By JOLENE CRAIG
Ohio Correspondent

MINERAL WELLS, W.Va. — Emergency personnel from across West Virginia and southeastern Ohio attended a weekend of large animal rescue training May 29-30 at the Wood County Fairgrounds in Mineral Wells.

More than 40 people from rescue groups in Ohio as well as Tyler, Jackson and Roane counties in West Virginia took their weekends to learn how to aid large animals in emergency situations, said Jim Rose, regional threat preparedness coordinator with the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department in Parkersburg, W.Va.

The course instruction was performed by Days End Farm Horse Rescue of Woodbine, Md., which is recognized nationally as a leader in the rescue, recovery, care and treatment of horses.
Days End Farm Horse Rescue is a volunteer-based animal welfare organization established in 1989.

The goal of the organization is to ensure quality care and treatment of horses through intervention, education and outreach.
“Our mission is animal-based and can be used on other large animals,” said Brooke Vrany, director of programs and emergency services for the farm.

Vrany said the training given will help rescue workers with large animals, not only in emergency situations.

“We travel around the nation providing training courses,” Vrany said. “We are doing what we can to get the nation prepared for horses in rescue and emergency situations.”

The course provided information as well as helped those in attendance improve their understanding of horses and other large animals, promoted safe practices and offered tips on effective intervention and management of emergencies, as well as items to keep in vehicles that are needed during large animal rescues.
Rose said the goal of the two-day class was to create a large animal rescue group in the area for when the need arises.

“We have an inability to deal with large animal disasters with efficiency and that is a weakness of the area,” Rose said.
Dr. Roberta Haught, veterinarian at Colegate Woods Veterinary Hospital in Marietta, Ohio, attended the classes and said it is difficult to find veterinarians in the area because it takes a lot of work and dedication to provide care for large animals.

“This is very important because there are cases in our area where there are animals that need to be rescued and there are few first responders that know how to help,” Haught said.

The class provided hands-on training to all involved, which included refresher courses on horse behavior to more advanced work with horses those with Days End Farm brought with them.

Sean Carver, a sanitarian with the health department in Charleston, W.Va., attended the class because disaster relief is not just about humans.

“We have learned that in disaster relief, if you don’t take care of the animals the people won’t let you take care of them because they are worried about their animals,” Carver said. “Anybody working with disaster response needs to get involved in these issues.”

The training sessions included a history of animal rescue, horse characteristics and behavior, scene management and operations with the use of lift systems and techniques and tips for special situations.

The course was offered at no charge to participants through the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, as well as federal monies provided by the Department of Homeland Security’s Western Migration services.