Posts by: katiej

Why Ecuador? 17 Years of Partnership

Why Ecuador?

World Vets’ work in Ecuador began 17 years ago with a very specific need, and an opportunity to create lasting change.

At the time, mass poisoning of dogs was routinely used in some communities as a method of controlling stray dog populations. World Vets was invited to Ecuador to work alongside our local partner, Bienestar Animal Imbabura, to help develop a more humane and sustainable alternative. Together, we established partnerships with local municipalities and helped put agreements in place that ended the practice of poisoning dogs in the communities where we worked. In its place, we committed to something much more enduring: long-term sterilization programs, veterinary care, community collaboration, and the development of local veterinary capacity.

Seventeen years later, those partnerships remain strong, and the local infrastructure has grown tremendously. Today, BAI operates three full-time veterinary clinics, providing year-round care and continuity within the communities we serve together. World Vets continues to send veterinary teams regularly to support large-scale sterilization campaigns and other program needs, working alongside BAI and local veterinary professionals to expand the reach and impact of that ongoing work. What began as an effort to replace an inhumane method of population control has grown into a long-standing program centered on humane dog and cat population management, accessible veterinary care, and strong local capacity. Each campaign builds on the work that came before it, strengthening a system that continues long after each World Vets team returns home.

In just a few days, our team will be heading back to Ecuador, and this time, we’ll be bringing you along for the journey. From travel day and clinic setup to surgery days and the people, partners, and patients we meet along the way, we’ll share a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into a World Vets campaign.

❤️ Follow along over the coming days as we return to Ecuador and share the people, partnerships, and 17 years of collaboration behind this program.

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25 Years, A World of Impact

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A World of Impact. 25 Years of Compassion. Every country highlighted on this map represents more than a destination, it represents communities that welcomed us, partners who stood beside us, volunteers who gave their time, and countless animals whose lives have been changed through compassion and collaboration.
For more than 25 years, World Vets has worked alongside local organizations, governments, universities, and veterinary professionals to improve animal health, strengthen communities, and protect wildlife around the globe. Today, that journey spans more than 50 countries across 6 continents, and we’re just getting started.
To everyone who has made this work possible; our members, donors, volunteers, partners, and supporters, thank you. Every highlighted country tells part of a story that you helped write. Here’s to the next 25 years of helping animals, people, and the places they call home.

Ride for 5 – Cycling Across the US for World Vets

62B8F318-DAF3-429F-B999-4C3738922888Kelly O’Keefe, a long-time supporter of World Vets, is biking across the country to bring awareness and raise funds for five charities of his choosing, including World Vets!

His journey started on July 31st with the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and will end on the East Coast in Savannah, Georgia. It’s a distance of over 3,000 miles through the center of the United States that Kelly hopes to traverse by the end of September.

Kelly has generously volunteered on a variety of World Vets projects across the globe throughout the years. His skills have reached animals in Peru, Albania and Brazil!  These experiences inspired him to choose World Vets as a recipient of donations on his Ride for 5 fundraiser.

We can’t express enough how thankful we are to have such compassionate supporters like Kelly. Follow along on Kelly’s journey by visiting his Facebook page: Ride for 5 – My Ride Across America for Awareness and Change.

Please help make Kelly’s ride meaningful and rewarding by donating to World Vets today!  Click the DONATE button to go to the fundraiser page for this event.

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Wish Granted for Gray!

Recently World Vets had the opportunity to bring seal enthusiast Grayson “Gray” and his family on a South Sound marine naturalist expedition! Gray is an amazing and wonderful kid who is bravely battling brain cancer.  He loves seals more than anything and he and his family recently visited Gig Harbor to spend quality time together with hopes of seeing some seals. Since we are regularly out helping seals (and lots of other marine mammals!) around the Salish Sea, the community reached out to us and got us connected to see if we could help grant a wish.

Two days later the weather was perfect and our CEO Dr Cathy King set out with Gray and his family on an adventure to see and learn about seals in the wild. Together we were able to view hundreds of harbor seals and sea lions in their natural habitat. Gray even spotted a white harbor seal that matched his eye patch, which he named Snowy (pictured below). Gray said it was the best day ever and gave it an 11 out of 10.  It was an 11 out of 10 for us too.

Gray’s interest and compassion towards marine mammals was truly an inspiration to the World Vets team. We’re all pulling for you Gray!  Best kid ever.

World Vets is an international veterinary aid organization based in Gig Harbor, Washington.  With programs in over 45 countries on six continents, World Vets works to bring veterinary services to underserved areas if the world by providing direct veterinary care to animals, disaster response services for major international disasters, veterinary training and education programs and long-term capacity building that improves the lives of animals, people and the communities in which they live.  Our programs benefit a wide variety of animals in a global scale including companion animals, working horses, livestock, wildlife and street dogs.

In the Pacific Northwest, World Vets work focuses on improving the health and welfare of marine wildlife by responding to injured or stranded marine mammals, and working to advance scientific knowledge an understanding to help protect and conserve the region’s critical marine ecosystem.  Learn more HERE.

