volunteer

Successful Clinic Operated in Dominican Republic

DR2014 For the past two years World Vets has been working in the Dominican Republic to address the issue of overpopulation in companion animals. Working alongside local partners, Asociacion de Amigos por los Animales Sosua (AAAS), we recently carried out a successful operative over Memorial Day weekend. On this recent campaign, we provided high volume spay/neuter services in addition to other much needed veterinary care with great results.

We’d like to thank our team of dedicated volunteers, Asociacion de Amigos por los Animales Sosua (AAAS) as well as Fondation Brigitte Bardot for their continued support of our efforts in the Dominican Republic.

Recruiting Volunteers for One Health Project

131113_0793ATTENTION prospective volunteers! We are currently recruiting veterinarians and a licensed technician on an upcoming One Health field service project in the Caribbean! Join our team to make a difference in lives of animals in San Andres Island and have free time to enjoy the island too! This project is scheduled to run July 26 – August 2, 2014. See more details here

World Vets has been working with the San Andres Island Department of Health since 2012. Together we are bringing SAI Team Beach editmuch needed veterinary services to the small animal population and in turn improving the overall public health on the island. Our large scale spay/neuter and animal health campaigns target both roaming and owned animals.

See pictures from past campaigns

Record Breaking Numbers for Caribbean Pilot Project

N37Last year World Vets received a request for assistance from an animal welfare organization operating on the small Caribbean island of Nevis; a 36 square mile island with only 10,000 local inhabitants located just south of the more famous island St. Kitts. Pet overpopulation was identified as being a major issue for the island’s communities. Given that Nevis is such a small island, World Vets felt compelled to undertake this project as the control and preservation of a healthy animal population is of great importance. For instance, not only 22does it have a huge impact on human health but the overall sustainability of island life as a whole.

To help address issues of health and population control for companion animals on Nevis, World Vets recently operated a pilot project in this location. A pilot project is a location where World Vets has not previously worked or sent a veterinary team. In short, the demand and turn out of animal patients for spay/neuter surgery was incredible. Not only did this campaign break a pilot project record for the total number of surgeries performed, it also outdid our Happyprevious record held on our longstanding small animal project in Ecuador.

We would like to thank CARE Nevis, our volunteer team as well as the local volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this campaign a success and not turn any animal away. We would also like to thank the ministry of agriculture and all of the local island support that was provided to our team and the campaign in general. See pictures

World Vets Team Returns from Belize!

Team Placencia 2 editWe have just had a team return from a successful pilot project executed in Placencia, Belize. Not only was this the first veterinary team we’ve sent to this area it was also the first direct veterinary service campaign for the community they served. As such our team was able to help many animals in need performing free sterilization surgeries as well as health consultations and treatments. We’d like to thank our local partners as well as World Vets volunteers for an outstanding effort. See pictures

Be a World Vets Student Ambassador!

130322_1395Have you volunteered on a World Vets field service project or taken part on our International Veterinary Medicine (IVM) Program? If this experience positively impacted your life or simply inspired you, we encourage you to consider becoming a World Vets Student Ambassador.

Represent World Vets and promote our volunteer opportunities at your school and amongst your peers. Inquire about student ambassador positions at members@worldvets.org.

Recruiting Volunteers for Caribbean Spay/Neuter Project

SONY DSCATTENTION prospective volunteers! We are currently recruiting veterinarians and a licensed technician on an upcoming spay/neuter project in the Caribbean! Join our team to make a difference for animals in the Dominican Republic and have free time to enjoy the island too! This project is scheduled to run May 20 – 27, 2014. See more details here

World Vets has been working in the Dominican Republic since 2011 to tackle SONY DSCsuch issues as pet overpopulation. Our efforts have consisted of providing assistance through spay/neuter training, large scale sterilization campaigns as well as product donations.  As a result of these efforts hundreds of animals have received free spay/neuter surgeries as well as quality veterinary care. All of which has contributed to the overall improvement of animal health and responsible pet ownership in the area.

