Sussex Couple Promotes Pet Disaster Planning

Don Taylor has been volunteering for decades and is still going strong, despite his age (75) and recent heart surgery.  A father to thirteen children with his first wife, he was involved with his kids in Scouts and Little League for years.  Later, he was a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for the West Grove Fire Department in West Grove, Pennsylvania.  This is where he met Mary Jane Woodward, a fellow volunteer EMT.  Don and Mary Jane later married and moved to Delaware in 2005.

 

Don and Mary Jane, now 66, have now been married for 10 ½ years and have continued their long history—both separately and together—of volunteerism and community service.  As part of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) in Sussex County, Don and Mary Jane helped seniors understand all of the choices in the Medicare Plan D Prescription Program, and decide which choice was best for them.  They also volunteered as a bagger and cashier, respectively, at the Christian Storehouse—volunteer service that continues to this day.

 

When it became federally mandated for States to include companion animals in disaster preparedness plans, April Willey of RSVP contacted the Taylors and asked if they would be willing to help get this new requirement for disaster planning off the ground.  Thus, Delaware Animal Disaster Services (D.A.D.S.)—a joint sponsorship of RSVP and the Sussex County SPCA—was born.  Don and Mary Jane took the wheel in helping set up the organization, had it established as a 501-(c)-(3) non-profit corporation and currently serve as president and secretary/treasurer respectively.  As part of their involvement with D.A.D.S., the Taylors were certified by the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) to give presentations on Family Emergency Preparedness Planning —for both humans and pets—which is just another layer to their commitment to community service.

 

I sat down with the Taylors after their July 29 meeting of the D.A.D.S. board of directors, where they announced purchase of pet first aid kits (shown in the picture, above), which will be offered for sale at D.A.D.S. events.   When asked what their dreams are for the future of D.A.D.S., the Taylors say they’d like to see it become DelMarVa-wide vs. just in Sussex County to create greater public awareness of the services it provides and to have more pet microchipping events.  A microchipping event is where, for a small fee, a microchip containing pet identification information is implanted under the animal’s skin.  In the event the animal is lost, the chip can help identify the pet so that it can be returned to its owner.  What is holding the Taylors back from realizing this goal is that they need a veterinarian to help with the microchipping; they haven’t had much luck so far in finding one that will either volunteer his/her services, or take a reduced fee for the occasional microchip events that they hold at fairs, pet stores, etc.

 

The hardest part of running D.A.D.S., they say, is the lack of volunteer help.  They sometimes have to turn down requests for a D.A.D.S. information table at an event because they don’t have enough people to help out, especially when these events happen in different locations on the same day.

 

While these things may occasionally frustrate the Taylors or keep them from realizing their goals as quickly as they’d like, nothing much seems to dampen their spirit for being of service.  “It gives you a feeling of value.” says Mary Jane.  It seemed pretty clear to me that the Taylors have given as much value to Sussex County (not to mention West Grove, Pennsylvania) as they’ve gotten in return.

 

 If you are interested in volunteering with D.A.D.S. or would like to provide your organization or group with a presentation on Family Emergency Preparedness for either families or animals, please contact April Willey at the RSVP Office, 302-856-5815.  You can also visit the D.A.D.S. website at www.dads4pets.org  for more information or to make a tax-free donation.