Tragedy tugs at the heart. A county or region never realizes its
potential solidarity until it must unite to overcome odds. "Our
minister said, 'We've met people on our street that we've never
met before because we were all out there working together,'" Dr.
John Stevens, proprietor of Animal Medical Clinic in Port
Charlotte, Fla., says about his community's response to
Hurricane Charley in 2004. A generous outpouring follows, but in
the case of veterinary medicine, it's often too late to
volunteer services after disaster A volunteer washes a lost dog
at a temporary animal clinic following Katrina. "Being on the
emergency response side of it for as long as I have, it's very
frustrating when all the well-meaning people come out of the
woodwork to help, but you have no criteria or idea as what their
availability or capabilities are in a disaster," says Dr. Barry
Kellogg, a 10-year Veterinary Medical Assistance Team leader and
the new medical director the Humane Society of the United
States. "The last thing that