Texas A&M VET Hosts Free Vaccine Clinic During Annual Training Exercise

Story by Hailey Graham, VMBS Marketing & Communications

February 27, 2026

Two veterinary team members kneel on pavement at an outdoor event while gently examining and petting a brown and white dog wearing a blue collar, with a table of supplies and additional staff in the background. — Members of the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) and fourth-year veterinary students provide preventive care to a dog during a free community vaccine clinic held as part of the team’s annual Operational Readiness Exercise.
*Photo by McKenna Baker, VMBS Marketing & Communications*

Members of the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) and fourth-year veterinary students provided free preventive care to the animals of approximately 100 Bryan-College Station residents on Feb. 21 as part of their annual Operational Readiness Exercise (ORE).

The ORE brings together VET personnel, not only from A&M but across the state, to train in preparation for future disaster response. This year’s exercise featured two events: a community vaccine clinic at American Legion Post 159 in Bryan and a deployment training alongside the Texas A&M Task Force 1 search and rescue canine team at Disaster City in College Station.

At the American Legion site, Texas A&M Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) students participating in a two-week emergency preparedness and response clinical rotation played a key role in patient care, under faculty supervision. This included providing core vaccines; flea, tick, and heartworm prevention; and education to pet owners about follow-up care.

VET offered a limited number of vaccination vouchers, distributed through partner organizations that serve vulnerable populations. Community members who utilize services like Brazos Valley Meals on Wheels, the Sexual Assault Resource Center, Brazos Valley Cares, Brazos Valley Food Bank, Health 4 All, the Brazos Valley Coalition for the Homeless, Twin City Mission, and Brazos Valley Home Health were eligable to receive care.

“It’s really good to be able to come out here to communities that can’t get veterinary care as easily accessible as other people,” said fourth-year veterinary student Austin Warren. “We’re responsible for doing physical exams and just providing some preventative care to some of the dogs we’ve been seeing.”

Organizers said the supplies for the clinic were largely donated by animal health companies and nonprofit partners, including the Banfield Foundation, which has supported VET operations for several years. Some of the donated products were originally intended for a larger outreach effort last summer that was canceled, prompting organizers to find a meaningful way to distribute the resources locally before they expired.

A veterinary team member uses a stethoscope to examine a small brown dog being held by another team member at an outdoor clinic, with tents and supplies visible in the background. — Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) members and fourth-year veterinary students examine a dog during a free community vaccine clinic held as part of the team’s annual Operational Readiness Exercise.
*Photo by McKenna Baker, VMBS Marketing & Communications*

Dr. Deb Zoran, VET director and a founding member, said the outreach reflects the team’s mission to serve during disasters and everyday community needs.

“Sometimes, you forget there’s folks in your own backyard who need a little extra help,” Zoran said. “It’s just a great opportunity for us to come here, set up on a Saturday, and help some folks that maybe could use it for their pets.”

The set up in the American Legion parking lot mirrored a real deployment for VET. The team transported trailers and equipment to the site, created temporary treatment stations and later broke them down, training for mobile responses and preparedness.

“If you don’t practice, you’re not as nimble, you’re not as on your toes, you’re not as efficient,” Zoran said. “The preventative care component to this year’s ORE — the first time we’ve ever hosted a vaccine clinic — also allowed our future veterinarians to gain critical field experience while demonstrating selfless service.”

Meanwhile, at Disaster City, other VET members trained with Texas A&M Task Force 1 and search-and-rescue dogs in simulated emergency scenarios. The highly trained dogs deploy nationwide during natural disasters to locate missing people, and VET personnel are responsible for monitoring the dogs’ health to ensure they perform at peak condition during training and real missions.

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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of VMBS Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu, 979-862-4216

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