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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
In addition to pets, rescuers also
found wildlife that had been affected
by the fires, and brought them to the
VET for treatment.
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
Soul of Service
The Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) participated
in a state-wide training exercise at Camp Swift in
Bastrop, Texas, July 10–11, 2012. As a part of this training,
seven veterinary medical students enrolled in the Com-
munity Connections fouth-year rotation traveled with the
team. During lunch on the first day, members of the VET
leadership team and the students had the opportunity to
visit with two Bastrop veterinarians, Drs. Jeff Schroeder
and Greg Maynard, who found themselves in the middle
of the response effort during the 2011 Bastrop Complex
Wildfire. Enough cannot be said about the dedication of
the local veterinarians to serving the citizens of Bastrop
and their animals. Faced with overwhelming circumstances,
these veterinarians exemplified the soul of service, going
to great lengths to care for injured animals and provide
them with a safe haven until they could be returned to
their owners. It was a great learning opportunity for the
students as they were able to question the veterinarians
about the impact the disaster had on their private practices,
the animal owners in the area, and also what things
worked or didn’t work as part of the response effort. Be-
low are a couple of comments from the veterinarians who
met with the students.
“We had animals everywhere. We were having to find
crates and places to put them. Our clinic represented a safe
haven for animals in the beginning, so people turned to us
to provide that shelter. It was overwhelming at times, but
we had a great team in place. They worked a lot of hours
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
CVM Today • Winter 2012 • 27
A burned car located near the VET’s base of operations shows
the intensity of the heat from the wildfires.
to care for the animals as well as our clinic. Soon after, the
wildfires began to approach our clinic, and we had to begin
thinking about how we would evacuate all the animals
in our care. We were fortunate that we did not have to
evacuate or try to find shelter for the growing numbers of
animals arriving at our clinic. This experience has demonstrated
the urgent need to plan for animal issues during
a disaster. We are fortunate to have been able to work
together as the veterinary community in Bastrop County to
care for those animals we could.” ~ Jeff Schroeder, DVM,
Bastrop Veterinary Hospital
“One of the things that I remember the most was the
outpouring of support from outside the area. Trucks
loaded down with feed and supplies came in from as far
away as Katy because people saw what was happening and
wanted to help. It restores your faith in your fellow man to
see that. Like the other veterinary clinics, we were overwhelmed
with animals being brought to our clinic. Located
next to the highway, we were very visible. We had lots of
people showing up to volunteer, and so we had to develop
a plan to ensure the safety of our clinic, our employees, the
animals, and the volunteers. It was a daunting task. The
need for a centralized number for people to call so that
they would know where to take animals, where they could
go for information or for shelter, was evident and one of
the lessons I think we all learned from this event.” ~ Greg
Maynard, DVM, Crossroads Animal Hospital