World Vets field service veterinarian, Dr Jerry Brown, with MINSA employee at community outreach clinic; Nicaragua
World Vets volunteers vaccinating for rabies during community outreach clinic; Nicaragua
Pet owners wait in line with their dogs to receive rabies vaccination
Over the past six years, World Vets has maintained a constant presence in Nicaragua providing much needed veterinary services as well as capacity building. In this time, we have executed countless field clinics, benefiting thousands of animals, in addition to helping those access treatments and procedures that were previously unavailable.
We have also established a Latin America Veterinary Training Center located within the city of Granada. This facility provides free spay and neuter services benefiting animals in and around the area, meanwhile training the next generation of Latin American veterinarians in proper anesthesia and surgery techniques. The center also hosts our student program (World Vets International Veterinary Medicine Program) where students representing nearly every veterinary school in North America (as well as other schools from around the world) have come to learn, help animals in need and gain invaluable experience in international veterinary medicine.
To add to our program service and community impact, we have recently partnered with the Ministry of Health (MINSA) in Nicaragua to help eradicate rabies in the country. As part of our weekly community outreach clinics, where we take our services out into rural communities, we are now providing free rabies vaccinations for all dogs. Our community outreach efforts are a vital way to help poor communities that would otherwise not have access to or a means of obtaining veterinary care.
One Health is and remains a cornerstone of all of our activities in Nicaragua. Together with MINSA we are committed to improving the health of animals and communities in the country.
World Vets is collecting donations to distribute new collars to animals in need in Nicaragua, and around the world! Many of the dogs we see have collars made of chains, rope, wire and many other materials that often cause harm and discomfort. Our goal is to provide 15,000 adjustable nylon collars. Please help us reach this goal!
This past month we reported on the massive flooding that devastated the small European country of Bosnia-Herzegovina, among its neighbors Croatia and Serbia. This flood crisis has left millions of animals and people in a dire situation and in desperate need for help. Thousands of animals died from the immediate impact of the floods, however many more livestock and companion animals were left requiring urgent assistance.
Vets deployed to the region. Our disaster response personnel worked in collaboration with the faculty of veterinary medicine at the University of Sarajevo and government officials to identify needs and get help where it is needed. Together we conducted country-wide assessments that identified animal concerns as well as supplies and equipment needed to help them. Bosnia-Herzegovina has many very capable veterinarians but many of the local veterinary clinics had been inundated with water and their medicines and supplies were destroyed giving an urgent need for relief supplies. Many family run farms lost their entire stock and animals that had survived moved to higher grounds. Surviving animals were 
suffering from a variety of conditions including pneumonia, infections and skin problems resulting from displacement, lack of available provisions and overall wet conditions.
On March 22, 2014 a massive mudslide engulfed a rural neighborhood near Oso, Washington killing 42 people. One person is still missing. Homes and lives were shattered and community members are facing economic and other hardships that will continue for the foreseeable future. T