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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.

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.

Ride for 5 – Cycling Across the US for World Vets

Aug 30

Kelly 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.

Wish Granted for Gray!

Apr 30

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

Nov 24

#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!

Volunteer Training Vashon-Maury Island Residents

Oct 16

Update (1)

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.

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

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.

IT’S HERE! YOUR GIFT IS MATCHED

May 05

Today World Vets is participating in #GivingTuesdayNow, a new global day of giving and unity as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.

As you know, World Vets provides veterinary aid around the world. TOGETHER we have provided direct veterinary care to over a half a million animals, disaster response services to major international disasters, and provided veterinary training and long-term capacity building to hundreds of communities around the world. Thank you for partnering with us to make the world better for animals!

Our programs benefit a wide variety of animals on a global scale, including companion animals, working horses, livestock, wildlife and street dogs. In the Pacific Northwest, World Vets improves the health of marine wildlife by responding to injured or stranded marine mammals, and works to advance scientific knowledge and understanding to help conserve the regions critical marine ecosystems.

We are so proud of these accomplishments, but we can’t do this without you! Now more than ever, your support is important. We depend on your support to keep these programs going.

DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT

World Vets is thrilled to announce that The Dr. Ann and Ed Valenti Charitable Gift Fund has pledged to match contributions made to World Vets up to $10,000 now through May 31, 2020. Ann and Ed are also dedicated volunteers at World Vets. An additional $1,200 match has been generously pledged by long time supporters Jim and Carol Parvey. This means that DONATIONS UP TO $11,200 WILL BE MATCHED!

Please donate before May 31st to take advantage of this exciting matching gift opportunity.