VETS to the rescue
Veterinary team helps four-legged hurricane victims
By Rossana Passaniti
Thanks to a $70,000 PetSmart Charities grant to the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, the Veterinary Emergency Treatment Service, or VETS, mobilized last month to help pets in distress throughout areas of south Florida affected by Hurricane Matthew.
Volunteer veterinarians, technicians and students arrived at the Brevard County Animal Services with a truckload of supplies including wire crates for long-term sheltering, food, litter, litter pans, bowls, leashes and collars. The supplies went to help more than 250 pets in need.
In Gainesville, the large and small animal hospital care teams at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine modified their shifts and stayed at the hospital while others were ready to assist had a statewide response been necessary.
VETS was created in 2004 by the UF veterinary college, in partnership with the Florida Veterinary Medical Association and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to assist the state in response to animal and agricultural disasters during state of emergencies.