Training Together
Story, photos and video courtesy Armando Navarrete, Animal Control Officer, Animal Services
In October, Animal Services’ Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team (SMART) held a one of a kind, specialized training regarding large animal rescues with the LAFD. It marked the first time the two departments held animal rescue training sessions jointly.
With a recent spate of rescue emergencies, Animal Services felt it was necessary to reach out to the LAFD and learn each other’s capabilities.
The two-day training focused on large animal lifts. For the first time in LAFD history, all three elite LAFD special teams — Urban Search and Rescue (USAR 88), Heavy Rescue, and Air Ops — joined SMART in running drills involving extracting a large animal (in these scenarios, Animal Services’ fake rubber horse) from one location to another.
Animal Services and the LAFD have performed joint rescues in the past years, but now their procedures are formalized.
Animal Services and the LAFD plan to make their joint training an annual event.
