This news item is about: Local animal shelters received a crash course in disaster preparedness this weekend during a two-day workshop hosted by Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell University aimed at safeguarding pets should a crisis strike the area. Animal welfare workers from 12 regional humane organizations attended the workshop, where members of the ASPCA Field Investigations and Response Team (FIR) walked them through best practices when it comes to opening, running and deconstructing emergency pop-up shelters, followed by live-action simulations where participants practiced set-up and medical protocol.