There are 27 contributors to this book, equally represented by military, veterinary, or emergency services groups.

Although the title says “Veterinary Disaster Response”, and the focus of this book is for the veterinarian, many of the contributors are not veterinarians, but are people on whom the veterinarian must rely in order to be useful in a disaster. Police, Fire and other emergency services are all brought into play when needed.

Any veterinarian who wishes to be involved in disaster relief must have a response team that can be called up within minutes in preparation for the type of disaster most common to the locale. In California, that would be earthquake, fire, and disease; in Louisiana the likely need would be for hurricane, flood, and disease; each veterinarian will know what might be needed in his or her area, and this book tells you how to assemble a rapid response team.

This volume describes how to plan ahead and be prepared for potential disasters. The book is divided into five sections: training, planning, preparation, recovery, and identifying sources for information, supplies, or equipment. All these things would be scarce in an actual disaster.

Another aspect of disaster training is preparing your veterinary team for increased need and decreased facilities. There may be a need for X-rays, surgical equipment, restraint and containment or, transportation and preparation consists of knowing where to obtain or locate such supplies in a hurry.

There are drawings and photos to illustrate emergency services for wounds, shock, restraint or euthanasia for a variety of companion and farm animals.

This is not the book that tells you how to lift a horse out of a mud bog, but pretty much everything else is covered, including when to call the Military, the State, and County or City services, how these agencies work and which to call. The only thing that may be outdated is whether or not a person can take their pet to a shelter. Most shelters for humans now permit pets. Ever since Hurricane Katrina, the need for pet care has been expanded and most emergency shelters will take pets. You must first find out the requirements for your location.

This is an excellent book, and should probably be studied by your clinic team, chapter by chapter, so each team member understands his or her duties and is ready. Testing and note-taking would be smart.

Every clinic should have this book and each person on the veterinary team should read it.

Particularly insightful is a chapter on the ethics of veterinary disaster response, by Bernard Rollin, PhD, a noted author of veterinary ethics topics. This chapter provokes discussion and the reaction and opinion of each member of your team could prove useful.

Publisher: Wiley Blackwell 2009

Paper Covers, Color and Black and White illustrations, photos. 569 pages

ISBN: 9780813810140