NEDERLAND, Texas — A Nederland veterinary clinic is stepping up to provide 24/7 care for pets after the Southeast Texas Animal Emergency Clinic in Beaumont suddenly closed down last week.
Many pet owners were looking at possibly having to travel out of town for emergency pet care. Now Neighborhood Veterinary Centers (NVC) is changing its hours to fill the need left by the Beaumont clinic's closure.
NVC owner Shay Hanson says he's heard of pet owners being forced to drive to Lake Charles and even Houston for their pets' emergencies since the closure.
"It was of course, shocking, and surprising all of us not only that it shut down, but it shut down so suddenly," said Hanson.
Hanson says his clinics felt the impacts of Beaumont's Southeast Texas Animal Emergency Clinic closing immediately.
"Definitely this weekend we were feeling the extra strain and volume of the Beaumont EC being closed," Hanson said.
He knew many pet owners in the area would also feel the effects.
"When you have a true emergency, you know, your dog or your cat may not make it an hour or hour and a half in the car before being able to even reach the facility, let alone get medical care," said Hanson.
Sadly, this was the case for one pet owner whose dog got sick.
"They had to drive to Blue Pearl in Houston and they said by the time they got there their dog was too weak, and it couldn't be saved or treated at that point. But if you know if they would have had accessible care here closer to home, they might have been able to save their dog," Hanson said.
Starting in September, the three neighborhood veterinary centers in Beaumont, Nederland and Groves will change their hours to handle the influx of patients. They're looking to hire more employees because of this.
"We're working to contact doctors, and try to staff up so that we can be open till midnight Monday through Thursday, and then 24 hours Friday through Sunday, starting September 1," said Hanson.
The NVC offers state of the art technology like a CT machine and a hydrotherapy treadmill.
"We're the only clinic in the area with a CT machine. We offer canine rehabilitation, orthopedic and neuro surgery," Hanson said.
The NVC is not just for cats and dogs.
"Dr. Weston here to see some reptiles and snakes and pocket pets and even sees birds," said Hanson.