February 7, 2025 • 9 mins
"This past Saturday morning, one of our worst nightmares came true."
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Doctor Burton, Hey, good morning. How are you.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I am doing well? Thank you? How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
We're doing We're doing okay, We're hanging in there.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good, good good.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
So I'm and I'll need you to kind of because
I don't want to mess the uh, I don't want
to mess this up.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
But was it? Was it last weekend?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
So we'll Trap Animal Rescue, Right, they have dogs that
are coming to wolf Trap to be adopted out, well
you know, taking care of and then adopted out.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
And so they come in on like a transport on
a on a van. Right, wasn't the van?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Wasn't the van involved in an accident last weekend?
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah? So this this this past this past weekend, you know,
on the around the the first of February, this past weekend.
You know, we we do you bring animals all the
way up from Mississippi. So we have a whole team
down in Mississippi that you know, rescues all these puppies
and kittens and dogs that are at risk of euthanasia
(00:58):
from shelters, so that before the shelters all put them down,
you know, our team kind of goes in and rescues
all of these animals and then brings them up here
to our team in Mississippi. So it's a it's a
long drive. It's like a fourteen hour drive all the
way from Mississippi, and we hire you know, professional drivers
to do this because it's a it's a dangerous job.
These guys are driving fourteen hours with no sleep and
(01:21):
you know, they've got some pretty precious cargo. And we
you know, we got the call that every transport organization
worries about every day when we do these transports, is
that if there's an accident, you know how to like
how to mobilize and stabilize in an incident like this.
And unfortunately, at five point thirty in the morning on Saturday,
(01:42):
we got the call that our driver was in an
accident on I sixty six, which you know, everybody, that's
everyone's biggest nightmare in our area, you know, four ninety
five or sixty six, because a lot can happen. So
we weren't quite sure how bad the scene was because
we didn't no, we didn't have any information other than
that they were in an accident, and you know, authorities
(02:05):
were involved with e MT and ambulance and first responders.
So unfortunately, out of that type of situation enough, like
it happened to just be, you know, a few miles
down the road from where I currently lived, so we
were able to get on the scene really quickly, right
as the driver had been kind of cut out of
(02:27):
the van, and I was able to assess the situation
fairly quickly, which was honestly the best case scenario, the
worst the best case outcome of the word possible scenario.
You know, none of the animals were injured seriously at all,
but in the aftermath of all of that, you know,
(02:48):
all of the crates were destroyed, the van was totaled.
When I got there on site, the door had been
cut off. The animals were scared, but other than that,
you know, the most part, everyone was okay.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
The big issue that we had is that when they
had cut the door off, you know, and the van
had the van had tried to avoid an accident and
then doing so overcorrected in a sense and then just
kind of went out of control with that much weight
on the van, you know, just kind of hit the
guardrail and then spun out. And so fortunately no other
(03:25):
vehicles were involved, so it was early enough in the
morning that everyone was safe. There were no major casualties.
The driver was okay, just had a broken nose, so
we're really really lucky from that standpoint. However, when the
van did hit the guardrail and the driver couldn't be
out removed safely, they had to cut the door off.
(03:46):
And when they did that, with the movement of the
van and the shifting of everything, a lot of car
transport carriers had gotten broken, and some of our cats
and kittens had kind of escaped through that, and we're
loose in the van, which I don't think the first
responders were anticipating. So when they cut that door off,
(04:08):
we and they you know, got the driver out there.
There was that moment in time where about five of
our kittens and cats escape. Took that moment of opportunity
to get the.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Heck out of there. But now so so a couple
of things. So the the the dogs and cats are
are coming up right.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
And like you said, the carriers got all dinged up
and broken up in the in the accident. The cats
got out, the dogs, no dog as far as I know,
no dogs got out, correct, No.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
No, no dogs got No dogs got out, you know,
and dogs tend to be a little bit more pack oriented.
