KENNESAW, Ga. - GeorgiaChron -- As hurricane season approaches, a local animal welfare organization is taking proactive steps to ensure pets and their families are prepared before disaster strikes.

The Florida State Animal Response Coalition (FL SARC), in partnership with Good Mews Animal Foundation, will host a Small Animal Disaster & Emergency Sheltering – Level 1 (Awareness) course February 21st, 2026, to help strengthen hurricane and disaster preparedness across the Atlanta metro area.

The 8-hour training is designed for volunteers, rescue groups, animal welfare professionals, CERT members, and community members who want to be better prepared to support pets during hurricanes and other emergencies.

"When disaster strikes, families shouldn't have to choose between their safety and their pets," said Jeremy Hillengas, Program Manager of the Florida State Animal Response Coalition. "By training responders before an emergency happens, we ensure communities are ready to protect both people and animals when it matters most."

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The course happening February 21st, 2026, from 10:00am-06:00pm at the Ben Robertson Community Center in Kennesaw with focus on:

Emergency animal shelter setup and operations
Responder preparedness and deployment
Basic animal behavior and safe handling
Animal health and illness recognition in shelter settings
Coordination within disaster response systems

Organizers say that strengthening animal preparedness before hurricane season reduces chaos, improves public safety, and protects both pets and people.

The training builds on ongoing efforts to expand regional disaster response capacity in the Atlanta area and reflects growing collaboration between local rescue organizations and out of state response networks.

Space is limited. Participants must be 18 years or older.

For registration information, visit:

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/mrv472c/lp/8e75499f-9ac5-441d-bed4-85a6d5e63491

For media inquiries, interviews or to cover the course, please contact:

Jeremy Hillengas
Program Manager
Florida State Animal Response Coalition (FL SARC)
SPCA FLORIDA
Office +1 863-577-4602
jhillengas@flsarc.org