Disaster ready: CSU Extension partners with Colorado communities to be resource when they need it most

Story by Jayme DeLoss -published July 31, 2023

When the North Creek Fire was bearing down on Susan DeFeo’s property near Beulah, she and her boyfriend, Jon Tisdel, quickly loaded two of their horses and their goats into trailers. Two of their horses refused to board. With the fire only a mile away, and the sheriff advising them to evacuate, they had to leave Possum and Reina behind. 

Animal control officials – who are accustomed to handling domestic animals – also tried in vain to load the horses. In one last attempt to evacuate the mustang and mustang-quarter horse, the Pueblo County Extension Community Animal Response Team (CART) successfully loaded the stubborn horses onto a trailer and took them to a shelter for safekeeping. 

“The response team was just amazing,” DeFeo said. “They were always in direct communication with me on what was going on.” 

FULL ARTICLE: Disaster ready: CSU Extension partners with Colorado communities to be resource when they need it most (colostate.edu)