If you think about it. So there was a lot
of loose dogs on the van and loose puppies on
the van, but they were all just scared and just
very much huddled together and just trying to stay as
as quiet and calm as possible. So we do have
(05:00):
some footage on our social media that people can kind
of see what the scene was kind of like, but
you know, it for the most part, like it could
have been way way worse. And we're still in the
process right now of trying to to find and locate
We've got a bunch of trapped teams out that are
(05:20):
are trying to locate and find these you know, cats
that escape. Fortunately the cats that escape, four of the
five are spay and neutered in their adult cats, so
and they are really friendly. So we're hoping that, you know,
we've had some sightings, so I hope within the next
few days that we're gonna we're going to catch those guys.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Oh that would be awesome, that would be great. So
but doctor Burton, let me ask you this. The I
know wolf Trap is in need of of several things,
mostly like carriers, I believe is what is what we're
most in need of.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Yeah, I mean I think probably actually the the largest
expense that came from this is what most people would
probably understand and anticipate, is like our transport band. You know,
these cargo vans are forty thousand dollars that you know
a lot of times are are donated to us or
sponsored by good Samaritans that are you know, these transit
(06:20):
cargo vans and they have to be in good shape
and they have to be serviced. A lot and a
lot of money goes into those vans. So it's that
is probably singularly the largest loss we're going to get
because even insurance is not going to you know, provide
you with the money it's going to cost to replace
those So if anybody has connections or you know, any
(06:41):
place with dealerships or anything like that that that is
looking to make a donation or needs a donation on
our for the rite off or anything, you know, that's
probably the largest item with you know, the costs that
incurred with this incident. But yeah, I mean, if anybody
has transport carriers or wire crates that are in really
(07:04):
good condition that can safely transport and help you know,
we lost at least thirty carriers and over. You know,
twenty five of our metal crates that even though they
were bunged and secured down, thank goodness, they were you know, bungeed,
corded and secured really really well.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
You know, they still sure they're still in an accident
on sixty six, I get it. Wolf Trap Animal Rescue
is put together like an Amazon wish list if people,
if people want to help, so we have all of
that info. And like you said, if somebody has a
has a van and they're looking for a write off
or a dealership wants to do it, wolf Trap Animal
(07:44):
Rescue was also looking for that.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
I'm assuming for the van.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
What, like I get there's an Amazon wish list for
like carriers and and crates and stuff. What is the
if some if somebody wanted to help out on the
from the van front, what's the is that on the
Amazon wish list?
Speaker 1 (08:00):
No, it's it's not on the Amazon wish list, but
they can they can email me directly if they would like.
My email is doctor dot Burton at WTA rescue dot com.
But it's through in pretty much any channels on social
media or emailing the rescue directly from the website. Like
(08:21):
all routes of communication can get to me pretty quickly,
so we you know that the most important thing is,
you know, when if people are considering donating a van
or looking into that, like, keep in mind, these vans
are going twenty eight hours round trip almost every weekend,
so you know they have to be you know, that's
probably why it's so important. Is you know, we we
(08:43):
lost you know, it's a very good van that we
rely on, very very heavily, so you know it would yeah,
it would definitely. It definitely has a job to do.
So if it can do it, we're we are open arms.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Maybe you get two vans, wouldn't that be nice? All right,
Doctor Burton?
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Well, Grace, Well, I'm glad.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I'm glad the driver is okay.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
You guys do awesome work, like you guys are fantastic,
So hopefully hopefully some people will be able to donate
or help out with crates and carriers, and I hope
a van comes along. If a van comes along, that'd
be freaking awesome.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Yeah, I mean, that'd be great. And you know, we're
just so appreciative for all the you know, the first
responders on the scene were just fantastic. Everyone was so
helpful and everyone played a huge role and making sure
that we were able to safely get the animals off
the van and back onto our other van to get
them safely back to our hospital to get exams done
(09:36):
and make sure everyone was okay. And you know, the
outreach and support that we've gotten from our own wolf
Trap community has just been, you know, incredible, and we're
so appreciative and thankful for that.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Doctor Burton, I appreciated best of luck with everything.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Thank you so much. We appreciate you
Doctor Burton, Hey, good morning. How are you.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I am doing well? Thank you? How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
We're doing We're doing okay, We're hanging in there.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good, good good.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
So I'm and I'll need you to kind of because
I don't want to mess the uh, I don't want
to mess this up.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
But was it? Was it last weekend?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
So we'll Trap Animal Rescue, Right, they have dogs that
are coming to wolf Trap to be adopted out, well
you know, taking care of and then adopted out.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
And so they come in on like a transport on
a on a van. Right, wasn't the van?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Wasn't the van involved in an accident last weekend?
