Dr. John Mullins checks out a pregnant Chihuahua named Chloe in the Animal Care Center of Ooltewah.ABOUT HIM
Name: John Mullins.Age: 58.Hometown: Winchester, Tenn.Occupation: Veterinarian and founder of The Animal Care Center of Ooltewah.Education: Bachelor of science degree from University of the South and doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
NO PET LEFT BEHIND
Following the abandonment of animals after the evacuation of areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006. It requires that states seeking assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency after disasters must provide for the assistance of pets and service animals as part of their evacuation plan.
In the days after Hurricane Sandy ripped across the East Coast, Ooltewah veterinarian Dr. John Mullins was on the phone with a fellow vet on Long Island.
“He said it was cold and miserable and people were really suffering,” says Mullins, owner of The Animal Care Center of Ooltewah. “He said they just really needed help and, when somebody asks for help, what makes the system work is if we go and help them.”
So he did.