News of the rising water levels in Point Reyes Station
reached veterinarian Mary Whitney, of Inverness Park, via HAM radio
around 8 a.m. Saturday morning. The next few hours were spent struggling
to find a way to reach the six animals she had left kenneled the prior
evening in the Point Reyes Animal Hospital.
During New Year’s weekend, the clinic was boarding
four dogs and medically attending to two cats. The clinic, situated
next to Papermill/Lagunitas Creek, was built on a flood plane. During
the 1982 floods, water in the clinic reached 8 inches.
The fire department made plans to drive or boat Whitney
to town but conditions became too dangerous as water levels topped the
Green Bridge. Friends offered their kayak. Ultimately, it was a firefighter
radio that linked Whitney to the animals in her clinic. Around 10 a.m.
Point Reyes Station Firefighters broke into the clinic through a back
window, relocated the stranded animals into higher cages and offered
them fresh water. News that all the animals were secured was relayed
to a much-relieved Whitney.
Around 2 p.m., as water levels receded, Whitney drove
towards Point Reyes Station and eventually reached her clinic by walking
through sloshy pastures, traversing barbed wire fences, and wading through
thigh-high water while holding the hands of Christmas-package-carrying
strangers, also eager to get to town. Arriving at the clinic, Whitney
attended to the animals and immediately contacted their owners to let
them know their pets were fine.
Whitney reopened the clinic on Monday morning due
to the generous help of many friends, clients, and community members.
"So many people showed up that we had to turn some away,"
said a grateful Whitney.
Fortunately, the clinic suffered only minor content
damage: dog food and cat litter were saturated; some X-rays were damaged;
some files got wet. The only true casualty was the office shag carpet,
which was pulled up and discarded. "The animals seemed no worse
for the wear," Whitney said.