Way to grow...
Our volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds, training and skills.
Volunteers can offer whatever time they have in direct service for response
or behind the scenes with the organization. Team members have both personal
and professional experience with a variety of animals, including family pets,
farm and zoo animals, equines, exotics and reptiles.

Volunteering with CMDART is not just an exercise in helping animals. Team
members report that work with the team has strengthened them to attain other
personal goals and acquire new skills. Several members have developed into
fine leaders.

What is my time commitment for CMDART?
CMDART maintains a list of our trained volunteers who can assist with
preparedness efforts and crisis situations. This is called a "Call-Down List".
You can be called at any hour of the day or night. Obviously, we hope that
you can be available for several calls throughout the year, but we recognize
that members have jobs, family commitments and hardships and may sometimes
be unavailable. It is anticipated that if you want to be a responder that you
will prepare your work and family, including your pets, for the potential that
you could be called. You need to have your "go kit" ready for all emergencies.
We ask that members try to respond to six public events, incidents, or meetings
each year. We request that you attend as many trainings and team meetings as
possible to help build team cohesiveness and to stay informed of changing practices.

Order in chaos......Incident Command Training
Since Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, requirements for animal disaster
responders and teams have grown more demanding and some may say,
more restrictive. Disasters require volunteers who can maintain structure,
skill, humility, and strength in chaotic and traumatizing circumstances.
Volunteer training before the incident, provides the tools to help do this.
CMDART provides regular training classes and/or collaborates cross-training
with other organizations.

CMDART believes that volunteers need be oriented to the nature of disaster
work and thus offers a pre-requisite for volunteers who wish to sign up.
The course is " An Introduction to Animal Disaster Services"

Following the introductory course, volunteers need to next complete Incident
Command Training(ICS). To strengthen emergency response, the government
and those who develop emergency response systems, have come up with a
common language that they require all responders to know. Whether local,
state, or national, all are requiring that volunteers have Incident Command
Training (ICS). This now includes animal response organizations.

You will be required to complete Federal Emergency Management Agency
ICS 100 and 700 certifications.

In order to deploy, CMDART volunteers must demonstrate basic and
advanced levels of animal disaster response and must make every effort
towards personal advancement by attending training's and practice drills.
CMDART offers this training in small groups or volunteers can take these
courses via the Internet. We have a link to the courses on this site. Once you
take the training, CMDART maintains a copy of your completed certificate
in your volunteer application file with our team.

What then? .... Emergency Animal Sheltering.
Once you complete your application, "Introduction to Animal Disaster Services",
and Incident Command Training 100 and 700, you are then encouraged to take
Emergency Animal Sheltering, Pet First Aid and other courses. Though the
latter are consider basic to becoming an animal disaster responder, not everyone
wishes to take these trainings. Those who take Emergency Animal Sheltering
and others courses, will more likely be called to deploy. Those who have not
completed courses will most likely be chosen to do other in-direct tasks for the
team. Emergency Animal Sheltering and the other basic courses are required for
all team leaders.

We ask that you try to complete most of the basic courses within six months
of joining the team.

Spontaneous volunteers...
CMDART makes every reasonable effort to insure that only qualified
volunteers respond to the emergency facility; however, some incidents
require the use of spontaneous volunteers. CMDART is judicious about
the use of such volunteers. They are screened, briefed and heavily
supervised during an incident or assignment and are usually assigned to
indirect service. We realize that not everyone will be able to take all of
these courses, nor will trained volunteers always be available for every incident.

The real skills of disaster work...
group work and flexibility
Team members may come with wonderful animal handling skills and think
this should be enough to join the team. While we need animal volunteers
with varied backgrounds and levels of expertise, the most important skill
volunteers need to bring is flexibility. Disasters have a lot of unknowns
for the clients and team members at various stages of the incidents. Disaster
responders need to be able to take direction from their leaders and be able
to work cohesively in a group at every stage of the response. This is true
during the pre-planning phase or when faced with confused and traumatized
clients and animals during an incident.

Is there a cost to become a volunteer?
Unlike some national organizations with larger budgets, CMDART cannot
afford to pay volunteers for deployment expenses. While CMDART has
received a few grants and donations to help with the mission of the organization,
these grants are usually designated for specific projects, such as the purchase
of equipment or to offset the cost of trainings. In a few cases, the CMDART
administration or team leaders are pre-authorized to be reimbursed for expenses
that relate to the official business of the organization. Your transportation and
expenses are considered your personal contribution to the organization and
the disaster. Because we are a 501(c)3 charitable, non-profit, the government
does allow you to take verifiable volunteer expenses, including mileage,
as a tax deduction.

Tee- shirts, ID badges, training packets...
CMDART is currently establishing a membership fee that will cover one
tee-shirt, ID badge and packet.

CMDART requires that volunteers wear a CMDART tee-shirt at all
official public education events, official public relations meetings and
responses. All volunteers are required to have an official "go kit" ready
with clothes, CMDART tee-shirt, and personal care needs for all responses.

Who is going to care for my own animals?
Volunteers must make pre-arrangements for their families,
including pets and animals, in the event they are deployed.
CMDART does not reimburse for any expense incurred for
family, pet, or animal care.

What about liability...
Volunteers are trained to work within the scope of their
respective practice, licensure, training, and skill level.

Volunteers sign a waiver releasing the organization and its affiliates
from responsibility for any incident that may occur for the volunteer
during his or her time with CMDART, whether at a disaster response
or other non-disaster event.

As a volunteer, you are covered by the Good Samaritan and Volunteer
Acts. However, it is also your personal responsibility to carry liability
and medical coverage. Often, your Homeowners policy, if you have one,
will have a clause covering you for volunteer service.

Prior to responding to the call from a local town, CMDART requires
that the town sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). These are
generally completed in advance of an incident usually, during the
planning phase of working with a town.