Large animal vet Shayne Ross never imagined his job would involve racing the river to evacuate his employer's surgery, canoeing to consultations, or the emotional toll of trying to help so many injured animals and traumatised farmers in the wake of last month's flood in Gympie.
"A lot of us here have unfortunately had to had to put down quite a number of animals, more than we would then we would like to admit, as a direct result of this flooding event. So it does it does take its toll," Dr Ross said.
As the Mary River began to burst its banks on Friday, February 25, the team at Gympie Veterinary Services was dealing with its own emergency - evacuating animals and equipment before their riverside surgery was swallowed by floodwater.
Other local vets took in emergency cases as staff evacuated about 20 animals from their hospital wing and moved surgical equipment and pharmaceuticals into shipping containers that were driven to higher ground.
The Mary River peaked at 22.8 metres on Sunday, February 27, its highest level since 1893.
The team scrambled to find new premises and continues to operate out of three sites as well as their vehicles to meet the needs of clients and their animals across the region.
"Under really trying conditions, essentially our entire clinic was on call for almost a 14-day period just to try and triage and get as many of these animals seen and helped as we could, it was an amazing effort," Dr Ross said.
"A few of us even managed to get our consults via kayak and canoe so that was quite interesting.
"I've never arrived at a consult by boat before - the SES did a fantastic job of helping us as well, they were ferrying supplies and equipment across the river."
Animal deaths take heavy toll on owners
The floods swept away hundreds of cattle, sheep, pigs, horses and chickens, many of which drowned.
"These animals are [people's] lives and to lose them in such a way and to be cut off from help for so long, it does take a toll," Dr Ross said.
Sadly, this horse needed to have an eye removed because its flood-isolated owner couldn't access timely veterinary treatment for its corneal ulcer.
Large animal vet Gerrie Folmer agreed that a lot of their work since the floods has involved psychology.
"We go there, and we try to help to do whatever we can."
Illness outbreaks
Cases of three-day sickness, a flu like illness in cattle, have been breaking out and the vets are continuously testing for any outbreaks of Japanese encephalitis, which can affect people, horses and pigs.
"Trauma has been really high, horses getting stuck in fences and injuring themselves and flooding brings mosquitoes which brings infectious disease," Dr Ross said.
Downed fences and displaced animals have also resulted in livestock grazing on toxic weeds.
"We've seen a few cases of a condition called photosensitisation where the skin of the animal can start to peel away."
Gympie Veterinary Services staff are waiting on their insurer's engineers to assess the structural damage before repairs can begin.
"If the building is structurally sound, we're looking at six or 12 months before we'll be anywhere near coming back," Dr Ross said.
After the Disaster: Before the Next
