Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team Deploys To Care For 270 Seized Animals

More than 270 animals seized in South Texas will be cared for by the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET), which was activated Wednesday night through a request by the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM).

Animal responders from the Texas A&M University System — including VET members, fourth-year students on the Community Connections clinical rotation and members of the Texas Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps — will depart from College Station Thursday, Sept. 12 for the Rio Grande Valley, where the VET will provide veterinary medical evaluations and stabilization for any issues related to the case.

The 270 dogs and a single cat were found in a warehouse in San Benito after a Cameron County Public Health animal control officer and a Cameron County sheriff’s deputy responded to complaints of loud barking.

During what is anticipated to be a seven-day deployment, VET members will support county officials at the Cameron County Animal Shelter in managing the volume of animals, as well as providing veterinary medical care for malnutrition and treating other issues related to the conditions in which the animals were being kept.

“The Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team, Texas Division of Emergency Management and the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences are committed to serving the needs of Texas,” said Dr. Wesley Bissett, associate professor and VET director. “While each deployment is unique in its own way, this request demonstrates how the VET has built the capacity to respond to disasters from the Texas Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley and from El Paso to the Gulf Coast.”