Veterinarians across the Houston area are assessing damage to their hospitals \u2014 or counting themselves lucky \u2014 in the days after Hurricane Harvey carved a deadly path through southern Texas.<\/p>\n
Amy Garrou, DVM, DABVP, who practices at Memorial-610 Hospital for Animals in Houston\u2019s Memorial Close neighborhood, reported minimal damage to the property.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know there are many that are not as fortunate,\u201d Dr. Garrou said. \u201cThere are several referral hospitals in the area that are completely shut down and have infrastructure with severe damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists, which is featured on the reality-TV show \u201cAnimal ER,\u201d used its website and Facebook page to announce bad news.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have sustained significant damage to our 1111 West Loop South location due to Harvey,\u201d the postings stated. \u201cAs you can imagine, we are still evaluating the extent of the damage and are preparing for the additional water expected to come our way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to keeping you updated and will use our Facebook page for general updates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crossroads Veterinary Clinic, southwest of Houston in the city of Victoria, reopened Aug. 30, but direct phone service remained out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe \u2026 have our main line forwarded to a cell phone,\u201d a Facebook post stated. \u201cSo please be patient with us. If you get a busy signal or voicemail recording, call back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Champions Forest Animal Clinic used Facebook to report \u201cminor water damage due to roof leaks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThankful nonetheless!\u201d the hospital added. \u201cWe want all our clients to know we will be in the office tomorrow, Wed 8\/30, with limited staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staffing was a problem at other hospitals.<\/p>\n
West Alabama Animal Clinic, near midtown Houston, reopened Aug. 29 \u201cwith limited staff, but we can help you if you need it. Please call with any questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hospital was serving people, too, after volunteering to be a drop-off spot for donations such as pillows, baby food and toiletries.<\/p>\n
West Houston Veterinary Medical Associates remained closed Aug. 30.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith many of the roads still under water, we are still unable to get medical staff here safely to open for business,\u201d according to the hospital\u2019s Facebook page. \u201cWHVMA will be closed until further notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
West Houston assured clients that \u201call boarding pets are safe, comfortable and are being well cared for. We have kennel staff here that are making sure the animals are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cypress Falls Animal Hospital, northwest of Houston, applauded its employees and clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you to Cristina, who has been working endless hours coordinating communications between our clinic and the community,\u201d a Facebook post stated Aug. 30. \u201cThank you to Tanya, Pat, Hayley, Tessa and Dr. Edwards for volunteering to come in today even though you have your own set of circumstances. Thank you to Carol, Cathy and Dr. Watts for making every effort to be here when you are surrounded by water, and can\u2019t. And thank you to the best clients in the world for pouring in our front door with donations this morning so that we can reach back out to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amid horrible weather conditions Aug. 28, Village Veterinary Clinic in Hedwig Village, west of Houston, announced that it would be closed until further notice. Clients were advised on Facebook that hospital co-owner Seth Landry, DVM, was \u201cgoing to the clinic twice daily to care for our boarders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands of homes were reportedly damaged or destroyed by hurricane winds and floodwaters. Memorial-610\u2019s chief of staff, Stephen Pittenger, DVM, DABVP, said that while the hospital was \u201cdry and functional other than no phones and internet,\u201d his personal situation wasn\u2019t so good.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a bit overwhelmed at the moment, dealing with flooding issues at my house,\u201d he said in an email.<\/p>\n
Emily Gaugh, DVM, MPH, president of the Harris County Veterinary Medical Association, was dealing with floodwaters at her house, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing directly in the county hit, I have been isolated in my home due to flooding until today and am just getting more active,\u201d Dr. Gaugh said.<\/p>\n
A sampling of hospital Facebook pages showed that many clinics planned to reopen Aug. 31 or Sept. 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to open for your fur baby\u2019s care Thursday [Aug. 31] bright and early,\u201d My Family Vet reported.<\/p>\n
Memorial Cat Hospital predicted a Sept. 1 opening.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to try to reopen Friday,\u201d its Facebook page stated. \u201cThe clinic is dry and functional, but some\/most of our employees are still trapped in their neighborhoods and at least one is in a shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n
North Durham Animal Hospital was looking on the bright side when it posted: \u201cIsn\u2019t the sun beautiful?! We officially reopen tomorrow (08\/31).\u201d<\/p>\n
Some hospitals emerged unscathed from Hurricane Harvey.<\/p>\n
Sunset Boulevard Animal Clinic reported: \u201cHello, Houston. Just a quick check-in to let everyone know that the clinic is under no threat of flooding. All of the pets here are doing great, dry and safe. We are open to see emergencies, as we are working with only very few staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brittmoore Animal Hospital reported that it was \u201cdoing good so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs of this morning [Aug. 28], we had a report that Brittmoore \u2026 was not underwater, nor did it appear that it had been under water,\u201d according to a Facebook post. However, getting patients in the door was a problem \u201cdue to the flooding in our area,\u201d so Brittmoore was closed \u201cuntil further notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garza Veterinary Clinic was open Aug. 30 and invited clients to bring in any \u201csick or injured pet that needs immediate care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur phone lines are down,\u201d the Facebook post added. \u201cComcast is working on it. Hope to have phone lines up and running soon!\u201d<\/p>\n
VCA Ashford Animal Hospital expected to reopen Aug. 31 but advised clients to \u201cplease call before coming into our facility as we may have abbreviated hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kleinbrook Animal Hospital, on Houston\u2019s northern side, took a charitable tone in its Facebook announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis past weekend has brought immense heartache to our community, yet a sense of togetherness,\u201d Kleinbrook stated. \u201cWe want to help in any way we can.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those who had to evacuate your homes due to the flood, we want to offer a free exam to make sure your pet is OK after their frightening experience. If you need us to board your pet for an extended period while you try to rebuild, we are also offering 50% off boarding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will also be accepting any pet donations to take to our community shelters. \u2026 Please keep us updated about your pet. We love and worry about them, too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Veterinarians across the Houston area are assessing damage to their hospitals \u2014 or counting themselves lucky \u2014 in the days after Hurricane Harvey carved a deadly path through southern Texas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-online","clinical_topics-news"],"acf":{"hide_sidebar":false,"hide_sidebar_ad":false,"hide_all_ads":false},"yoast_head":"\n