Colorado State Animal Response Team/Community Animal Response Team

The State Animal Response Team (SART) model was developed in North Carolina after the devastating impact of Hurricane Floyd in 1999.  After Floyd, visionaries from several agencies and non-profit organizations began working together to build a model that would serve to protect both people and animals.

Colorado SART originated at the 2003 Colorado Summit on Animal Emergency Preparedness, a national pilot program sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Foundation and the North Carolina State Animal Response Team. Eighty people representing sixty governmental and not-for-profit organizations voiced strong support for the formation of a SART program. By the end of June of 2003, the Colorado Veterinary Medical Foundation had agreed to develop the program. In 2004, Colorado SART provided regional Community Animal Response Team development training across all of Colorado.  Currently, the CVMF Animal Emergency Management Program (AEMP) works to facilitate the creation of local animal response capacity through training, technical assistance and resource development. 

In 2010, Colorado SART and the Colorado Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps were merged under the CO VMRC. The CO VMRC maintains a roster of credentialed individuals who are available to supplement local animal emergency response when needs exceed local resources. AEMP also can assist local communities with equipment and materials deployment.