Social media gives glimpse into veterinary clinics grappling with monster snowstorm

"Snowvember" has hit the region at the northeast tip of Lake Erie hard this week. Social media is teeming with photos of unimaginable snow amounts after a winter storm dumped approximately five feet near Buffalo, New York. Cars and people were trapped as 140 miles of Interstate 90 shut down due to the dangerous storm; cities and towns are paralyzed.

Veterinary clinics in the snowed-in region have been forced to close or weigh the risks of opening. Many are open with limited staff and urge pet owners to call first before even attempting a trek to the clinic. Here, you can view the important, but also light-hearted, Facebook posts clinics have been using the past 48 hours to communicate with their clients during this emergency.

The National Weather Service warns that the Buffalo area could see three to eight more inches of snow Wednesday, plus up to two more feet by Thursday night.

Bruno's Blog: Issue IV – Snowvember

I woke up yesterday morning to our house phone and Mom's cell phone ringing followed by that text message noise Mom gets on her phone sometimes. All these noises were disturbing to my sleep, but Mom said they had important information to tell us. It was the Town of Hamburg letting us know that there was a terrible snowstorm going on and that they had issued a driving ban in our town. Mom said this meant that we couldn't go to work today. She said we were going to have a “snow day!”

Mom took me outside this morning and I saw way more snow than was there last week Thursday. Mom had to shovel me a path down the stairs, onto the patio, and off to the grass so that I could walk outside. It was nice of her! I used the path she made to do my morning business, but then I decided to go off path and barrel through the 18+ inches of snow on my own! I didn't walk too far though. It was hard work and I was getting pretty cold!

When we got back inside, Mom fed me my breakfast and we played a while as she watched the morning news coverage of the snowstorm. She was on her phone quite a bit communicating with the animal hospital about the snow and not being able to make it in due to the driving ban.

Mom took me back outside and I tried to barrel through the snow again. It seems like it got even higher since the last time I was out! It's still coming down hard, this snow is relentless! It's very hard to maneuver through the heavy snow! At times like this, I wish that I had a bathroom to use inside like the cat does!!!

When I come back inside, I am covered in snow! Mom wipes my whole body with a towel to dry me off and my feet are so wet from the snow that I slip quite easily on the linoleum floor of the kitchen. I do that sometimes normally too though as I am just getting used to the fact that I have four legs and that they are supposed to all move together in a coordinated fashion to get me places!

I just took it easy yesterday. Played with Mom, with my toys, and relaxed with my cat Sox by the fire, you know, typical snowy day activities! Mom said she has to go outside an attempt to snow blow the driveway. Not sure what that means, but I feel bad for her if she has to spend much time out in the middle of this snowstorm!