Supporting Communities, Strengthening Preparedness
When natural disasters strike, animals are among the most vulnerable. Their well-being often depends on people whose safety and livelihoods have been affected. The Auburn Veterinary Emergency Response Team (AVERT) exists to address that need — delivering expertise, coordination and rapid support to help and heal companion animals, livestock and farm animals while strengthening community resilience in Alabama.
Why our work matters
Disasters don’t just damage buildings and infrastructure. They disrupt entire systems of public health, animal care and food production. In Alabama, threats such as hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, extreme heat, drought, disease outbreaks and ice storms can quickly put animals at risk. When animals are impacted, so are:
- Families, who rely on pets for companionship and emotional support
- Producers, whose livestock and poultry sustain their livelihoods as well as consumers
- Communities, where animal health connects to food supplies and public health
AVERT ensures that animals – from household pets to farm animals – aren’t overlooked in disaster response and recovery.
How AVERT began
While working in Louisiana as the state experienced catastrophic flooding in 2016, Dr. Chance Armstrong saw firsthand what coordinated, mission-driven response efforts could achieve. Beyond shaping his career, participating in flood response “helped define my purpose within veterinary medicine.”
“We were not only providing veterinary care, but also helping people who were going through incredibly difficult circumstances,” said Armstrong, now an associate clinical professor of theriogenology in Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Many of them refused to evacuate without their animals.
“That experience changed my perspective on the role veterinarians can play in disaster situations. It became clear to me that there was a critical need for organized, well-trained veterinary response teams that could integrate seamlessly with emergency management systems.”
Helping and healing in times of crisis
AVERT is building a reputation as a highly capable and trusted disaster response resource in Alabama and beyond. The team’s areas of focus include:
- Building and strengthening relationships with Alabama agencies and organizations involved in disaster response
- Developing a robust, well-trained and geographically distributed volunteer force
- Securing the resources, equipment, logistical support systems and organizational framework to support rapid deployment and long-term program stability
AVERT operates under the Incident Command System (ICS), a shared framework that focuses on consistency, clarity and interoperability during emergencies. This allows AVERT to integrate seamlessly with local, state and federal response teams when requested, or for external teams to join and support AVERT during large-scale emergencies.
