Asheville Veterinary Emergency Group reopens and treats Helene pets

ASHEVILLE – After days without power or cell service in many areas of Western North Carolina, 16 pets and their worried owners waited in the lobby of the Veterinary Emergency Group when it reopened at 9 a.m. Oct. 2.

Amanda Ziegler, hospital manager at VEG Asheville, told Citizen Times that the hospital managed to stay open with a backup generator through Sunday, Sept. 29, as the effects of Tropical Storm Helene devastated Asheville and caused power shortages throughout the region. and caused water outages.

“We were able to see patients until Sunday afternoon, then the water started dripping and we had to make an emergency call for safety reasons,” said Ziegler. “We were affected by the cell tower outage, so we call them the Veggies, our employees, they worked here and had no contact with the outside world, so their families didn’t even know if they were OK. “But they were so into the pets concentrated that it didn’t matter at all.

VEG reopened on October 2 after a 44-hour closure due to the impact of Tropical Storm Helene.

During the 44 hours the clinic was closed, enough pets required medical care to keep the entire staff busy all day upon reopening. Around 4 p.m., some employees headed out to meet vendors at the airport and pick up essential pet food supplies for VEG to distribute to the community.

Ziegler said that in addition to distributing supplies, VEG has received an outpouring of support from the Asheville community in the form of valuable donations.

“I had goosebumps this morning because of the great community that was there and I’m just at a loss for words. It’s unbelievable,” said Ziegler.

During a tour of the VEG facilities, Ziegler pointed out oxygen chambers that are operated with generator power in the event of failures. A foster kitten receiving oxygen was stranded in the storm for a day and a half before staff were able to send him home. A total of six stationary animals were sent to other locations during the outages. They all survived the storm.

On October 2nd, the staff was already busy carrying out emergency operations again. Behind a pane of glass, a veterinarian removed a stone from the stomach of Charlie, a seven-month-old puppy whose illness only became an obvious emergency for his owners during the widespread outages caused by Helene.

“We discussed today before opening whether we would be able to do surgeries, etc. with the staffing levels we had,” Ziegler said. “And it gets to a point where one of our mottos is simply, ‘Find a way to say yes,’ and that’s how we are here.”

VEG is an open concept veterinary clinic. This means many things, perhaps the most obvious being the line of sight from the lobby into the treatment area, where owners can wait and watch their pets being treated.

The hospital also offers some private rooms where pet owners can even stay overnight to stay with their pets. Because VEG was operating during the aftermath of Helene before its 44-hour closure, the private rooms were converted into sleeping quarters for staff.

The many animals VEG saw on October 2nd were brought by their owners for various reasons, some directly related to Helene, others were simply unfortunate emergencies.

“There was a little mix of things,” Ziegler said. “And it’s hard to say – we’ve seen a lot of gastrointestinal issues, and is that because of a change in food because they weren’t getting it? Is it because they are scared and nervous? The whole thing is just very nerve-wracking for anyone, but for a pet they just don’t understand it.”

Ziegler added that one thing that concerned VEG staff was the possibility of owners providing unboiled water to their animals during active boil advisory, which could be a cause of gastrointestinal problems in pets.

Despite the chaos, limited staff and resources, and the many patients VEG has treated since reopening, Ziegler said the team knew the work they were doing was necessary.

“Our motto at the hospital is, ‘We are there for people and pets when they need us most.’ So, we are here now.

To donate to VEG Cares, the clinic’s veterinary charity that helps families who cannot afford treatment for their pets make ends meet, visit veterinaryemergencygroup.com/veg-cares.

Iris Seaton is the featured news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected].

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