Tuesdays with Tony – Flooding in Louisiana

Before I get in to the informational section of my weekly discussions, I want to extend an invitation to each of you for our latest Come See Tony Event.  It will be next Thursday September 8^th, 6:30 pm at the Clinic.  You will be allowed to talk with me and pet me.  I will tolerate selfies as long as they are appropriately hashtagged on social media.  There will also be some talk on the science behind vaccines.  Oh and good food.  You are crazy if you don’t come. Please RSVP with one of the lovely office ladies, or confirm that you’re going on the Facebook Event here https://business.facebook.com/events/289817458052174/ 

I know we have gone over disaster stuff recently but Mother Nature has provided me with another opportunity.  It’s been raining in Louisiana.  It’s been raining so much there’s massive flooding.  With massive flooding comes a lot of need for veterinarians since, as expected, us animals don’t do so well with all that water.  Luckily (or unluckily) the wonderful folks at LSU College of Veterinary Medicine got loads of practice during Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath.

There are two parts to flooding and each has its own set of issues.  Let’s start with the rainy part since it comes first.  During the initial rain storms, horses may freak out since it’s one of their best responses to disaster.  Freaked out horses do some pretty crazy stuff like run through fences, kick through walls, and generally figure out a way to injure themselves.  I can’t really throw stones here as freaked out cats aren’t a whole lot better.

On to the no longer rainy part.  During this phase the veterinarians are kept busy fixing the injuries horses did freaking themselves out and dealing with the aftermath of high water.  Common things they see are lacerations to legs and faces, eye injuries from debris, and skin and hoof problems from standing in water for long periods.  Horse parts don’t take to being immersed in water for days at a time.  Flood water often has chemicals and sewage in it as well make it even worse than plain old water.  To make things worse, it is often difficult to get supplies in to affected areas and horses out to hospitals.

The veterinarians at LSU and surrounding clinics have sent out a call for help.  They can always use grain and hay donations, but most important is monetary donations.  Money lets them buy supplies and equipment for the situations they are facing.  What we may think they need isn’t always what they need.  You can go here:   http://lvma.org/LVMA/LSART_Donations.aspx      or here:  http://www.lsu.edu/vetmed/disaster_preparedness/donations.php  to donate.

I’m going to get up on my kitty soap box here for just a moment and remind you humans to be prepared.  Look at your farm and your animals.  What do you need to do to be prepared for a hurricane, a flood, a tornado? Are your animals microchipped?  We are running a microchip special this month because of hurricane season.  Our Docs want you ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at you!  We are all sure it will never happen to us until it happens.

Tony