Response

Following the devastating July 4 flooding, the VET cared for 137 search and rescue dogs working along the Guadalupe River. At the height of the response, we cared for more than 50 working dogs each day; these dogs came from Texas — including Texas A&M Task Force — and other local, state, and federal agencies. Among those who participated during the 23-day deployment were 12 VET members and 10 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students.

The VET was deployed on Oct. 2 by the Texas Division of Emergency Management at the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Over the 15-day deployment, 17 team members joined a network of North Carolina first responders, national disaster response groups, and volunteers from across the country who were working to support those impacted by the storm. We provided more than 106 veterinary services to the 46 search and recovery dogs that, vitally, searched through miles of destruction each day.

We deployed to Canadian in February 2024, just before the wildfire was declared the largest in Texas history. Our team — including 36 faculty, staff, and students from the VMBS, VERO, and AgriLife Extension Disaster Assessment and Recovery — worked across 7 counties, visually checking, examining and/or treating nearly 950 cattle, horses, donkeys, dogs, cats, a pig, and a goat for injuries such as burns and smoke inhalation. We also supported Texas A&M Task Force 1 & 2 search-and-rescue dogs with foot bandaging and decontamination.

In our fourth year participating in OBHP, the VET offered basic veterinary care to underserved populations in  the Rio Grande Valley. The Raymondville-based team — including 20 veterinary students, 12 Texas Animal  Health Commission inspectors, two local Aggie veterinarians, and two members of the California Veterinary  Emergency Team — provided more than 4,500 services to 952 patients.

In our third year of participating in OBHP, we completed a record 1,022 veterinary visits in Raymondville, which almost doubled the number of patients we saw in 2022. “Willacy County is historically the poorest in Texas and the fifth poorest in the nation, with no veterinarian serving the community. But the people here love their animals as much as any other Texan and their animals deserve care.” — Dr. Wesley Bissett, former VET Director

We deployed to Perryton in response to the devastating tornadoes that ripped through the Texas Panhandle community in June 2023. Our mission was to provide veterinary medical support for injured animals. Our 10 members and 5 AgriLife Extension Disaster Assessment and Recovery (DAR) agents were met in the Texas Panhandle by two additional members and by faculty, staff, and students from VERO in Canyon.

In October 2022, 13 VET members and 7 AgriLife Extension agents were deployed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in response to Hurricane Ian, one of the deadliest storms to hit Florida in modern history. During the deployment, we provided veterinary medical support for FEMA urban search-and-rescue (USAR) teams that responded. Our team cared for 38 human remains search dogs attached to the 22 FEMA USAR teams, including Texas A&M Task Force 1.

We saw 505 animals, including dogs, cats, rabbits, and even two lambs, during our participation in OBHP, which was previously known as Operation Lone Star. Organized by the Texas Department of State Health Services, OBHP gives state and local groups a chance to practice setting up and operating health clinics that could be used in a disaster response situation while also providing services to the local community. For a second year, we selected the Raymondville site because of the lack of nearby veterinarians.

We deployed in March 2022, to assist with relief efforts associated with the Eastland Complex Fire, a collective term for seven wildfires that burned in North Central Texas near the towns of Carbon, Rising Star, and Gorman. Our response efforts included responding to animal emergencies in the field, providing field care for search-and-rescue dogs, and providing veterinary medical support for local residents.

Our team participated in this annual preparedness exercise for the first time in 2021. Started in 1999, Operation Lone Star, sponsored by the Texas Department of State Health Services, gives emergency response teams a chance to set up and operate clinics that provide services to the nearby population. Our clinic in Raymondville was a popular stop during the exercise. “Willacy County currently does not have a veterinarian… and pet health is important to keeping our community safe.” — Emilie Prot, DSHS Regional Health Director

VET and AgriLife extension agents deployed in September and returned home on Oct. 24 from Butte County, where we cared for more than 500 animals displaced by the ongoing wildfires and spread across 3 shelter locations. In total, more than 18 VET and AgriLife members deployed. This was the second time we deployed to this location. “When we received the phone call from Texas A&M saying that they were responding to the request, we had a celebration in the operations center.” — Ryan Soulsby, animal response incident commander

In the summer and fall of 2020, wildfires killed 10 people and left 22 missing in central and southern Oregon, so in early September, FEMA responded by deploying urban search-and-rescue (USAR) teams to the area. Dr. Deb Zoran — one of just three incident support team (IST) veterinarians in the whole country — was charged with the care of the 12 USAR dogs. Having someone with her experience is a rarity for USAR teams, which is something Zoran has been at the forefront of trying to change.

