KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was a rough start to the day Tuesday for animals like Dooney — who is not only ill, but like his nurses and doctor, sat in the dark all day.
“They’ve been nice and comfortable but we’ve had kind of candlelights available for them and taking them out frequently in between the storm,” said Dr. Teri Petifurd, a veterinarian at Picture Hills Pet Hospital.
Staff at the pet hospital were forced to reschedule and cancel appointments, but the big concern was keeping animals and equipment cool during the power outage.
“We do not have our blood work machines running because of the power. We do not have our X-ray unit running because of the power. We are not able to get into the fridge, which has thousands of dollars of vaccines, because there is no power... We are actually unable to see anyone except for in this area there where there is natural light,” Petifurd said.
Thankfully the power turned on in the middle of the day, allowing staff to play catch-up from today and prepare for tomorrow, even squeezing in a few last-minute appointments after a very long day.
“The main thing is making sure all of our vaccines are good in the fridge, unpacking everything, getting all of our equipment back up and running. Hopefully a little bit of catch-up with doing some diagnostics with the dog in the back who needed X-rays and blood work,” Petifurd said.
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