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Emergencies & Disasters
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Human medical emergencies pose conundrum for veterinarians
6/7/2013
Many are unsure of their responsibility and liability
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Animal death toll unknown after Moore twister
5/21/2013
At least four veterinary clinics still operating in devastated area
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Tornado missed veterinary hospital by 70 yards
2/11/2013
Doctor and staff huddled with surgery patient
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Free pet food offer brings deluge of requests
12/26/2012
All 10,000 pounds now spoken for
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Free pet food available by the ton
12/21/2012
Surplus from Hurricane Sandy relief sits in warehouse
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Storm recovery focus of NYC symposium
11/15/2012
Veterinarians, physicians, dentists invited to free event
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Battered, not beaten: Veterinarians brace for new storm in Sandy’s wake
11/7/2012
Ravaged areas of East Coast evacuated ahead of nor'easter
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Veterinarians, clinic staff recount effects of Sandy
10/30/2012
ACVS cancels annual symposium
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Veterinarians recount Pentagon 9/11 search and rescue
9/11/2012
Effort less publicized than Ground Zero’s but equally intense
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Louisiana authorities checking Isaac's effect on livestock
8/29/2012
Mississippi shelter transfers pets to New York
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Colorado wildfire livestock refugees treated for free
6/25/2012
Tales from fire include donkey heroics
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Duluth veterinarian corrals zoo animals during flood
6/22/2012
Polar bear breaks out, seals swim in street
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Ohio Veterinary Medical Association building burns
6/1/2012
Flames destroy more than half of structure
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Company asks veterinarians to stop using its hyperbaric oxygen chambers
2/14/2012
Fatal explosion a 'wakeup call' for safety, training
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Veterinary practice digs out from Alabama twister
1/24/2012
Animals unharmed; massive cleanup ensues
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Veterinary 9/11 first-responders were local
12/1/2011
Shared experience forged lifelong ties
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Preparedness urged for Australian bushfire, cyclone season
10/6/2011
Experts advise reviewing insurance coverage, readying for evacuation
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9/11 brings first responder to ‘emotional brink’
9/9/2011
Memories from Ground Zero haunt veterinarian
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Veterinarians encounter Irene
8/29/2011
Accounts mixed on storm's impact
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North Carolina veterinarians brace for Hurricane Irene
8/26/2011
NCVMA collects names of volunteers
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Colorado State to examine rubble in fire's wake
8/2/2011
Source of blaze that destroyed Equine Reproduction Laboratory unknown
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Zoo stranded by titanic flood
8/2/2011
Displaced animals won't return for a year or two
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Joplin marches forward
7/12/2011
Adopt-a-thon finds homes for 745 displaced pets in two days
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Wildfires: Veterinary volunteers urgently sought in Arizona
6/21/2011
Pharmaceuticals, supplies needed
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Veterinarian tells story of chaos, relief in tornado's aftermath
6/1/2011
Dr. Ben Leavens sets up makeshift ER while family is missing
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Tornadoes strike again; veterinarians shaken
5/25/2011
Oklahoma veterinarian escapes twister by jumping into kennel
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Veterinary relief under way in deadly tornado’s wake
5/23/2011
At least one Joplin, Mo., veterinary practice destroyed
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Recovery continues for wildlife affected by Gulf oil spill
4/22/2011
Rescuers able to release most animals back to sea
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Fearing overseas radiation, Americans seek potassium iodide for pets
3/18/2011
Veterinary experts say medication isn’t warranted
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Normalcy returns to Queensland veterinary school after epic flooding
2/17/2011
Most pets reclaimed by families
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Pet rescues undertaken in flooded Queensland
1/17/2011
Veterinary school becomes ad hoc shelter
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AU veterinary student missing in Thailand
7/30/2009
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Australian vets treat victims of deadly Victorian bushfires
2/18/2009
At least one veterinary clinic reportedly succumbed to blaze
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Colleagues Beset by Disaster Set Bitterness Aside
One forgives employee who set clinic on fire
10/31/2008
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Ike promises depressed economy for Texas region
9/24/2008
17 veterinarians practice in Galveston, TVMA reports
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Ike's aftermath
9/17/2008
Veterinarians endure post storm
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Generators wanted, Texas veterinary officials say
9/17/2008
More than 1,000 DVMs in devastated counties, TVMA reports
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Texas gears up for countdown to Ike
9/10/2008
Animal care agencies prepare for storm's strike
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LSART to assess damages before taking on new volunteers
9/2/2008
Aide workers should wait, officials say; supply donations not needed at press time
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Free pet food available by the ton
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December 21, 2012
By: Edie Lau
For The VIN News Service
 Photo by Mike Witkowski
Shop foreman Desi Medina offloads pallets of donated dog and cat food at the warehouse of ZipJack Custom Umbrellas in Elmsford, N.Y. The donation by a pet rescue organization intended for Hurricane Sandy relief was so great that most of the food remains in storage with nowhere to go.
If it truly could rain cats and dogs, ZipJack Custom Umbrellas might not be in this predicament.
The umbrella factory in New York is in possession of 40 pallets of dog and cat food, wet and dry, donated for Hurricane Sandy relief. It has no one to eat the food.
Volunteers were able to distribute six of the original 46 pallets of food to storm victims but because the outpouring of donations from all quarters was so generous, demand ebbed for the remainder, according to the coordinator of a local relief effort, Dr. Brian Green.
Now the food — wrapped in 3-by-3-foot blocks, each weighing some 250 pounds — is occupying warehouse space belonging to ZipJack, whose owners had offered what they thought would be temporary storage.
It’s been nearly two months since Sandy made landfall on the New Jersey shore, mowing over coastal communities in that state and in neighboring New York.
Green, a veterinarian in Tarrytown, and Mike and Martha Witkowski, owners of ZipJack in Elmsford, jumped into volunteer efforts to collect donations — food, paper goods, cleaning supplies and more — and deliver them to storm-wrecked areas.
“Following that,” Green recounted, “one of the good-hearted people that was with us who happens to be a breeder made contact with a Texas rescue organization that trucked up to us about 50 pallets of pet food. That’s just tons of food.”
He continued: “It was very well-intentioned, but it got shipped to us before we had a distribution channel for it.”
That’s when the Witkowskis offered their warehouse space.
Some of the food made it into the hands of rescue organizations tending to pets displaced by the storm. “But because of the generosity of so many people,” Green said, “the need has been markedly diminished in the area.”
Mike Witkowski, who has become quite familiar with the specifics of the donation, said the food consists of Cesar and Pedigree brands for dogs and Whiskas brand for cats. "We have 20 pallets of Cesars and two types of Pedigree — big bags and smaller bags of treats," he said. "The Whiskas, there's two different flavors, all soft packets."
Together, they occupy 600 square feet of space where workers normally do repairs. “Luckily, we were able to move over” to another space for that, Witkowski said.
But soon the largesse will pose a real inconvenience, as remodeling is on ZipJack's schedule in January. “I have to hold off until I can clear that spot out,” Witkowski said.
Green surmises that there may yet be pet-owning storm victims who could use the food. And if the need isn’t great among Sandy survivors, then certainly pet owners down on their luck for other reasons would welcome the provisions, Green believes.
It’s just a matter of reaching them.
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