Dog News

Community Rallies After SUV Smashes Through Vet Clinic

by Melanie

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A kitten was killed and other animals were injured after an SUV plowed through the front window of Nottingham Animal Clinic in Houston.  The driver fled.  Now the community has banded together to help the clinic and its animals in their time of need.

At 4 am on Sunday, the driver of an SUV careened through the front of the clinic, backed up, and then took off on foot.  He left his passenger behind.  Police are currently conducting an investigation into the matter.

The clinic is known by locals for their dedication to animals and their partnership with rescue groups by helping dogs who need emergency care.  Now the community is giving back – clients are volunteering to help in any way they can.  Jennifer and Chris Woody kindly donated their garage for the vet to store supplies, and thousands of dollars have been donated towards medical care and reconstruction.

Though insurance will likely be able to cover at least some of the cost of repairs to the facility, it can take a long time for the paperwork to be processed and for accident victims to receive money.  The staff would like to see the clinic open as soon as possible so they can continue to help the injured and infirm.

 

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This is what’s posted on the fundraiser page for the clinic:

During the early hours of Sunday morning a large SUV smashed through the front window of the vet clinic, it went through the reception area and all the way back to the treatment and surgery rooms. The crate that housed adoptable kittens behind the reception area was destroyed. The wonderful vet – Dr. James Fix (a fitting name for a man who devotes his career to saving lives) spent over an hour digging through the rubble and cinder blocks and found one of the kittens who had been adopted and was getting picked up tomorrow.  Tragically, that kitten was dead. He kept digging and soon found the other one. This little one was alive but not walking. She has a fractured leg and back and is being kept stable until she can undergo surgery tomorrow (and this is going to cost $$ on top of everything else). The clinic Cockatiel was banged up pretty badly and they are not sure how he will do yet so we aren’t sure if he’ll make it.  Luckily the other animals were in the cages in the kennel and don’t have any life threatening injuries even though the surgery room wall was shoved back into the kennels. One of the cats is still pretty “wigged out” but physically okay. This was an older building and there will be hoops to jump through to collect insurance, and start rebuilding. This clinic was built before the city annexed in the area and any ‘remodel’ will have to meet new codes. 

Our goal is to raise as much money as we can to help them cover the enormous costs associated with this terrible event and to rebuild bigger and better than ever.  We all know what insurance companies are like and who knows how long it will take and what will be covered. The driver took off and we suspect he was drunk and/or the car was stolen. No charges have been filed and they still haven’t caught the person.

Dr. Fix, Dr. Elizabeth Rowlands, Gina, Karen, Virginia, Dana and the whole entire team at Nottingham Vet Clinic devote their time (and spare time) to rescue. They work with many rescue groups and have saved countless dogs who have been abused, neglected and brought in with little hope.

 

 

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Please view the gallery to see pictures of not only the damage that was done to the clinic, but of some of the dogs Dr. Fix and his team have transformed. Dogs whose transformations were so drastic that they have gone viral on youtube. I have posted this viral video of Pumpkin – the picture you see of her laying on the vet table is at Nottingham Vet Clinic as the team at Nottingham remove the BB that was shot into her from her spine. This team has helped thousands of dogs just like this. Let’s repay them.

This is time to pay it forward. This is an amazing clinic run by a team of kind-hearted and generous people who make Houston, and the world, a better place. Help us get them back to doing what they do best… saving our furry friends and keeping our loved ones healthy and happy.

Please donate if you can and share this story. Let’s use the power of social media for good and give this vet clinic the money to get the rebuilding process started!

If you would like to help, please CLICK HERE.

 

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