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah? So this this this past this past weekend, you know,
on the around the the first of February, this past weekend.
You know, we we do you bring animals all the
way up from Mississippi. So we have a whole team
down in Mississippi that you know, rescues all these puppies
and kittens and dogs that are at risk of euthanasia
(00:58):
from shelters, so that before the shelters all put them down,
you know, our team kind of goes in and rescues
all of these animals and then brings them up here
to our team in Mississippi. So it's a it's a
long drive. It's like a fourteen hour drive all the
way from Mississippi, and we hire you know, professional drivers
to do this because it's a it's a dangerous job.
These guys are driving fourteen hours with no sleep and
(01:21):
you know, they've got some pretty precious cargo. And we
you know, we got the call that every transport organization
worries about every day when we do these transports, is
that if there's an accident, you know how to like
how to mobilize and stabilize in an incident like this.
And unfortunately, at five point thirty in the morning on Saturday,
(01:42):
we got the call that our driver was in an
accident on I sixty six, which you know, everybody, that's
everyone's biggest nightmare in our area, you know, four ninety
five or sixty six, because a lot can happen. So
we weren't quite sure how bad the scene was because
we didn't no, we didn't have any information other than
that they were in an accident, and you know, authorities
(02:05):
were involved with e MT and ambulance and first responders.
So unfortunately, out of that type of situation enough, like
it happened to just be, you know, a few miles
down the road from where I currently lived, so we
were able to get on the scene really quickly, right
as the driver had been kind of cut out of
(02:27):
the van, and I was able to assess the situation
fairly quickly, which was honestly the best case scenario, the
worst the best case outcome of the word possible scenario.
You know, none of the animals were injured seriously at all,
but in the aftermath of all of that, you know,
(02:48):
all of the crates were destroyed, the van was totaled.
When I got there on site, the door had been
cut off. The animals were scared, but other than that,
you know, the most part, everyone was okay.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
The big issue that we had is that when they
had cut the door off, you know, and the van
had the van had tried to avoid an accident and
then doing so overcorrected in a sense and then just
kind of went out of control with that much weight
on the van, you know, just kind of hit the
guardrail and then spun out. And so fortunately no other
(03:25):
vehicles were involved, so it was early enough in the
morning that everyone was safe. There were no major casualties.
The driver was okay, just had a broken nose, so
we're really really lucky from that standpoint. However, when the
van did hit the guardrail and the driver couldn't be
out removed safely, they had to cut the door off.
(03:46):
And when they did that, with the movement of the
van and the shifting of everything, a lot of car
transport carriers had gotten broken, and some of our cats
and kittens had kind of escaped through that, and we're
loose in the van, which I don't think the first
responders were anticipating. So when they cut that door off,
(04:08):
we and they you know, got the driver out there.
There was that moment in time where about five of
our kittens and cats escape. Took that moment of opportunity
to get the.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Heck out of there. But now so so a couple
of things. So the the the dogs and cats are
are coming up right.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
And like you said, the carriers got all dinged up
and broken up in the in the accident. The cats
got out, the dogs, no dog as far as I know,
no dogs got out, correct, No.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
No, no dogs got No dogs got out, you know,
and dogs tend to be a little bit more pack oriented.
