As Orange County readies for its participation in Thursday morning's “Great California ShakeOut” earthquake drill, actor and animal activist Leo Grillo is working feverishly to ensure animals are included in mock rescue efforts.
Grillo is founder and president of D.E.L.T.A. Rescue animal sanctuary and Horse Rescue of America. He's offered his services up and down the state to be included in the disaster drill. His medical and administrative staff will “Drop, Cover and Hold On” at 10:15 a.m. like other humans participating in the exercise.
But Grillo also wants folks to think about the critters.
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“Not only will you be frightened, but your animals will be petrified,” he says of a big shaker. “You have to remain in control for their sakes. And the best way to calm your own anxiety is to have made preparations, to have a plan, and to follow that plan.”
While making provisions for emergency food and water for one's family or co-workers, people should do the same for nearby animals. Extra blankets and medical supplies may also be needed for pets, just as they would be for their masters.
Other animal activists are using the ShakeOut to amplify their calls that emergency oxygen masks for dogs and cats be included on all rescue vehicles.
More than 6.7 million people signed up to participate in this first statewide ShakeOut. The main Orange County locations are the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana and Golden West College in Huntington Beach.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.