See pictures from past campaigns

Recruiting Volunteer Vets for Caribbean Spay/Neuter Project

nevis1Attention VETERINARIANS! We have 2 volunteer positions open for veterinarians on our spay/neuter project in the Caribbean! Join our 14 person team to make a difference for animals on the island of Nevis and have free time to enjoy the island too! This project is scheduled to run March 15 – 22, 2014. See more details here

Nevis, a 36 square mile island, is located in the Caribbean just south of the more famous island St. Kitts. Given Nevis is such a small island, controlling as well as maintaining a healthy animal population is of great importance. Not Nevis2only does it have a huge impact on human health but the overall sustainability of island life as a whole. What presents challenges to controlling the population is that animals roam freely and consequently breed freely, which goes hand in hand with the lack of responsible pet ownership.

To help address issues of health and population control for companion animals on the island, World Vets will carry out a small animal field service project to Nevis in 2014.

A Brand New Beginning for “Nico”

Nico  & Jenny crop

World Vets volunteer, Jenny Shilling, holds “Nico” during our Dominican Republic field operative

The international field service projects that World Vets operates have the potential to positively impact the lives of our volunteers and most importantly the animals they travel to treat. On our most recent field operative in the Dominican Republic, the experience of one volunteer, Jenny Shilling, demonstrates this perfectly.

Before veterinary services started, World Vets team was taken on a “community outreach” tour. This tour highlighted the communities and subsequently the animals that our local partners aid in Sosua and its surrounding areas. Upon driving through an abandoned sugar cane field, they spotted a dead-looking puppy on the side of the path. Before they knew it, the dog sprang up and started chasing down their vehicle as fast as his little puppy feet would go. They stopped and scooped him up.

He was a mess; a scrappy, flea covered, tick covered, extremely dehydrated, shaking

"Nico" gets his picture taken with Santa

“Nico” gets his picture taken with Santa

mess. He had self-inflicted bloody flea infested wounds all over his head, neck, and back as he had frantically tried to scratch the fleas off.

Without hesitating, they wrapped him in a jacket and once back at their accommodations began treating him. After a dose of capstar, two flea baths, picking ticks out of his ears for over an hour, lots of water and food he looked like a totally different dog.

Shortly thereafter, he became the team mascot; staying at team accommodations, eating breakfast with everyone and even accompanying them to the clinic every day where everyone involved loved him unconditionally.

He has since been named “Dominico” or “Nico” for short and has been relocated with Jenny in the United States.

The abandoned sugar cane field is sadly a local dumping site for unwanted puppies. With the 375 sterilizations that World Vets provided in Sosua this year, we have helped to significantly reduce the number of undesired litters in and around this community. And as Jenny states, “This made the work the team did in the Dominican Republic even more rewarding knowing that even one less puppy would be dumped due to sterilization made the entire World Vets mission even more apparent.”

We thank Fondation Brigitte Bardot for their continual support of our spay/neuter operatives in the Dominican Republic

 

Three Successful Field Operatives Completed

131113_0510World Vets would like to welcome back it’s teams that recently provided field operatives in Honduras, Dominican Republic and Ecuador. With the combined efforts of our teams, we were able to positively impact and treat close to 1000 animals in just a few days time, including 575 surgical procedures. We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers, local partners and Fondation Brigitte Bardot for their support and efforts of these field service projects.

2013 Project Spotlight: San Andres Island

Team SAISAI Mar 42 editWith support from Fondation Brigitte Bardot, World Vets sent its first team to San Andres Island in 2012 for a pilot project. Our team’s visit also made history as being the first foreign veterinary brigade to provide free veterinary services on the Island. Before our initial visit and campaign, it had only been Colombian veterinarians from the mainland that provided irregular veterinary relief.    

What prompted our visit and subsequent large scale spay/neuter and preventive health campaign was the request and an invitation from the San Andres Island Department of Health.  They had been urged into action as a result of the worsening plight of its small animal population, consisting of health issues as well as their overpopulation. Given San Andres Island is not very big, it became quite apparent that animal health is not only an animal welfare issue but a concern for public health and safety as well.

This year we scheduled two visits and subsequent veterinary campaigns to aid local efforts in controlling the island’s small animal population as well as tackling disease control and prevention.  Read about one of our success stories from this project here.

We also have an upcoming volunteer opportunity as part of our San Andres Island field service project. Read more about it here and join us in San Andres Island this December!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11  Scroll to top