Animal ER: LIVE in the Lowcountry

Animal ER: LIVE in the Lowcountry

Animal emergencies are followed in real time at animal hospitals and mobile vet emergency units.

Written by Julie Murray, Head Writer, Lowcountry Dog Magazine

The next time you sit down to relax on the couch with your pup and your popcorn, don’t be surprised if you tune in to the television and see someone you recognize! Our very own Veterinary Specialty Care was one of 6 featured animal clinics in the first season of Animal ER on the Nat Geo WILD channel. This show gives us a peek behind the scenes of the daily operations of a busy vet clinic and an all-access pass to the highs and lows that abound. I spoke with Natalie Garber, the Outreach Coordinator and Client Advocate for Veterinary Specialty Care, about how the amazing opportunity came to be. “I received an email mid-December from the Development Manager of Big Fish Entertainment. They were in the process of developing a show for Nat Geo WILD that would capture the incredible work being done in 6 different animal hospitals and emergency rooms around the country...LIVE!” She said that after the initial emails, a few back-and-forth Skype sessions and working out the details, VSC was chosen to be part of the TV show. 3 days later, the film crew arrived! Natalie told me that when they found out they had been selected, there was a lot of excitement...and a lot of nerves. “Above all, we knew this was going to be a big deal and a great opportunity for VSC to share the amazing, life-changing work that goes on within our walls every day.” She says that after meeting the TV crew many worries subsided because they were fun and friendly. It took the staff at VSC a bit to become used to the filming equipment, but it quickly became the norm. They filmed 5 days a week and the live shows were filmed on Saturday and Sunday nights. Set up consisted mostly of placing mics and still cameras - but most filming consisted of cameras following the staff around. One of the VSC staffers said, “At first it was a little strange, but after getting to know [the crew], it was like they weren’t even there!” The crew filmed many of the cases that came into the hospital but only ended up featuring a few. During that time, there were a variety of emergencies - snake bites, multiple pyometra [infection in the uterus] surgeries, laceration repair - to name a few. They also dealt with wildlife emergencies and were filmed extracting a fish hook from a turtle’s mouth. Some of the footage from the Surgery and Internal Medicine departments was pre-recorded, including a scope procedure to remove pieces of a chewed toy and even an amputation! It wasn’t all seriousness though. One of the staffers told me that there were too many funny and interesting experiences to share “The film crew was amazing - and hilarious! It was really a wonderful experience to meet a group of people that all came from different places - countries even - that have so many stories of their own about their filming adventures. It was very sad when they left!”

Getting such an in-depth glimpse of the inner workings of a busy veterinary hospital is a rare - and special - occurrence. I asked Natalie and the staff what they hope the general public will learn from seeing this footage. Emergency tech Erin said she hopes people will learn “that things happen and when they do, we are here for both the pet and the owner with any emergency, big or small, at any time of day or night.” Natalie also told me what she wants viewers to take away from this experience. “I hope that viewers are able to see how much compassion and care goes into treating every pet that comes through our doors. The emergency world is very fast paced and because of that oftentimes gets a bad rap of not caring in fact it’s just the opposite!” *Authors Note: Having been one of those late night visitors to VSC myself, I can personally attest to their care and compassion and quick-thinking! Bullet and Harry thank them too.* A few parting thoughts: From Internist and Co-Founder of VSC, Dr. Perry Jameson: “We wanted people to see that the level of medicine offered is just like what humans receive. You were also able to see just how much our nurses and doctors cared about the patients and their human families."

From Surgeon and Co-Founder of VSC, Dr. Henry Bianucci: “We really hope that viewers will see that our team members across the hospital have good hearts and minds and are dedicated to doing the right thing for the pets, especially in emergency situations. We really want to put a caring and compassionate face to our ER so that people can see even though emergency situations may arise, that we are always here for them.” If you want to experience all the excitement and drama of veterinary emergency medicine - you can check out the first season of Nat Geo WILD’s Animal ER right now. [Check your local cable provider listings or www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/animal-er-live/