1. in the community
64 TRENDS MAGAZINE
Rallying in Rowlett
by Sarah Rumple
What began as a typical late-December Saturday morning
in Rowlett, Texas, hours later morphed into a sinister sky
accompanied by the wailing of tornado sirens.
By about 9 p.m. on Dec. 26, 2 hours after the first siren
cried, the tornado was gone, leaving in its wake 12 human
lives lost, countless family pets unaccounted for, and
unimaginable damage to area homes and businesses.
“The scariest part was the 2 hours after the storm when we
didn’t know if the clinic was OK,” says Christen Lynch, prac-
tice manager at AAHA-accredited Animal Hospital of Rowlett
and Diagnostic Center (AHR). “We had about 100 animals
boarding with us and we had no idea if they were alive. We
didn’t know if we would have a place to practice on Monday
morning. We didn’t know if all our team members were OK.”
Somehow, AHR, and all the animals inside, survived
the tornado.
“When we look out the front of our clinic, we see houses
that are now just rubble,” says Lynch. “We were extremely
lucky to have only sustained minor roof damage, a fried
radiology machine, and the loss of power.”
Communication
“[After the storm,] we forwarded our IP phones to my cell
phone so I could answer all the incoming calls. We posted
to our Facebook page every few minutes with real-time
updates about the clinic, the animals, and how people could
help,” Lynch says.
Social media played a large role in AHR’s communication.
Lynch says, “We directed people to our Facebook when they
called to get updates. We posted in community pages that
people had created about the storms. It was a great way to
update everyone at once.”
Compassion
“The most inspiring part was how our team and the commu-
nity pulled together in a time of hardship,” says Lynch.
Clients laundered kennel bedding, set up power generators
and emergency lights, walked and fed animals, drove staff to
work, and donated to AHR’s Caring for Pets Fund. Industry
partners supplied free lab work and pet medications. AHR
provided free boarding and care for animals injured or dis-
placed by the storm.
Community
To help the community cope in the aftermath of the storm,
AHR held a candlelight vigil for lost and injured pets, and
then hosted Amanda Florsheim, DVM, for a free community
seminar, “After the Storms: Helping Pets Cope.”
“I will never forget the way the community pulled together,”
Lynch says.
April is the American Red Cross’ Pet First Aid Awareness
Month. Lynch recommends hospitals offer disaster prepared-
ness lists and pet first aid kits for clients to help prepare for
similar situations.