After the 2024 Pennsylvania National Horse Show, the PNHS Foundation awarded grants to 41 therapeutic riding centers, equine rescues, and equine-assisted service programs. As we look ahead to the 2025 show, we’re excited to highlight the incredible work of these recipient organizations!

The Pennsylvania Lehigh Valley County-Wide Animal Response Team (LV CART) was established in 2005 to assist domestic and farm animals during emergencies— ranging from natural disasters and major fires to motor-vehicle accidents and agricultural incidents. Alongside the American Red Cross, local emergency management agencies, health departments, hospitals, fire and police departments, and animal rescue organizations, they ensure coordinated care for animals during a crisis situation. 

LV CART rapidly deploys trained volunteers and equipment to provide on-site animal care, evacuation, and shelter, supply comfort kits to pet owners, and train first responders, rescue groups, and animal owners in safe handling techniques. 

How does LV CART serve your community?

Emergency Deployment

We respond to 911 calls for animals affected by fires, floods, storms, vehicle collisions and farm related incidents. We also coordinate with Red Cross shelters to house pets alongside their families whenever possible.

Animal Care & Comfort Kits

We distribute pre-assembled kits containing food, bowls, bedding, collars, leashes and litter to displaced pet owners, and we assist veterinarians and hospitals with temporary animal holding during mass casualty or quarantine events.

Volunteer & Resource Coordination

LV Cart recruits and manages volunteers who are willing to transport animals (using personal trailers or vehicles), provide temporary foster care for cats, dogs and small mammals; offer safe, fenced fields for large animal staging areas; and maintain an inventory of rescue equipment (cages, crates, portable pens, large animal slings, etc.)

Training & Preparedness

We deliver hands on workshops—funded in part by grants—for:

• Fire departments and EMS personnel on safely rescuing downed horses and livestock
• Equine owners and farm managers on pre emergency planning and animal handling
• Rescue organizations on mass care sheltering protocols

How has this grant impacted your ability to serve your community?

Thanks to the recent grant, Lehigh Valley CART has acquired a life-size equine rescue mannequin, enabling realistic, hands on drills for “horse down” scenarios. We have also expanded our large animal rescue toolkit (slings, lifting straps, portable panels) and developed training curricula and printed materials for first responders and animal owners. 

All of these resources allow us to enhance volunteer proficiency in stabilizing and moving large animals safely, reduce the risk of injury to both responders and animals during real incidents and empower local communities with the knowledge to act swiftly when every minute counts. 

What future goals do you have for your program and how can additional support help?

Ongoing funding and volunteers are critical to sustain and grow our capabilities. Financial contributions help us replace worn equipment, repair tools and assemble comfort kits at no cost to families in crisis. In kind donations of trailers, portable fencing and foster care space directly expand our response capacity. Volunteer time—from animal transport drivers to administrative coordinators—keeps our program operational 24/7.

Is there anything else you’d like donors/grant supporters to know about the impact of their support?

Together, we can ensure that whenever disaster strikes, every animal in Lehigh and Northampton Counties has a dedicated team ready to respond— keeping families together and safeguarding the welfare of all creatures in our community.