By Diane Weber
The veterinarian pressed the stethoscope to the little dog’s chest at the American Red Cross shelter in Rock Valley, where the pet is staying with her family.
“I can hear Princesa’s heartbeat,” the dog’s owner said.
“Yes, and Princesa is very healthy,” said Dr. Kenton Broadway as he finished his checkup.
At Dr. Broadway’s Valley Vet Clinic, nearly four feet of flood water had come rushing into the building during recent flooding in Northwest Iowa, destroying computer equipment, paper patient records, furniture and walls.
Despite that, Dr. Broadway took time to help the Red Cross by examining the cats and dogs staying in shelters in his hometown. All the pets checked out heathy, and Dr. Broadway offered to update any vaccines that the cats and dogs may need.
The Red Cross understands the important emotional role that pets play in the lives of their owners. When possible, shelter workers do all they can to accommodate domesticated pets comfortably. Red Cross Pet Liaison Melissa McGill arranged the veterinary visits at the three shelters where pets were staying with their owners.
“It is humbling,” said Dr. Broadway about the work helping those displaced by the flood disaster. “When I see my whole community stepping up to help their neighbors in need, whoever they are —this is just a little bit that I can do.”
Dr. Broadway is one of three area veterinarians who volunteered their time to help the pets taking refuge with their owners in Red Cross shelters.
Dr. Maggie Hirschfield of the Homestead Small Animal Service also left a flooded clinic to visit the pets at one of the Red Cross shelters.
“We had between two and three feet of water in our office,” she said as she stroked Gracie, her first patient of the day. “We had to see some patients on the sidewalk,” she said. Dr. Hirschfield and her two vet techs, Margaret Pearson and Sandar Myint visited the pets at the Clay County Regional Event Center shelter in Spencer, Iowa.
All the pets there checked out healthy. One cat needed a special diet for a thyroid issue, and Dr. Hirschfield offered to find it for her furry patient.
Dr. Richard Johnson of the West Sioux Vet Clinic checked out the pets at the Red Cross shelter at West Sioux High School in Hawarden, Iowa.
“It’s not about us,” said Dr. Johnson. “These are our neighbors, and we are happy to be able to help.”
The Red Cross has been on the scene in Northwest Iowa since the severe flooding began in late June. Red Cross volunteers from across the country arrived quickly, providing relief and recovery for those affected by the flood. As these natural disasters become more common and intense, the Red Cross encourages people to develop emergency preparedness plans for themselves and their pets.
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