Shelterly
ANIMAL DISASTER RESPONSE OPERATING SYSTEM
A system for tracking, managing, and caring for animals throughout the entire incident.
Mission Statement
To provide preparedness training and operational resources to communities and response teams to deliver essential animal services during and after animal crises, facilitate networking and training to foster interagency communication, cooperation, and mutual aid standardization.
During the After Action Report (AAR) for the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, CA, it became evident that the agency primarily responsible for Animal Disaster management, the North Valley Animal Disaster Group (NVADG), had faced a significant challenge, being tasked with the unprecedented responsibility of caring for over 10,000 animals over 77 days. The reliance on manual paper records resulted in an overwhelming volume of paperwork, with each animal generating approximately 15 individual sheets. This translated to over 150,000 pieces of paper for a single incident.
The conclusion of the AAR: there had to be a better way. Recognizing that incidents of this size were destined to become the norm, it became vitally important to quickly find a solution that could dispense with paper inefficiency and incorporate electronic technology.
In response, the Shelterly program was conceived in collaboration with NVADG and critical frontline responders.
Shelterly’s primary aim is to provide a simplified, electronic recording system, designed to reduce the time and resources spent on manual processes. By streamlining data management, Shelterly enables critical human resources to focus on the core mission: caring for the animals. Shelterly's overarching mission is to serve as a comprehensive system for tracking, managing, and ensuring the well-being of animals throughout the entirety of a disaster incident.
Shelterly is a 501(c)3 organization and accepts donations.
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Testimonials from the Field
Our Animal Disaster Response group utilized Shelterly during a recent fire incident in our county. Shelterly provided our team with an emergency management tool that was extremely user-friendly and intuitive. We were able to easily manage the entire database of animals evacuated from behind fire lines and placed into our emergency shelters, efficiently tracking every animal from the initial Hotline call, until they were reunited with their owners. It is not an exaggeration to say Shelterly not only met but exceeded all our expectations.
- J.R., North Valley Animal Disaster Group, Chico, California
“we couldn’t have done this on paper. The difference between trying to manage 1000 animals and 185 service requests on paper instead of Shelterly is astronomical. It is a 180-degree difference – before an owner would ask us if we’ve gotten to their service request, and we would have to rifle through hundreds of papers and logs to find it and call them back to let them know. Now, all we have to do is type in an address and find it immediately.”
– Kate Leyden, NVADG Director of Operations – volunteer position
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