Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 5, 1991 TAG: 9103050263
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Shuler, a veterinarian who has practiced in Blacksburg since 1974, said he and his staff will be looking for a temporary office to use while the Companion Animal Clinic at 3000 S. Main Sreet is rebuilt.
Meanwhile, a camper equipped with telephones has been parked at the fire-damaged clinic. Shuler said some of his staff will be taking calls today and referring customers to other veterinarians.
"Our big concern right now is to be available to the ongoing needs of our clients so that their pet's needs can be fulfilled," Shuler said.
He said the clinic has 7,000 client files. None of the files was destroyed in the Saturday morning fire, which was still under investigation Monday, but Shuler said about 20 percent of them were damaged by water.
It will take a week or so to organize the files and order a minimal amount of supplies, he said.
Then, Shuler and the clinic's three other veterinarians - Drs. Beth Kirby, Marta Burkhead and Mathew McCormick - should be able to begin treating animals again on a limited basis.
Other New River Valley veterinarians have offered their support, Shuler said, by loaning them supplies and space until they can find temporary quarters. A new clinic building is likely to take five months to complete.
"We're just trying to help a colleague out under a very trying time," said Greg Troy, director of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Virginia Tech.
Shuler was outwardly shaken by the loss of animals, but he said the tragedy could have been worse if it had come during Virginia Tech's spring break when many students leave their pets at the clinic.
"I hate everything that has happened, but I feel it could have been much worse if it had been a week later," he said.
Burkhead said a counselor with Montgomery County Social Services has been contacted to help pet owners who lost a pet in the fire cope with their grief. She said the counselor also will be available for any of the 16 employees who worked at the clinic.
One person who lost a pet in the fire was Channel 7 reporter Eric Earnhart, who rented an apartment above the clinic. In fact, it was Earnhart who reported the fire after smelling smoke about 2:20 a.m.
"Fortunately I was awake," he said. "If I was asleep, I don't think I would've gotten out - as fast as it went up and as sound of a sleeper as I am."
He said he lost almost everything in the fire, including a pet snake. "That really hurts. I can replace everything else," he said.
Earnhart ended up video-taping the fire as it spread through the clinic and his apartment. That footage later was aired on the 6 o'clock news.
"I've covered a hundred fires, but never my own," he said.
Staff writer Madelyn Rosenberg contributed information to this story.
by CNB