On a cold evening in late January, I was on duty at Midwest Animal Hospital when I received a distressing call. A fire had broken out in the laundry room of the People's Animal Welfare Society (P.A.W.S.), a local animal shelter near Orland Park, Illinois, that often turned to Midwest for veterinary care.

Without hesitation, I rallied the team members on site. We quickly grabbed as many leashes and carriers as we could find. Eleven minutes later, we arrived on the scene with five carloads of people and supplies. The fire department had just contained the fire but they were unsure how to handle the animals.

Our team rushed in to evacuate the 55 cats and 42 dogs. We placed the animals in crates and transported them to their hospital five miles away. With a 20,000-foot facility and a large full-time staff, Midwest was more equipped than most to handle the large influx of patients, but given the late hour, most had finished their shifts. 

I texted as many people as I could. About 60 to 70 members returned to the hospital, including doctors, techs, managers and groomers who bathed and examined every animal. We took temperatures and heart rates and treated them for respiratory distress and smoke exposure. Many team members worked through the night to monitor the animals who remained at the hospital for the next 48 hours.

In my 18 years at Midwest Animal Hospital, I had never seen an emergency on that scale. We’ve had a few clients affected by house fires, but nothing like that night. Every single animal was saved because of one thing: teamwork.  

Today, all of the animals have fully recovered and were adopted or placed with foster families.