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

World Vets Responds to West Coast Wildfires

Sep 12

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.

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.

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

Helping Animals During the Pandemic

Sep 08

The global pandemic has brought new challenges and obstacles to the animals and communities we help and also to the way we run our programs. Fortunately, we are very adaptable to change and our work has continue full force in new ways. Our volunteer veterinary teams traveling from North America are currently on hold until its safe to travel again and we are working closely with our in-country partners to carry out our programs and deliver aid that helping animals that need it most. Social distancing, mask wearing and extra safety precautions are the new standard of care on these programs, making it possible to get help where it is needed. Economic hardships brought upon by the pandemic make it even more important to continue our work, especially in developing regions. These are just a few of the many animals that tare receiving care through community outreach clinics, surgery clinics and mobile field clinics that we are supporting.

Seal Pup’s Second Chance at Life

Sep 08

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.

Seal pup released back into the wild

Aug 24

Earlier this week, World Vets released a rehabilitated harbor seal pup back into her home waters on the Washington coast

The story started back on Memorial Day weekend when the pup was being harassed by beachgoers on the Washington Coast. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife made the initial response and had volunteers monitor the pup on the beach for over 48 hours to give her space and keep people away in hopes that the mom would return. Unfortunately the pup was too young to survive on her own and the mom did not return. The dehydrated pup was picked up by WDFW and referred to World Vets Marine Mammal Urgent Care Center in Gig Harbor, Washington where she was provided emergency care and stabilization by our veterinary staff.

: Pup receiving care at World Vets marine mammal urgent care center

Once she was stable, World Vets transported here to our network partners at Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center where she received excellent care and rehabilitation until she was old enough to survive on her own. After a total of 82 days of care, World Vets transported her back to her home waters where she was released near Damon Point in Ocean Shores, Washington. This was one of two pups we released this week. Stayed tuned for the success story on the other pup!

This story has a happy ending but comes with a reminder to please remember to stay back 100 yards from marine mammals. It’s normal for pups to rest on the beach but when there is human interaction the moms often won’t come back and these nursing pups can’t survive on their own. 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. World Vets is an authorized partner of the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network and regularly provides beach responses, boat responses, urgent care, hospitalization, technical response and veterinary support for marine mammals cases throughout the state.

Rescue of Harbor Seal Pup in Washington

Jun 01

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.