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Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
“Texas Task Force 1 members
will tell you that out of all the
equipment they have, their
Members of the VET examine a canine member of Texas Task
Force 1 during a disaster training exercise.
“This was an awesome and
humbling experience,” Bissett
said. “Texas Aggies have always
Search and Rescue (SAR)
been ready to help in times of
dogs are their most valu-
crisis, and this commitment to
able asset,” said Dr.
serving others is what being
Deb Zoran, medical
an Aggie is all about. It’s
operations director
about doing the right
of the VET. “By
thing for people. When
providing physi-
our team was able to save
cal exams each
an animal, we recognized
day, hydration
that it was perhaps the
therapy, and basic
only thing its owner had
veterinary care in
left of their life. Their
the field, we were
houses had burned,
able to extend the
their possessions gone
amount of time these
or barely salvageable. This
special dogs were able
animal was a person’s connec-
to stay in the field and stay
tion to their past and perhaps
deployed. That equals more
the one thing that could give
lives saved.”
them hope for rebuilding their future.
As responders from multiple agen-
We deployed because
cies—including members of the Bastrop County
we care about animals and want
Sheriff’s Department, animal control officers from Bastrop to do our part in minimizing their
and Travis Counties the Texas Animal Health Commission, suffering during times of disaster. We
the Texas Forest Service, and the Texas Division of Emergency deployed because it’s the right thing
Management—worked to contain and extinguish the growing to do. We’re Aggies, and it’s in our
fire, the VET established a field veterinary hospital, complete blood.”
with a mobile surgical unit.
Dr. Eleanor Green, Carl
“In the past, responders were put in a position of having B. King Dean of Veterinary
to leave animals in harm’s way, because there was no place to Medicine at the CVM, kept
take them outside of the disaster zone,” said Dr. Wesley Bissett, up with the progress that the
director of the VET. “It was very difficult to have to walk away VET made each day.
from those animals. In Bastrop, these rescue workers now had “I am immensely proud of
a place to bring these animals. They brought us dogs and cats, our VET,” Green said. “Dr.
deer, a pot-bellied pig, geese, and the list goes on. Overall, we Wesley Bissett sent emails
were able to triage and treat more than 150 animals. Working almost daily from Bastrop,
with the shelters that were established, more than 250 animals and every single one would
found a safe haven.”
both bring tears to our eyes
Responding to a disaster the magnitude of the Bastrop Com- and instill mounting pride.
plex Fire takes a substantial amount of expertise and man- He commented on the
power. The Bastrop deployment lasted two weeks, and the VET Texas A&M effort being a
members—veterinarians, veterinary technicians, veterinary bright spot in a terrible situ-
medical students, and administrative staff—rotated in and out ation. He always thanked
of the base of operations to provide rest for those serving long, the team ‘on the front line’
stressful days.
and those at home assuming
double duty in their
absence. He described
the destruction
and the unimaginable
scenario in which
people went to work
leaving all they owned, not
being allowed to return home, and learning they had
lost everything, except their lives,” she said.
“He described waking up to this scene of destruction
every day and the Texas A&M trucks and trailers joining
the convoy of those deployed to help. He relayed
the combination of profound sadness from so much
animal pain, injury, and loss of life and the hope from
saving a life or reuniting an animal with its owner. He
described the dinners at end of each day with 40 to 50
First responders rescued a pot-bellied pig from the burn zone
and brought it to the VET mobile hospital for treatment.
soot-covered responders, some too tired to take care
of themselves. The welcome they received when they
A goose is brought in from the burn zone
for treatment.
CVM Today • Winter 2012 • 25