Sumter Disaster Animal Response Team

Port St. Lucie Florida shelter rescue

2011-04-30T15:10:00.000-04:00

The county officials in St. Lucie county in southeast Florida called upon the Sumter DART team and Bay Area DART team to assist in the rescue shelter operations at a local shelter this month. Sumter DART responded by bringing in shelter supplies, crates, chain link panels, pressure washer and our 44' trailer. Connie Brooks once again demonstrated her skills by leading this operation to a

Alabama Tornadoes April 2011

2011-04-30T15:04:00.000-04:00

Connie Brooks, the Executive Director of Sumter DART, was requested by Laura Bevan from the HSUS to travel to Tuscaloosa Alabama and assess the needs for a temporary Animal Shelter last night. They are travelling by car today to see what the needs are. Once the local EOC requests our assistance, we will roll into action with shelter equipment and transport rigs to help.

Thanks to ALL

2010-07-29T20:27:00.000-04:00

I want to take the time to personally thank all of the wonderful people who have made our deployment possible to help the oiled wildlife. I know I can't name all of you but I would like to mention some. The crew from Bay Area Dart and their leader Connie Brooks. Without them, we could never have made this possible. Pam Burns for tirelessly working on scheduling issues, Laura and JT for bringing

16 Birds Released that Sumter DART transported

2010-07-29T13:49:00.000-04:00

In the early morning hours of July 28th 2010, Ronnie Graves and Angela Shields rolled into the rehab facility in Hammond Louisiana and picked up 14 birds to be released. We then continued on to LSU in Baton Rouge to pick up two more at the vets school. We then proceeded to drive to Grand Chenier to the Roosevelt Wildlife Refuge to meet with the Louisiana Wildlife personnel. They were so nice.

Our NEW TRANSPORTER "Beagle 2"

2010-07-29T13:39:00.000-04:00

This is our latest addition to our fleet of transporters. This is a Brand New leftover 2007 SportChassis truck with a 2008 Pace American 44' trailer. 4 AC/Heat systems, 2 Intake powered roof vents, 4 Exhaust fans mounted in the floor to exhaust bad air out. E Track along both walls for either strapping or shelving to secure varying sized kennels in. We topped it all off by adding a 20KW Power

What an adventure

2010-07-27T13:01:00.000-04:00

Sumter DART was involved in a very unique transport last week. We got to be one of the transport vehicles to move the birds from Ft Jackson La, to Hammond, La where a brand new rehab facility has just been completed. We got to be involved in moving over 350 birds at once. Working with the folks at US FWS, Tri State and IBRRC has been such a rewarding experience. Getting to be involved will go

Oil Response Transports

2010-07-16T10:32:00.000-04:00

Working within the system can be challenging. First, all of our people have to have ICS 100, 200, and 700 completed and an additional course from BP. Some of us have had to take the 24 hour HazWopper course. All of our command level staff have gone on to get ICS 300, and 400. Those are a lot tougher than the first ones. All of us have to keep in mind that this is a huge challange and IF we follow

Oil Spill Response

2010-07-05T17:05:00.001-04:00

Our presence in the gulf has increased. We now have three pickup truck and trailer combos, one Large transport, and 5 vans on a steady basis with another two vans being utilized two days a week. 14 fine folks are involved also. Sumter DART has also committed to purchase a brand new Truck and a used trailer plus another brand new trailer to assist in this transport of the affected wildlife. Next

Oil Response 3

2010-06-17T14:55:00.000-04:00

Our teams have increased to 4 vehicles and 6 members with another two vehicles and 4 members going in tomorrow. We are working diligently to assist in the relief efforts. I wish we could talk more about our work but media security is very tight. I'm hoping someday to post photos. Any Wildlife and Bird Rescuers that want to respond, please email us. We would love it if you had the 24 hour

Oil Spill Response 2

2010-06-13T11:06:00.001-04:00

We have now placed 4 teams into the Alabama and Florida region to assist with the transportation of the affected wildlife.

Oil Spill Response

2010-06-12T14:42:00.000-04:00

We have been called in to respond to the Oil Spill Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Our specialized equipment can do things that no one else can provide. We have placed one van and driver into the panhandle of Florida to act as a runner to pick up the rescued birds and wildlife and bring them into a center for stabilization. We also placed our larger Freightliner into Louisiana to be a safety net

Working with Best Friends

2010-06-05T15:55:00.007-04:00

Most people think you just call up and say, "Go pick up these dogs." It is not so easy. It takes a lot of planning and preparation. Just getting our rig ready can take a while. Driving 3500 miles in 5 days takes a toll on the drivers and the rig. Then when you get back home, you have to go over everything and make sure it's functioning properly. The Sumter Disaster Animal Response Team

Keep On Truckin'

2010-06-05T15:54:00.001-04:00

Cathy Scott of Best Friends Animal Society wrote about us!

San Diego Fires

2010-06-05T15:53:00.002-04:00

We were called on October 23rd, 2007, to ask if we could get a Command Post trailer out to San Diego for the fires. We left at 2:30 pm Tuesday and arrived at 6 am on Thursday. All day Friday and Saturday was spent helping the animals in Jamul and Dulzura. Constant heat and dryness were the worst of the day for comfort level. Sumter DART and assisting teams worked helping over 500 animals in the

Animal Hoarding

2010-06-05T15:52:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately, most hoarders start out with great intentions but end up with a disaster of their own making. The animals wind up suffering, getting little to no attention, having to fight for their food, no vet care, and possibly dying unnoticed. All the while, the person or persons doing this really do think they are helping the critters. Here are a few photos from rescues we have made. Upon

More Katrina Photos

2010-06-05T12:28:00.011-04:00

Here are some more photos from Hurricane Katrina.

Mother of All Storms

2010-06-05T12:04:00.011-04:00