Community Corner
Durham Animal Response Team Offers Pet Protection
DART volunteers commit time to helping pets and pet owners in town.
Reverse 911 System
The Durham Animal Response Team (DART) plans to take part in Durham's Reverse 911 alert system in the near future. The alert system, which goes out to citizens of the town who have chosen to be on the notification list, is paid for the town at a set fee, therefore, there can be multiple calling lists and unlimited usage at no additional charge to the town.
Residents who choose to be on DART's Reverse 911 notifiction list can send out alerts to fellow participants when an animal goes missing. The idea is to create a network of individuals in town who can quickly and easily reach each other in the case of an emergency.
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"I wouldn't mind helping someone look for their dog and I'd like it if someone would help me look for mine," said Team Director Sue White.
Oxygen Masks
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DART has also purchased two set of three animal oxygen masks for the Ambulance Corps and the Fire Department. They plan on distributing oxygen flow rate cards along with the masks so that responders can quickly and easily determine the needs of the animal in question. The masks were puchased by DART from PETS America for $95 per set of three masks.
CERT Training
Dr. Steven Levy of the Durham Veterinary Hospital will be setting up Community Emergency Response Team training for DART members to become CERT certified. Members will go through 20 hours of training over the course of a week in order to be certified. The date is TBA after the Durham Fair takes place. White says that DART will be eligible for more more state funding once CERT certification is complete.
Fundraising
As soon the mums are ready, White says DART will be sellings mums as well as hay in front of Brenda's Main Street Feed. The team has no plans at this time to hold another tag sale. Fundraising will go towards purchasing such items as a lift for horses, cows and other large animals.
Organization
DART is currently working on splitting up their list of members into three categories: members who primarily donat supplies/money, members who will primarily man the shelter during the winter, and members who should be contacted to arrive at the scenes of emergency. For more information or to get involved with DART, contact a member at dart@townofduramct.org.