After assessing Jefferson County for its veterinary medical needs following Hurricane Laura’s landfall, our team returned to College Station on Aug. 27. We left College Station before sunrise and headed home the same day — making it the shortest deployment in the team’s history. “Jefferson County was prepared and the state of Texas was prepared; that’s what preparation does—it gets you through these times.” — Dr. Wesley Bissett, former VET Director

In May 2020, the Texas Division of Emergency Management asked former VET Director Dr. Wesley Bissett to serve as the operations section chief for the epidemiology unit working on case investigations and contact tracing of COVID-19 in the Texas Panhandle region, which was one of the hottest spots in the country for COVID-19 transmission. Not only was this the first single-member deployment but also the VET’s first human medicine disaster response scenario.

In April 2020, 17 members of our team deployed to Onalaska, to serve those affected by a tornado that struck East Texas. In Polk County, we worked with community sheltering operations to provide veterinary medical care to animals injured in the storm, which killed 3 people and left up to 30 injured. The request for our team’s services was initiated by the veterinary medical community through county officials as a result of the significant damage caused by the tornado and limited veterinary medical resources in the impact area.

In March 2020, we helped organize the COVID-19 response for our own Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, drawing from our experience in shelter management as the VMTH moved to curbside admissions and discharge processes. The response included developing new intake procedures for both small and large animal hospitals, rerouting traffic flow to allow clients to stay in their cars while their animals were cared for, and establishing decontamination protocol for pets that may have been in proximity to an ill owner.

We deployed in response to Tropical Storm Imelda, which severely flooded 13 Texas counties in September 2019. In rural Chambers County alone, approximately 100 cattle, horses, dogs, and cats were rescued and/or treated for floodwater-related injuries. An additional 4,000 head of livestock were supported on site. We diagnosed and treated many submersion injuries, which tend to adversely affect the skin and can lead to swelling and additional infection.

In September 2019, we helped care for more than 270 animals seized in the Rio Grande Valley at the request of the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). We supported county officials at the local shelter in managing the volume of animals, as well as providing veterinary medical care for malnutrition and treating other issues. Local officials are “…doing an incredible job of getting the resources they need to get these animals to a healthy state, and their goal is to adopt them into the community.” — Dr. Wesley Bissett, former VET Director

During the 29-day deployment, our team’s first outside of Texas, 12 members of the VET and 7 AgriLife Extension agents from across Texas worked at the Del Oro Emergency Animal Shelter in Oroville, California, aiding with volunteers, inventory, and data management, as well as medical care to the many animals sheltered there.

We were called to respond in 10 jurisdictions located between Nueces County and the Texas-Louisiana border following Hurricane Harvey. Our response impacted more than 4,000 animals, including medical interventions, supporting the emergency animal sheltering community and search and rescue dogs working the response, and animals that were positively impacted by community emergency plans authored by our faculty and students. Our response was described as the model for the nation by members of the federal and other state governments.

Our team deployed to Van Zandt County and spent three days at Canton Junior High, where we provided medical support for injured animals, both large and small, and helped reunite lost or missing pets with their owners. We arrived to conditions resulting from an F4 tornado that brushed one side of town and an F3 on the other. The F3 was on the ground for approximately 50 miles. Our team coordinated with local veterinarians and the Texas Animal Health Commission.

Early June 2016, brought devastating floods and tornadoes to Southeast Texas. We were deployed to Fort Bend and Brazoria Counties and spent two weeks treating more than 100 animals—including livestock, cats, ducks, horses, and dogs—in the flooded communities. Along with decontaminating animals that may have come into contact with toxic chemicals in the flood water, the team treated many other conditions, such as dehydration and submersion injuries.

Rainfall changed the flow of the Blanco River into a wall of water that carried away houses, trees, cars, and anything else left in its path. After treating a lab found in a tree for minor injuries, the dog was scanned for a microchip. And, through the efforts of our team, Maggie was returned to Jonathan McComb—the only member of his immediate family to survive the tragedy. Later, our team was redeployed to provide search-and-rescue support to a team continuing with search-and-rescue from a base of operations in San Marcos. Due to the ongoing heat and humidity, we sent teams into the field to provide support.

A small group of our team members and veterinary students were called out to provide support for search-and-rescue dog teams involved in a long-standing criminal investigation. Rugged terrain, high ambient temperatures, and the potential for snake bites presented hazards for the dogs and their handlers. Excellent handler oversight and veterinary medical support allowed all of the dogs to complete their mission.

We deployed to the West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion in April 2013, with the mission of providing veterinary care for the search-and-rescue dogs of Texas A&M Task Force 1 as well as resident animals injured as a result of the blast. 5  faculty, 4 students, 4 technicians, and 5 support staff from the VMBS responded, utilizing 2 of the team’s mobile veterinary medical platforms and four vehicles.

It was the most destructive wildfire in Texas history at the time, striking areas of Bastrop County in September and October 2011. 2 separate fires started on Sept. 4, 2011, as a result of strong winds caused by nearby Tropical Storm Lee, and merged into one large blaze that burned east of the city of Bastrop—devastating a significant portion of the Lost Pines area.