Bridget Barry, of Meadowridge Clinic on Auburn Road has been deployed to help animal victims of hurricane Katrina. She is part of VMAT-1, the Northeast region Veterinary Medical Assistant Teams unit. She was called last Monday (8/29) and left the next day for Texas.

Dr. Barry specializes in dog and cat care. She also does limited wildlife rehabilitation. In addition she is a critical care responder to animals in hurricane relief programs.

As hurricane Karina made landfall the Department of Homeland Security deployed two fully staffed VMAT teams (VMAT-3 and VMAT-5), and stationed VMAT-1 in Houston, Texas to assess the disaster.  From there Dr. Barry was deployed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she will be part of a team that provides medical care for animal victims of the storm.

VMAT has the capability to set up a complete field hospital to provide emergency care for pets, zoo animals, livestock and even wildlife. They help the local veterinary communities in whatever way is necessary when there is a need. VMATs are the only veterinary response teams recognized in the National Response Plan. They assist the USDA in controlling outbreaks of animal disease. A VMAT team only comes when invited by a state.

VMAT-1 is based in New England, while team members like Dr. Barry live around the country. 60 highly trained professionals make up the team including veterinarians, technicians, a pharmacist, a mental health specialist and support personnel.

While Dr. Barry is working on the VMAT team the other three Meadowridge veterinarians are filling her shifts to cover her appointments.

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