California Veterinary Emergency Team (CVET)

Born of dedicated lawmakers, concerned disaster responders, and a passionate, caring public, CVET helps to provide veterinary care to animals in disasters wherever they strike in the state of California. The program, administered by the UC Davis One Health Institute (OHI) within the School of Veterinary Medicine, supports and trains a network of government agencies, individuals and organizations to aid household and domestic animals and livestock during emergencies.

CVET is increasing the state's animal disaster response capacity by standardizing response across 58 counties and coordinating with animal organizations to provide a unified response to disasters. In addition to building state-wide standardization, CVET is establishing a roster of veterinary professional volunteers and implementing veterinary-specific disaster training standards for CVET members. Working with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, these training standards will be the foundation for establishing state-wide training standardization for veterinarians and animal responders during disasters.

Between disasters, the team actively recruits, trains, and exercises affiliate veterinarians, students, animal health professionals, and collaborating organizations; conducts necessary research to promote "best practices" during disaster response; and proactively establishes preparedness plans, response resources, and mutual aid agreements for shelter and emergency medicine.

Remembering the Legacy: Prior to the development of CVET, the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team (VERT), established by Dr. John Madigan and recently directed by Dr. Lais Costa, has been the primary veterinarian response team for Yolo County and surrounding counties. With the establishment of CVET, the knowledge, expertise, personnel, and vast experience of VERT has been gratefully absorbed into CVET, expanding the response capability for UC Davis to the entire state. Thus, the legacy of VERT will live on through the continued growth of CVET.