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Emergencies & Disasters
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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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Colorado wildfire livestock refugees treated for free
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June 25, 2012
By: Phyllis DeGioia
For The VIN News Service
 Photo courtesy of Colorado State University
Ellie, a mammoth donkey thought to have led a fellow donkey and three horses to safety from a Colorado wildfire, is checked over by Colorado State University veterinary students Darcy Moreland and Oneal Peters.
The so-called High Park Fire began June 9 and burned mountainous terrain where many horses and other large animals are pastured. Livestock and people alike have taken refuge at a facility called The Ranch at Loveland, the designated evacuation center and disaster response headquarters.
"We've seen about 150 horses, and probably about 40 alpacas, llamas, sheep and goats," Miller recounted late last week. "The biggest thing they have is dehydration. A few have had some lacerations from beating around the bushes, some smoke inhalation, and there were a few that had some damage from being a little too close to some heat. Some had it in the muzzle a little bit, and there were some minor burns. There was nothing big in terms of large burned areas on the body."
Assisting Miller are students who are normally on rotation with him, other CSU veterinarians and many volunteer veterinarians from local private practices.
Miller said he knows of no livestock deaths directly related to the wildfire, but has heard reports of lost animals, mostly sheep and goats.
Six of the animals taken to The Ranch belonged to Greg Van Hare, who lives in Loveland. From September through May, Van Hare keeps the two donkeys and four draft horses in the back yard of his 3.5-acre home, but during the summer they go to pasture at the home of Mike and Sharon Guli, who live in nearby Bellevue. When the Gulis learned they had to evacuate, they called Van Hare, who set out to retrieve the animals. But he was stopped by authorities at Paradise Park Road, the first road to be closed. Van Hare couldn't reach his horse trailer.
Smoke was everywhere.
"Oh man, that was hard but it was a blessing in disguise," Van Hare said, "because we didn't have to make a safety decision about heading into that hot area. They said ‘No, you can't go in,’ and that was tough, but it was nice to have someone make that decision for us instead of us trying to make a hard decision that we shouldn't."
At The Ranch, the Gulis let authorities know that six animals had been left on their land. County officials were sent to get them.
Two donkeys and three horses were huddled together in a yet-unburned part of the pasture, which is situated in a valley. One of them is a mammoth donkey named Ellie, who is as big as a horse, with an ear-tip-to-ear-tip "wing span" of 32 inches. She is the undisputed leader of the pack — Van Hare says that in the past she has chased off a bull elk, a young moose and a black bear.
From the looks of it, Ellie kept most of the animals together against their natural instincts, Van Hare said.
"We're assuming Ellie kept them together with Brett the old man, our 21-year-old Percheron draft horse," Van Hare mused. "There are 40 acres with hills on either side, and heavy trees. These animals are hard-wired for flight, and when something bad happens they run. There was a fire coming in, so why didn't they run? A two-strand wire fence is not a deterrent for draft horses. They could have bolted and run. There are three ponds on the pastures. Those ponds were almost completely drained, so the helicopters did water drops and a bomber dropped slurry. Horses are hard-wired not to stick around. All we can figure is they (Ellie and Brett) kept the herd together."
There was one exception: A fourth horse belonging to Van Hare ended up about five miles down the road, later discovered with some other horses. Authorities brought him to The Ranch, too. Van Hare thinks he may have jumped the fence, as there were no marks on him.
In examining the draft horses, veterinarians at The Ranch found singed hair on the tips of their tails. The two donkeys had singed whiskers and singed beard and ear hairs. These clues suggest the horses stood with their backs to the fire while the donkeys faced it head on or perhaps were surprised by it.
For Van Hare and his family, worries about the fire, fears that the animals were lost, and finally, relief at their rescue made for an emotional roller-coaster ride. They're grateful that ride came to a safe stop.
”Some folks still don't have an answer on their animals," Van Hare said. "If they've bolted, some will likely never be found. We like our happy story."
The herd stayed at The Ranch for five days, after which Van Hare brought them home to Loveland to make space for other animals coming in.
The fire, said to be most the destructive in Colorado history, has destroyed 248 homes, according a Denver Post report. Among those lost was the Gulis' place in Bellevue where the Van Hare pack had been pastured.
The newspaper reported that 57 homes burned during the weekend in the Glacier View/Hewlett Gulch area, some 25 miles by road northwest of Bellevue. One of the homes belonged to Kris Paige, a certified veterinary technician, and her husband. In an interview today with the VIN News Service, Paige said the couple had been evacuated four times in the past month.
"We knew we were in fire country so we built our house with a metal roof, concrete siding and a 200-yard perimeter," Paige said. But this last time, she said, "The perimeter didn't stop it."
Lost along with the house was a barn, a cat and five generations' worth of antiques. Saved were a second cat, four dogs and 11 llamas.
Paige said friends on the East Coast are taking three of her four Akbash dogs. Her llamas are "scattered around the county" with friends and at The Ranch. Her adult children are tapping their contacts to find a place for them to stay because no hotel rooms are available in the area.
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