Owners need to plan for evacuation of their pets

Hurricane Gustav has reminded us that this month marks the three-year anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The tragedy taught emergency preparedness personnel much about the power of the human-animal bond. A significant number of people who refused evacuation orders reported caring for pets as a major reason for staying behind. Sometimes forming packs, starving dogs complicated search and rescue efforts during the flood. Abandoned animals added to the toxic bacterial contamination of trapped flood waters. Newly homeless families hesitated to leave the area while they desperately searched for their missing pets.

Several area veterinarians and veterinary technicians volunteered to personally attend to animals in the wake of the Katrina Disaster. When they returned, they brought with them passionate pleas for pet owners to prepare for the unexpected. Many have become enthusiastic advocates of microchip implantation. Many pets that never made their way back home had clearly slipped collars or leashes in the desperate attempt to escape rising water. A microchip would have returned many to their families.

Before Katrina, it was unheard of to provide emergency shelters to accommodate pets. Today, disaster response authorities frequently incorporate family pets into their planning. However, the reality remains that pet owners need to plan for the evacuation and care of their own animals.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has developed resources to help both pet owners and government officials in planning for natural disasters. The AVMA has provided free access to their materials through avma.org/products/disaster/. If you are involved with emergency preparations for your community or for your family, please take the time to include pets in your plans.

Q: I enjoyed the column last week advising undergraduate students on getting into veterinary school. I am considering a career in veterinary medicine and I was wondering about the typical salary. Would you mind letting me know what I could expect?

A: There are many rewards associated with being a veterinarian. Although the profession can and should provide a comfortable living, most of the rewards are not financial in nature. It is hard to overstate the great deal of personal satisfaction associated with protecting the health of both animals and people on a daily basis. There is also a certain prestige associated with being a member of an almost universally respected profession.

As a veterinarian, you would have opportunities for a rewarding and exciting professional life that few other jobs can offer. The Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree can lead to extremely diverse careers from traditional farm call practice to jumping out of planes into combat zones. In addition to private practice, my colleagues work in government, industry, public health, zoos, aquaria, teaching, field research, the military and more. Looking forward to each day and a feeling of fulfillment each evening is a privilege many veterinarians know well.

When analyzed purely on financial return on investment, veterinary medicine is not one of the better medical professions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual salary for veterinarians was $81,490 in 2007. This figure is almost half that of family practitioners ($153,600) and more than $100,000 a year lower than the average orthodontist salary ($185,340). Despite requiring eight years of college education and associated debt, the average veterinarian makes only 25 percent more than the average dental hygienist with a two year degree ($64,910).

Of course, it is impossible to place a price tag on happiness. You are only given one lifetime to live. Any of the major medical professions can provide you with a comfortable lifestyle. It is all the other rewards that make being a veterinarian worth all the time, effort, and student loans it takes to become one.

Dr. Watts is a companion animal general practitioner and owner of Clevengers Corner Veterinary Care. He can be reached through ClevengersCorner.com or by calling 428-1000. Some columns contain material contributed by the Veterinary News Network.