Most people can picture the first responders who come to the rescue in the wake of a natural disaster. But who provides emergency help for the dogs, cats and, horses that people love? And who takes care of the cows, poultry, and hogs that form the backbone of animal agriculture? North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine is helping to fill the need through a unique initiative that requires all of its students to receive disaster training, providing a new generation of leaders in veterinary medicine and disaster response.

"This training program is important because there is a real need to build our capacity to respond to disasters," says Dianne Dunning, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, co-author of a recent study on NC State's landmark training requirement and director of the university's Animal Welfare, Ethics and Public Policy Program. "Emergency response is generally geared towards people, particularly at the local level. We need to protect the health of the people and the health of the animals–whether they are pets or livestock related to a region's livelihood. We believe this training will help veterinarians respond to the needs of both people and animals.

"NC State has the only college of veterinary medicine that requires all of its students to take a formal disaster response training program, and we hope this is a model for others to follow," Dunning says. Students, who must take the program to graduate, earn advanced state and federal disaster training certifications.

The training program deals with a variety of disaster response issues associated with a staggering array of animals. Students learn how to work with displaced people and their pets. For example, they learn how to set up and operate mobile animal shelters that can be located near emergency shelters for displaced people