Red Paw Emergency Relief Gives Critters in Need a Hand". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ Kruger, Josh (January 5, 2015). "Red Paw Relief Team Continues to Grow—and Needs Your Help". PhillyNow. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  12. ↑ City Council of Philadelphia (April 24, 2014). "Resolution No. 140369". City Council of Philadelphia. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  13. ↑ Red Paw Emergency Relief Team (March 2015). "Red Paw responds (9/13/14): Queen Lane Apartments planned implosion". Red Paw Emergency Relief Team. Retrieved April 19, 2015– via Storify.
  14. ↑ NBC10 Staff (April 14, 2015). "Red Paw Pet Rescue Volunteers Recognized by City of Philadelphia". Philadelphia: WCAU-TV . Retrieved April 19, 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management (April 14, 2015). "National Volunteer Week: Philadelphia Honors Red Paw Relief Team". Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management . Retrieved April 19, 2015– via YouTube.
  16. ↑ "New Car for Red Paw Relief Team Presented near Windermere Fire Site". West Philly Local. May 15, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  17. ↑ Kolakowski, Jeffrey (April 11, 2016). "Red Paw Emergency Relief Team: Volunteers of the Week". Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management . Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  18. ↑ McCormick, Annie (April 13, 2016). "Red Paw Emergency Relief saving pets, looking for volunteers". Philadelphia: WPVI-TV . Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  19. ↑ Geringer, Dan (January 6, 2015). "Red Paw Rescues Pets from Disaster Scenes". Philadelphia Daily News . Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  20. ↑ Gordon, Bruce (October 22, 2014) [October 08, 2014]. "Red Paw Offers Pet Rescue to Animals in Need After Disaster". MyFoxPhilly.com. Philadelphia: WTXF-TV. Archived from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  21. ↑ Beavers, Cary (June 21, 2013). "Helping Pets in Need: When Tragedy Strikes, Red Paw Is There as a Best Friend to Lonely and Distraught Animals". Bucks Local News. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Friends". Red Paw Emergency Relief Team. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  23. ↑ "What is Red Paw?". Red Paw Emergency Relief Team. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  24. ↑ Krowchenko, Leslie (August 6, 2013). "Red Paw Aids Displaced Pets". Delco News Network. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  25. ↑ Red Paw Emergency Relief Team maintains:
  26. ↑ "Our Team". Red Paw Emergency Relief Team. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Volunteer Opportunities". Red Paw Emergency Relief Team. Retrieved June 3, 2015.

39°56′08″N75°11′03″W / 39.935604°N 75.184281°W / 39.935604; -75.184281

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.