If you think about it. So there was a lot
of loose dogs on the van and loose puppies on
the van, but they were all just scared and just
very much huddled together and just trying to stay as
as quiet and calm as possible. So we do have
(05:00):
some footage on our social media that people can kind
of see what the scene was kind of like, but
you know, it for the most part, like it could
have been way way worse. And we're still in the
process right now of trying to to find and locate
We've got a bunch of trapped teams out that are
(05:20):
are trying to locate and find these you know, cats
that escape. Fortunately the cats that escape, four of the
five are spay and neutered in their adult cats, so
and they are really friendly. So we're hoping that, you know,
we've had some sightings, so I hope within the next
few days that we're gonna we're going to catch those guys.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Oh that would be awesome, that would be great. So
but doctor Burton, let me ask you this. The I
know wolf Trap is in need of of several things,
mostly like carriers, I believe is what is what we're
most in need of.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Yeah, I mean I think probably actually the the largest
expense that came from this is what most people would
probably understand and anticipate, is like our transport band. You know,
these cargo vans are forty thousand dollars that you know
a lot of times are are donated to us or
sponsored by good Samaritans that are you know, these transit
(06:20):
cargo vans and they have to be in good shape
and they have to be serviced. A lot and a
lot of money goes into those vans. So it's that
is probably singularly the largest loss we're going to get
because even insurance is not going to you know, provide
you with the money it's going to cost to replace
those So if anybody has connections or you know, any
(06:41):
place with dealerships or anything like that that that is
looking to make a donation or needs a donation on
our for the rite off or anything, you know, that's
probably the largest item with you know, the costs that
incurred with this incident. But yeah, I mean, if anybody
has transport carriers or wire crates that are in really
(07:04):
good condition that can safely transport and help you know,
we lost at least thirty carriers and over. You know,
twenty five of our metal crates that even though they
were bunged and secured down, thank goodness, they were you know, bungeed,
corded and secured really really well.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
You know, they still sure they're still in an accident
on sixty six, I get it. Wolf Trap Animal Rescue
is put together like an Amazon wish list if people,
if people want to help, so we have all of
that info. And like you said, if somebody has a
has a van and they're looking for a write off
or a dealership wants to do it, wolf Trap Animal
(07:44):
Rescue was also looking for that.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
I'm assuming for the van.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
What, like I get there's an Amazon wish list for
like carriers and and crates and stuff. What is the
if some if somebody wanted to help out on the
from the van front, what's the is that on the
Amazon wish list?
Speaker 1 (08:00):
No, it's it's not on the Amazon wish list, but
they can they can email me directly if they would like.
My email is doctor dot Burton at WTA rescue dot com.
But it's through in pretty much any channels on social
media or emailing the rescue directly from the website. Like
(08:21):
all routes of communication can get to me pretty quickly,
so we you know that the most important thing is,
you know, when if people are considering donating a van
or looking into that, like, keep in mind, these vans
are going twenty eight hours round trip almost every weekend,
so you know they have to be you know, that's
probably why it's so important. Is you know, we we
(08:43):
lost you know, it's a very good van that we
rely on, very very heavily, so you know it would yeah,
it would definitely. It definitely has a job to do.
So if it can do it, we're we are open arms.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Maybe you get two vans, wouldn't that be nice? All right,
Doctor Burton?
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Well, Grace, Well, I'm glad.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I'm glad the driver is okay.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
You guys do awesome work, like you guys are fantastic,
So hopefully hopefully some people will be able to donate
or help out with crates and carriers, and I hope
a van comes along. If a van comes along, that'd
be freaking awesome.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Yeah, I mean, that'd be great. And you know, we're
just so appreciative for all the you know, the first
responders on the scene were just fantastic. Everyone was so
helpful and everyone played a huge role and making sure
that we were able to safely get the animals off
the van and back onto our other van to get
them safely back to our hospital to get exams done
(09:36):
and make sure everyone was okay. And you know, the
outreach and support that we've gotten from our own wolf
Trap community has just been, you know, incredible, and we're
so appreciative and thankful for that.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Doctor Burton, I appreciated best of luck with everything.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Thank you so much. We appreciate you
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