GREAT FALLS — When an earthquake rattled Great Falls on Thursday, most people paused, took cover, or stepped outside to assess what had just happened. It registered as a 4.2 quake, happened at 12:41 p.m., and was centered about 4.9 miles northeast of Great Falls.
But inside Associated Veterinary Services, there was no option to stop.
Veterinarian Dr. Emma Law and her team were in the middle of surgery when the shaking began, with a dog under anesthesia on the operating table.
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“At first there was this rumble, and we weren’t sure what it was,” Law said. “Then the room just started shaking. The table was shaking, the dog was shaking.”
The surgery involved a tail amputation, with the dog positioned so her legs hung slightly off the table for better access. As the earthquake continued, the team’s immediate concern became preventing the animal from falling.
“When a patient is under anesthesia, they can’t protect themselves,” Law said. “If they fall, they can fracture something or seriously injure themselves.”
Vet tech Fiona O’Day said instinct took over.
“My first thought was, the dog can’t get away,” O’Day said. “So I just put my body over her and rode it out.”
Both Law and O’Day said they initially thought something had struck the building, like a vehicle or large piece of equipment, before realizing it was an earthquake. Earthquakes are rare in the Great Falls area, and the clinic did not have a formal protocol for handling one mid-procedure.
“We have plans for fires, gas leaks… things where you evacuate,” Law said. “But earthquakes aren’t something we really prepare for here.”
Despite the noise and shaking, the team kept the patient stable and maintained the sterile field. Law said that if sterility had needed to be broken to keep the dog safe, that decision would have been made without hesitation.
“Safety always comes first,” she said.
After the shaking stopped, staff checked the building for damage and monitored patients recovering from procedures. The clinic, built primarily of concrete and cinder block, did not sustain structural damage, and nothing fell from shelves.
The dog recovered well from surgery, according to staff.
O’Day said the experience sparked conversations throughout the clinic about preparedness and what they would do if it happened again.
“It definitely made us more aware,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll have a better plan in place in the future.”
While earthquakes may be rare in north-central Montana, the team says the experience was a reminder that some jobs can’t pause during emergencies, especially when a life is already on the table.
