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Hurricane Season 2008

The 2008 hurricane season was eventful for Texas. Hurricane Dolly had a wide range of possible landfalls in mid-summer, hitting South Padre Island as a category 1 storm on July 23 with minimal damage. Hurricane Edouard came ashore at Port Arthur as a strong tropical storm on August 5 after threatening all of the upper Texas and Louisiana coasts. At Sugar Land Veterinary Specialists, we took those threats to providing emergency services seriously.

When Hurricane Ike threatened as a category 4 storm, we feared the worse. When Ike made landfall in Galveston September 13 at 2:10 AM, tropical storm winds reached out from the eye 275 miles and hurricane force winds 120 miles. Devastation was widespread: trees down, power lines down, no water supply. The eye of Ike passed over Baytown, about 50 miles east of Sugar Land.

Almost all veterinary clinics in Southeast Texas closed, many on Thursday afternoon in preparation for Ike. Only one other veterinary emergency clinic in Tomball, north of Houston, remained open. Without power and water and with many streets not passable in the Houston area, especially the east side, it was several days and longer for most veterinary practices to re-open.

Sugar Land Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center kept the doors open throughout the storm. Pet owners from all southeast Texas counties came to us, beginning Thursday, Sept 12, for emergency care for their pets. The numbers were shocking. Our parking lot and lobby were full. Every cage was occupied and many patients were being treated wherever there was space. The phone was constantly ringing. Many patients presented with injuries after fights with other family pets as evacuees sought refuge with family in safe areas. Fortunately, power was lost for only 14 hours from 2:00 AM to 4:00 PM Sept 13. A generator had been prepared to supply electrical power to essential areas of the hospital. Water supply was never lost.

This website page is a tribute to the Emergency Section of Sugar Land Veterinary Specialists who labored non-stop for 5 days to care for the injured and sick pets and their owners. There was a tremendous amount of stress for all. Many had sustained severe damage to their homes and lost much of their belongings, but they were more concerned with the needs of their pets. These issues our Emergency Staff recognized and considered in triage. In all, about 270 pets were presented from Sept 12 through Sept 16.

Our thanks to Dr. Laurel Douglass, Head of Emergency and Critical Care Section, Dr. Jenifer Sheehy, Emergency Medical Director, Dr. David Peterson, David Batagower, ECC Manager, Sheila Beutell, Hospital Administrator, emergency technicians, Kim Grasty, Jewels Grohman, Thom Dietzel, Anne Amy, Tina Boone and day staff manager Silvano Maya, and receptionists Coye Sanders, Taryn Roberts and others. Many other volunteers pitched in during the busiest hours. This was truly a heroic effort.


Laurel Sheehy Peterson Batigower
Dr. Laurel Douglass Dr. Jenifer Sheehy Dr. David Peterson David Batagower
Gratsy Julia Anne Amy Silvano
Kim Grasty Jewels Grohman Anne Amy Silvano Maya