#GivingTuesday Update – Spend with a Purpose this Holiday Season

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#GivingTuesday started the year‑end giving season and we are off to an amazing start! Thank you everyone who has partnered with World Vets to help animals in need. Your gift is already at work making a difference!

We are grateful to have such compassionate supporters on #GivingTuesday and everyday.  Thank you!!

Didn’t get the chance to donate on #GivingTuesday, but still want to contribute to our mission?  It’s never too late to make a contribution to World Vets!  Donations up to $6500 are matched dollar for dollar until January 31st, 2021!#GivingTuesday animals world vets donate fundraiser

Volunteer Training Vashon-Maury Island Residents

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Are you interested in learning more about marine mammals and how to get involved with local marine mammal stranding response? Join us for a free educational webinar and volunteer training. Open to residents of Vashon-Maury Island.

The Zoom webinar will take place from 6:00-7:30pm on October 27, 2020 and will be presented by World Vets veterinarians Dr. Stephanie Norman and Dr. Cathy King.

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World Vets Responds to West Coast Wildfires

The West Coast is on fire and World Vets is responding.  We have received an official request to respond to assist animals in the fires in Omak and Okanogan County Washington. There are numerous burned animals that need immediate assistance, primarily livestock, horses and wildlife. We need your help to support this effort.  Our veterinarians are providing care for injured and burned animals, providing equipment and supplies and will also be working with local authorities to make assessments for short term and long term recovery efforts.

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Washington fires. (photo Tristan Forsch/KATU-TV, AP)


How you can help:

Cash donations are most helpful so we can directly purchase supplies.  We will be putting in an order for fencing material in Omak that can be delivered right away and will also be taking a stock trailer full of supplies.  We will also be providing hay and other feed. Additionally, we will be placing an order with our veterinary distributor to purchase items like antibiotics, burn creams, vet wrap, bandage materials, pain medications, etc.  We need funds for fencing, veterinary supplies, feed, and transport costs for our vet team.

Drop Off Supplies for Donation: If you live in Western Washington and want to donate fencing materials directly (stock panels, T-posts, electric fence, insulators, etc) and can deliver them to the Okanogan County Fairgrounds, please reach out to us for specifics.

Volunteer:  We have our core team of disaster responder veterinarians, however, we may have a need for additional large animal or wildlife veterinarians. If you are a large animal, mixed animal or wildlife veterinarian licensed in Washington state, have previously volunteered with World Vets and are interested in volunteering, please send us an email at info@worldvets.org.  We may call upon those additional veterinarians depending on needs.

World Vets has set up an emergency fund to respond to this horrific situation. We will provide updates as we get more reports from the field.  Click on the link below to donate specifically to our disaster response program.

Please consider making an emergency donation to support this effort.

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World Vets is a registered 501c(3) Non Government Organization.  All donations are tax deductible.  Tax ID # 20-4637447

Seal Pup’s Second Chance at Life

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On August 18th World Vets released a rehabilitated harbor seal pup back to his natural environment of the Puget Sound after two months of rehabilitation.  In June the seal pup was abandoned by its mother and was too young to survive on his own.  Human interaction was involved in this pup being abandoned in a busy marina.  After several days of observation in hopes of the mom returning, it was determined that the pup was on his own and was unlikely to survive without intervention.

The initial report came in to Cascadia Research Collective who monitored and then picked up the pup which was then transported to  World Vets Marine Mammal Urgent Care Center.  World Vets provided initial treatments and stabilization services before transporting the pup to a rehab center in the San Juan Islands.  After spending two months at Wolf Hollow Rehabilitation Center, the pup was heathy enough to be returned to the wild. World Vets transported the seal and it released it at seal haul out near where he had been originally picked up.

This harbor seal pup has a second chance at life thanks to our supporters who make this work possible and the collaborative efforts of NOAA’s West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network, of which World Vets is proud to be a member.  World Vets provides around the clock on-call services for the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network to respond to sick, injured and stranded marine mammals throughout the state.  Our marine mammal urgent care center has been busy throughout the season helping pups like this one.

Please remember to stay back 100 yards from marine mammals.  If you see an injured, sick or stranded marine mammal, please do not approach it.  Report strandings to the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 1-866-767-6114.

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Rescue of Harbor Seal Pup in Washington

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Seal pup season is in full swing in Washington. This past weekend World Vets cared for this harbor seal pup that was brought to us by Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW). This abandoned pup, too young to survive on its own, was picked up by WDFW on the Washington coast after being harassed by beachgoers. Before being picked up, it was monitored for >48 hours by WDFW volunteers and unfortunately it was determined that the mom was not returning.

World Vets provided emergency treatment and stabilization for the pup at our marine mammal urgent care clinic in Gig Harbor, Washington working under a permit issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service. World Vets then transferred her to Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for rehab where she will remain until she is old enough to survive on her own and can be released back to her home waters. Big thanks to our supporters who help make this important work possible.

World Vets marine mammal work is authorized under a permit with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

If you see a dead, injured or stranded marine mammal, please call and report it to the NOAA West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 1-866-767-6114.

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