Veterinarian's Hardest Day

Video Transcript

"I think my hardest day of being a veterinarian had to be in August of 1992 shortly after I started practicing. I had moved to South Florida and I was working for Knolls Animal Clinic which was a facility that did emergency work and that was the year of Hurricane Andrew. There were a number of animals that were being seen in South Miami and the Kendell area and approximately every 15 or 20 minutes I had a technician or receptionist running down the hall screaming emergency and we were without power. We had had a number of animals that had come in and had been hurt in the storm or had been loose and had managed to be injured and so that was a day that seemed like it would never end. I was the only veterinarian on staff that day and it was a big challenge to say the least but I think that what I took from that experience was being able to triage animals and look at a situation and decide who was critical and who could wait for treatment so it was a challenging day but it was also one of the most rewarding days because we managed the situation and I think that the crew as a whole learned a great day. Being in South Florida and we are in another hurricane season I think it is very important for owners to make a plan for the care and safety of their pets during these times. One of the most important things is just like for yourself, you need to make sure that you have plenty of fresh water, you have to allocate water for your pet, make sure that you have plenty of pet food and in the event that you are in a evacuation area it is important to try to find a facility that will be able to board you pets provided you are not able to take your pets with you if you are going to leave town or go to a hotel, etc."