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| Animal lovers form emergency network By Stacy Trevenon [ stacy@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 12:27 PM PDT When Genia Silva’s aging grandfather found other homes for horses and dogs on the ranch where he and his late wife had raised her, she exercised her soft spot for animals by tracking them down and bringing them home. It took nearly 10 years, but now several four-legged retirees graze on the ranch once belonging to Lawrence and Mary Silva, who raised Genia when her parents died. They take shelter in the ranch’s towering red barn, made from parts of three barns at the old Tanforan race track on the Peninsula. Those storied barns once sheltered famed race horse Seabiscuit, said Silva, and during World War II, became interment camps for Japanese in the area. When the barns were dismantled in 1964, Silva said, her grandfather arranged to get some segments that he reassembled on his ranch. The animals include Sugar, Lawrence Silva’s 21-year-old horse, and Freckles the elderly springer spaniel along with Ellie, the 26-year-old Appaloosa, who has only one eye. “I found the last animal,” said Silva, “and she can live here till it’s time for her to go.” That love of animals, plus the realization that San Mateo County lacks a large-animal emergency rescue program, prompted Silva and former-firefighter boyfriend Paul Gurries to fill that gap. Horse or llama owners wondering what to do in a wildfire can volunteer with the newly formed Coastside Large Animal Evac Unit. “You don’t have to own a (large) animal to be involved,” Silva said. The idea got its spark in the 2008 wildfires when Silva, who hopes to be a veterinary technician, and Gurries signed up with the Santa Cruz County Equine Evacuation. Inspired by this well-organized program that provides support, shelters and staff to handle animals in a disaster, the pair contacted the Coastside Horse Council. Their goal — based in part in Gurries’ chain-of-command experiences in incidents like the Oakland Hills fire — is to build a well-ordered local network. They approached Coastsiders involved with horses or 4-H, to line up support and sites where evacuated animals could be taken. To network, they contacted the San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services, Peninsula Humane Society, the local horse council, fire protection districts and Santa Cruz Equine Evacuation. The plan is that the CLAEvac network would rescue horses, llamas or alpacas, cows, pigs, goats and “we’re working on zebras,” said Silva. She estimates that about 3,000 such animals live between Pescadero and Pacifica. Volunteers would take part in regular training to learn to handle and provide for their animals in a chaotic disaster situation. “It’s about being responsible, and also being prepared,” said Silva. Last weekend, CLAEvac held a “trailer training” clinic with assorted trailers and techniques of loading a frightened horse safely into them, and “Desensitizing Your Horse” in which owners learned how to accustom large animals to loud noises, dogs, bicycles and strange objects. Interested volunteers will begin with CLAEvac by taking the online “Incident Command System” course. The training familiarizes participants with basic chain-of-command systems that specify who is in charge and ensures that rescues run smoothly. “The only way it works is if everyone follows the rules,” said Gurries. And if they care about the animals. “Animals are part of my life, and I felt is was my responsibility to look after them,” Silva said. Silva and Gurries are seeking volunteers from ham radio operators, the computer-savvy, veterinary technicians, ranch owners with space to spare and those eager to help. For information, visit claev.com or call Silva at 879-0318. |