When I met Jeff and Claudia Brabant at Woofstock, I thought it was pretty cool that they cared enough about the health and comfort of animals to do pet massage. I soon found out that was just a tiny part of their commitment to animal welfare.

The Brabants are heavily involved in the Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team -- in fact, Jeff is the coordinator for SUN CART, the Snyder Union Northumberland County Animal Response Team. In the event of a fire, flood, hurricane, chemical spill, accident at Three Mile Island or any other disaster you can think of, these are the folks who come in to rescue and shelter your pets and livestock while you're being taken care of by firemen, doctors or the Red Cross. They're heroes for animals.

I got to attend a SUN CART mock disaster drill, and it was an experience I'd strongly recommend to any animal lover. The participants were from all walks of life -- firefighters, nurses, veterinarians, ham radio operators, accountants, insurance salesmen, whatever. Everyone was there to learn and practice rescue and sheltering skills -- some were experts, some were beginners (like me).

Stay tuned for more about what I learned, but in the meantime, here are shots of some of the T-shirts and stickers showing a few of the organizations represented by the volunteers. Click on a picture to find out more about each group.