 Hello All! We have been keeping busy here at World Vets; at present we operate about 40 - 45 trips each year! I guess you could say we have our work cut out for ourselves; however volunteers and animal lovers like you help us make it all happen. And there are many ways for you to get involved, even if you cannot join a trip. For instance, some of our volunteers represented World Vets at a Conference in Las Vegas this February to raise awareness about our projects and mission. They made such a great impression that PurinaCare Pet Insurance wrote about us on their blog! If you can get World Vets in the limelight, we appreciate it!
World Vets also held a presence at this year's Animal Care Expo in Nashville. Thanks to the Maria Norbury Foundation, we were able to showcase World Vets at a tradeshow booth. We met such great people and have a few prospective trips next year to some new and exciting locations!
We are presently planning and preparing for more trips later this summer and fall. More information about these trips will be made available shortly on our website. We will be looking for volunteers to join us in Ecuador and Mexico to name a few places!
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Volunteers Sent to Animalandia |  This February volunteers made their way to Loreto, Mexico behind trip leader and volunteer veteran Dr. Mike Corcoran. Our team provided veterinary care for this coastal town with our long time friends at Animalandia, a local animal welfare group.
Over a three day period, 150 animals were seen for medical consultations and surgery.
Many dogs were treated for Ehrlichia and skin issues, while a few had some limping problems. One dog in particular had been rescued after he had suffered a fare amount of abuse and now resides at Animalandia. And three other dogs were brought back with team members to be placed in loving homes in the United States!
This trip also gave Scottish vet, Graham, a recent graduate, the chance to improve his surgery skills working with all of the other vets on the trip!
If you missed this volunteer opportunity we have another trip to Mexico, July 18th - 25th. There are still 2 VET positions available.We are also in the planning stages for another Mexico trip later this year to provide both small animal and equine care.
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Veterinary Disaster Relief in Haiti |  Disaster without a doubt. This was the reaction of fellow World Vets volunteers, Dr. Mike Corcoran, Adrien Zap, Joshua Elliot, Rachel Baird and Julie Gustinas as they entered Port Au Prince and Jacumel, Haiti. They quickly set to work with SODEPRECA, an animal welfare group based out of the Dominican Republic.
While sleeping out of tents and eating out of soup kitchens, they treated 128 animals; cats, dogs, pigs, sheep, chickens, goats, a horse and donkey. One unfortunate pup had to undergo eye surgery after being hit by car in the chaos of the quake. They also treated one particular cat that suffered a huge wound to its behind and was actually left without a tail as a result of a dog attack!
Wth many thanks to our supporters who donated to our Haiti Relief Effort, our volunteers were able to bring down a shipment of crucial veterinary medicines and supplies. We are still accepting donations for the animals of Haiti so that we may continue to provide supplies for this effort. We are also accepting in kind donations of medicines and supplies as well.
See Pictures! |
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Spring Spay Neuter Blitz |  The first of many trips planned for San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua this year got off to a great start in March. All of which projects in 2010 are supported by Fondation Brigitte Bardot of Paris, France. We thank them for making this program possible.
Trip leader, Dr. Karen Allum and fourteen other volunteers rolled up their sleeves to provide a three day community wide spay neuter clinic for the beach town.
This was also the first clinic to be coordinated by the new manager of our Nicaraguan partner clinic. Elvis Cortez had been an employee of Stones & Waves Veterinary Clinic for well over two years and World Vets has been training him to be a vet technician for quite some time. The clinic was set up in an outlying barrio, neighborhood, to reach animals that otherwise would not have received veterinary services had they been offered in town.
During the same week, we also had Dr.Winnie Krogman in Roatan, Honduras, leading another World Vets team! They sure had their hands full for the three days of clinic; they performed over 135 sterilizations, including a combo enucleation/castration and entropion/castration.
Together these groups managed to treat close to 500 animals in just a few days! Team Nicaragua also had the great opportunity to help assist in the transfer of "pet" spider monkey's to a new sanctuary since they could not be released back into the wild.
 Another team was also sent to Nicaragua in April, however, this time to Granada. Trip leaders Dr. Tom Parker and Dr. Jerry Brown lead World Vets efforts in collaboration with Casa Lupita and its local volunteers. Students from the Managua veterinary school also helped out a great deal, especially with communication and animal care in the recovery.
Besides health consultations and spay neuter services, Team Granada performed a wide range of surgeries including cryptorchid dogs to pyometras, surgery on a third eyelid cartilage and a front leg amputation. The cases seen in Granada never cease to amaze our volunteers and simply reaffirm the importance of our project there.
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Pacific Partnership 2010 | |
The Pacific Partnership mission arose following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated South East Asia in 2004. Follow up missions recognized the benefits derived from cooperation between national governments, militaries, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations during disaster relief operations, as well as in civic assistance projects.
World Vets is proud to provide volunteers for the veterinary component on this humanitarian aid mission taking place aboard the USNS Mercy hospital ship.
Over a four month period, the countries to be visited this year include Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Timor Leste (also known as East Timor). Activities involve and range from visits to poultry and cattle farms, informational sessions about food safety and disease prevention, public health, along with general animal treatment clinics.
All of the volunteers for the 2010 mission have now been selected and some are even now aboard! Veterinary students and World Vets volunteers Rachel Halpin and Sarrah Kaye, along with Army vet Jolene North, were interviewed recently for the Military News Blog
For those interested in participating next year, please note that the countries will change each year, positions are very limited and you must be able to commit to a minimum of 2 - 3 weeks. Also, the registration process is different from our other trips; instead of directly signing up online, we ask that you submit a current resume in order to be considered for the trip.
For more information about this volunteer opportunity and/or to submit your resume for Pacific Partnership 2011, please contact katie@worldvets.org |
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Caring Crusaders |  On the July 2009 trip to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, a beach dog was rushed into the World Vets clinic after being hit by a car. Suffering from a fractured pelvis and most likely a broken leg, he could only be prescribed intensive bed rest given the lack of facilities available.
It wasn't until November of that same year when Dr. Courtney Pierce and tech Andrea Flynn volunteered at the Stones & Waves Veterinary Clinic, where he was being cared for, that he finally was given the opportunity to be healed. Read about Surfer's journey to Winston - Salem, NC, his road to recovery at Oldtown Veterinary Hospital and his happy ending.
Actions and individuals such as these simply inspire us. They are our Caring Crusaders! We, at World Vets, feel a great sense of achievement knowing that we can provide a venue for individuals to act on their goodwill and in turn improve the lives of animals everywhere.
If you know a Caring Crusader, please email their story to katie@worldvets.org , and they may be featured in our next newsletter! |
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|  Ibarra, Ecuador | |
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World Vets Welcomes NEW Team Member! |  | |
We are excited to announce that Katie Horn has joined the World Vets team as our new International Logistics Coordinator.
Katie, originally from Ontario Canada, has a degree in Anthropology and Latin American Studies from the University of British Columbia and has worked since 2008 as the Director of Stones & Waves Veterinary Clinic in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. She is a long-time animal advocate with experience in the veterinary field, international relations, Latin American culture and is also fluent in Spanish.
She has relocated to Fargo, North Dakota to work full time at the World Vets Headquarters. We are thrilled to have such a great addition to our team! |
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In the Next Issue: | |
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Dr. Amanda and Dr. Robert's adventures in Nicaragua
Onboard the USNS MERCY
Team Romania
Rickshaw Racing for World Vets
Team Costa Rica
2011 Prospective Trips |
Nicaragua |
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Helping Animals
Helping Communitites
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