News Updates - World Vets - to improve the quality of life of animals, people & the environments in which they live by providing veterinary...

Better Lives for Otavalo’s Dogs & Cats

Aug 21

World Vets volunteers recently traveled to Otavalo, Ecuador, to provide 271 sterilization surgeries for local dogs and cats, including both owned pets and unowned street animals. Working alongside long-time partner Bienestar Animal Imbabura (BAI), the team provided essential veterinary care while supporting responsible pet ownership and improving animal welfare throughout the community.

During these high-volume clinics, each animal patient is treated with care and compassion. Each surgical patient receives a veterinary examination, IV catheter, anesthesia monitoring, pain medication, post-operative care, and parasite prevention—ensuring they receive comprehensive care before, during, and after surgery. Through partnerships like this, World Vets is able to bring vital veterinary services to communities while fulfilling our mission to bring help to animals around the world.

Thank you to our generous donors, dedicated supporters, veterinary volunteers, and valued partners who make this important work possible and help us fulfill our mission of bringing help to animals around the world.

Why Ecuador? 17 Years of Partnership

Aug 13

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.

Serving Pets and Street Dogs in Guatemala

Jul 25

In just three days, the World Vets volunteer team completed 357 spay and neuter surgeries during our latest campaign in the community of San Miguel Dueñas, Guatemala, helping improve the lives of hundreds of animals and the people who care for them.

Beyond sterilization, our veterinary team also performed several life-changing procedures for animals in need, including a limb amputation, entropion repair, eye enucleation, and other critical surgeries that would otherwise have been out of reach for many local families. A significant number of community and street dogs also received sterilization, helping reduce future suffering while improving the health and welfare of the local animal population.

Every surgery represents more than one animal helped—it prevents countless unwanted litters, reduces neglect and homelessness, and gives pets the opportunity to live healthier, happier lives.

This mission was supported by the incredible partnership and dedication of Sue Bohenstangel and Antigua Street Dogs – Guatemala, whose ongoing commitment to animal welfare continues to make a lasting difference throughout the region. We are deeply grateful for their collaboration and friendship.

To our volunteer veterinarians, veterinary technicians, assistants, local volunteers, donors, and supporters—thank you for helping to make this mission a success. Your generosity and compassion are changing lives, one animal at a time.

25 Years, A World of Impact

Jul 09

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.

Sea Lion Disentanglement Videos

Jul 01

Galapagos Rapid Response Stories

The videos below offer a glimpse into the lifesaving work carried out by the World Vets team alongside the Galápagos National Park Rapid Response Program on San Cristóbal Island. Working together 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, our teams respond to wildlife emergencies whenever they arise—day or night.

Operating under an official agreement with the Galápagos National Park, World Vets provides veterinary expertise and emergency response for injured and distressed wildlife throughout San Cristóbal. While the majority of our calls involve Galápagos sea lions, our team is trained and equipped to respond to all types of wildlife calls, including iguanas, giant tortoises, blue-footed boobies, pelicans, and a wide variety of other birds. Together, World Vets and the Rapid Response Team have responded to more than 1,500 wildlife cases across the Galápagos Islands.

One of the most common threats facing sea lions is marine debris. Discarded fishing lines, ropes, fishhooks, plastic, clothing, and other human-made materials can become tightly wrapped around a sea lion’s neck, body, or flippers. Without intervention, these entanglements can cause severe injuries, infection, starvation, and even death.

Approximately 30% of the wildlife emergency calls received this year have involved entangled animals, underscoring the ongoing impact of marine pollution on the fragile Galápagos ecosystem.

These videos show several successful rescues in action as our team carefully frees sea lions from dangerous entanglements. The final video captures a different kind of emergency—a young sea lion trapped between rocks and unable to escape on its own. After assessing the situation, the World Vets team safely rescued the animal and returned it to freedom.

Each rescue represents a second chance for these remarkable animals and demonstrates the value of having a dedicated veterinary response team ready to act whenever wildlife is in need.

World Vets is grateful to the SeaWorld Conservation Fund and our other generous donors who make this important work possible.