Volunteer animal rescue training offered

[JUNE 3, 2004]  BARRINGTON -- Do you want to help animals during a disaster? If so, this is your opportunity to learn how. Noah's Wish, a national disaster response organization designed exclusively to rescue and shelter animals during disasters, will be in Barrington the weekend of June 25, 26 and 27 to recruit and train volunteers from Illinois and surrounding states.

This comprehensive three-day in-field exercise will involve setting up a temporary animal shelter, similar to one that would be created during an actual disaster. To further authenticate the training, animals will be on-site periodically to give participants actual handling experience. Participants will be staying in the field that has been selected for the exercise, sleeping in their own tents at night, in order to give them a realistic experience of the physical challenges of responding to a disaster.

The training will be conducted by an experienced five-member team of Noah's Wish staff and coordinators who have collectively participated in more than 70 disasters. Participants will receive interactive training areas such as animal intake, reclaim, lost and found; shelter management; function of emergency management; safety; search and rescue; the emotional aspects of disaster response; and disaster preparedness.

Once individuals have completed the training, they will become part of the Noah's Wish National Disaster Response Team. Classes are limited and fill up quickly, so NOW is the time to register for the 2004 schedule!

Terri Crisp, founder and director of Noah's Wish, is the acclaimed author of "Out of Harm's Way" and "Emergency Animal Rescue Stories" and has been featured in "Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul." She has been saving animals in disasters since 1983 and has participated in 60 major disaster relief efforts across the United States and abroad. She is a highly sought-after expert in the field of managing animals in disasters and will be leading the training along with Sheri Thompson, training manager for Noah’s Wish..

For more information or to register for the training, contact Noah's Wish at [phone], visit www.noahswish.org or e-mail [e-mail].

[Noah's Wish news release]