– Dr. Holly Knor From Animal Planet’s Hit Series EMERGENCY VETS Discusses Pet Health and Awareness During Special Presentations –
TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ — Flashlights. First aid kits.Emergency phone numbers. Smoke detectors.
All of these are vitally important items that families keep close at handto cope with emergencies. But often, people forget to prepare for otherbeloved family members when planning for these events — their pets.
Animal Planet, Time Warner Cable, the American Humane Association and thecity of Clearwater have teamed up to offer Tampa Bay-area residents ANIMALPLANET EXPO, a fun and free event with activities and special guests that theentire family can enjoy, including the pets. Created to provide people withvital information about how to proactively protect their pets and animals whendisasters strike, ANIMAL PLANET EXPO will be open to the public at CoachmanPark, 101 Drew Street, Clearwater, Florida on Saturday, October 5 from 10AM-6PM and on Sunday, October 6 from 10AM-4PM.
From the first disaster relief mission during the rampant wildfires ofFlagler County, Florida (May, 1998) that rescued animals ranging from birds toiguanas, to the recent assistance of animals affected by the terrorist attacksin New York City on September 11, ANIMAL PLANET RESCUE has come to the aid ofmore than 1,000 pets and animals nationwide.
As in the past, the 80-foot ANIMAL PLANET RESCUE disaster relief vehicleremains the centerpiece of the ANIMAL PLANET EXPO. Local residents can tourthis state-of-the art veterinary hospital and shelter on wheels that housessleeping quarters for up to 12 people, a mobile veterinary clinic, onefour-wheel drive ambulance, three rescue rafts and a high-tech command centerfor American Humane volunteers to get up-to-date information fromheadquarters. The ANIMAL PLANET RESCUE disaster relief vehicle was mostrecently on deployment in Arizona in June 2002, to help with the rescueefforts during the wildfires in Show Low, Arizona. Over several weeks inArizona, rescue personnel worked around the clock to save hundreds of familypets from the deadly fires and reunite the rescued pets with their owners.
Since 1998, hundreds of thousands of people from around the country haveexperienced ANIMAL PLANET EXPO’s unique combination of information andentertainment. ANIMAL PLANET EXPO was expanded this year to include many newfeatures that will provide an even greater, more interactive, and animal-friendly experience for families, children and animal lovers of all ages.ANIMAL PLANET EXPO features the following activity pavilions:
- Animal Planet Theatre. Features high-drama animal rescue videos with audio and visual special effects. The theater also showcases special presentations from animal handlers and celebrity guests, as well as question and answer sessions with Animal Planet rescue officers.
- Animal House. The Animal Handler Tent allows visitors to meet some animals up close, ask the animal handlers questions and consult with Animal Planet’s on-air celebrities.
- Center Stage. Visitors can see animal handler presentations, rescue relays, dog agility demonstrations, and dog obedience training demonstrations, and participate in Animal Planet trivia contests.
- KidZone. Includes face painting, costume characters, arts and crafts, a bungee run, and photo opportunities where parents can take pictures of their children with Animal Planet-themed backdrops.
- E-Vet Clinic. Tampa Bay residents are encouraged to bring their pets for a pampering session with pet masseurs and to receive information from Dr. Knor regarding pet care and services.
- Discovery Family Center. Visitors can create a digital photo of themselves in an adventurous pose or exotic location. Guests can also sign up for Time Warner’s services and learn more about the latest products offered by Time Warner.
As an added bonus from Animal Planet, Time Warner and the City ofClearwater, on Friday, October 4 from 1PM-5PM in the Animal Planet RescueTheatre, staff members from American Humane will provide a free disasterpreparedness course to local rescue personnel in the Tampa Bay area. Localpolice, fire departments and animal welfare officers are invited toparticipate in this technical animal rescue certification course. Inaddition, Time Warner will make a $2,500 donation to the Humane Society ofNorth Pinellas.
ANIMAL PLANET EXPO, Animal Planet and American Humane memorabilia will beavailable at the event for interested visitors in the “Cool Stuff” pavilion,as well as a concession area complete with snacks and free water for visitors’pets.
Tampa Bay-area viewers can find Animal Planet on Time Warner’s channel#35. EMERGENCY VETS airs Monday – Friday from 12:00PM-12:30PM, 12:30PM-1:00PM,4:00-4:30PM and 4:30PM-5:00PM (ET).
More information on the ANIMAL PLANET EXPO can be found athttp://www.discovery.com.
Animal Planet, available in more than 79 million homes nationwide, is theonly television network dedicated exclusively to the connection between humansand animals. The network’s original programming brings together people of allages by tapping into a fundamental fascination with animals and providing anentertaining mix of programming including original movies, adventure series,sports, drama and sitcoms. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of DiscoveryCommunications, Inc., operates and manages the Discovery Channel, TLC, AnimalPlanet, the Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery Kids, and afamily of newer, targeted channels. The unit also distributes BBC America.Visit Animal Planet on the Web at http://www.discovery.com.
The American Humane Association is the country’s only national non-profitdedicated to protecting children and animals from violence, abuse and neglect.American Humane has been helping animals in disasters since World War I whenasked by the US government to form a rescue and ambulance service for injuredcavalry horses. The past five years have been among the busiest ever forAmerican Humane’s Emergency Animal Relief team. American Humane has rescuedanimals after every major recent disaster including earthquakes, hurricanesand floods. American Humane operates under a statement of understanding withthe American Red Cross as a national coordinator of outside disasterassistance for animals. Most recently, American Humane and Animal PlanetRescue were on-site in Georgia after devastating tornadoes swept through thearea. For more information on American Humane’s work to protect children andanimals, visit http://www.americanhumane.org.
Time Warner Cable’s Tampa Bay Division serves over 950,000 cabletelevision and high speed online customers in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk,Manatee, Citrus, Hernando and Pasco Counties.
SOURCE Animal Planet
Web Site: http://www.discovery.comhttp://www.americanhumane.org
