Newsletters - October 2005 - Are You Prepared?

We are all faced with a heightened awareness of the need for individual preparedness should a natural disaster occur in your area. Unpredictable events such as hurricanes like Katrina and Rita, recent wildfires and flooding in Southern California, and local disasters such as the Oakland fire and 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake have shown us how susceptible we and our pets and horses are to risk or loss! Should such a disaster strike, are we adequately prepared to identify and relocate these animals with their owners? And what if these owner's homes or lifestyles have been disrupted in addition?

Possible scenarios ~~

a)   "Your horse is away at a horseshow and an earthquake or wildfire resulted in him getting loose and/or moved to a staging area for safety. How would you find him?"

b)   "Your horse gets out of his paddock and is found and placed in holding until his owner's is identified. How would the authorities contact you?"

c)   "A major disaster results in your horse's stable being damaged and he is missing or relocated to an unknown area. How would you locate him?"

d)   "You arrive at the barn to find your horse missing from his stall. How would you report him missing and get his information to the authorities?"

e)   "Your horse is injured and arrives at a hospital for treatment without owner identification, as in a trail or trailering accident. How could he be identified in your absence?"

A pivotal solution to these problems is now available in the form of a National Equine Identification Program (NEIA). This program is currently in place and has it's origin in the USDA's National Animal Identification System, which will be come a nationwide mandate in 2009. The NEIA now available incorporates a small microchip, implanted in a standardized site on the left neck, and integrated with a Lifetime identification record. The NEIA databank is available 24/7 by phone for use in situations of animal loss due to disaster, theft, or other causes.

While our disaster preparedness focus in recent years has been primarily placed upon stable safety, emergency transportation, and development of regional emergency evacuation or staging areas for our horse population, this Program now allows us to address the individual horse aspect of disaster preparedness is...of the nearly 400 horses processed during Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana only 3 who were microchip identified are yet to be reunited with their owners!

To help implement this Equine Identification Program locally and regionally, we have developed a simple, easy program for your horse. The Peninsula Equine Medical Center "Microchip ID Program" is outlined as follows:

1. Microchip Implantation: These chips are approximately the size of a grain of rice and contain a unique 10-digit alphanumeric code that can be read by a radio-frequency ID scanner.
2. Registration for LIFETIME (one time with no recurrent annual fee) enrollment in the National Equine Identification Program (NEIP) recovery network HORSEtrac(TM). This program is transferable to subsequent owners for a $15 transfer fee.
3. Laminated owner's card with digital picture of your horse in addition to essential identification data and 24 hour phonenbsp contact info for notification and coordination in case of loss or disaster.
4. HORSEtrac(TM) decal for trailer or stall - acts as enhanced theft deterrent.

Peninsula Equine Medical Center and Staff are pleased to offer this program to horse owners as part of their disaster preparedness planning on an Individual, Group Barn, or Horse Association discount basis. We currently maintain radio-frequency ID scanners at our hospital which are available to local enforcement agencies for use upon request.

To schedule or obtain more information, please call the Peninsula Equine Medical Center (650) 854-3162 or refer to our website www.peneq.com for further details.

 

 

 

 

 

Peninsula Equine Medical Center
(650) 854-3162 | peneq@yahoo.com
100 Ansel Lane, Menlo Park, CA 94028

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