Tracy Reis, program manager of Animal Emergency Services, updates us on her experiences while working in Haiti in her blog posting “After the Earthquake”. While there she gave well checks and injections to companion animals in various villages.

animal rescues, disasters, dogs, earthquake, Haiti Hide

A photographer shared this photo with WSPA of dog and children in Haiti after the Earthquake

On Saturday, ARCH arrived in Port-au-Prince to begin assessing the situation for animals affected by the earthquakes. Today they met with Haiti’s Minister of Environment to discuss care for family livestock and rounding up street dogs to feed and vaccinate.

animal rescues, disasters, earthquake, Haiti Hide

Several major U.S. animal rescue organizations have united with the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), an international coalition of professional animal welfare organizations. ARCH will be working out of a mobile veterinary clinic donated by the Antigua and Barbuda Humane Society. A team is standing by in the Dominican Republic, and will drive into Haiti once authorities have given permission.

Their efforts will provide services to animals, as well as assisting with needs of animals belonging to people displaced by the damage, providing food and water and vaccinating animals against rabies. In disaster situations, not only is the welfare of the animals at stake, but also the welfare of humans as they try to go into dangerous areas to retrieve their animals or are exposed to disease from untreated animals.

ARCH is led by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPC) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). Some of the organizations who have joined ARCH include:

The United Animal Nations (UAN), which has contributed more than $30,000 to help fund the mobile clinic.

American Humane has also provided funding. Read the American Humane’s updated reports on the Haiti earthquake response.

The American Socity for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is encouraging people to donate to IFAW and WSPA if you wish to help animals in Haiti.

Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), animal rescues, disasters, earthquake, Haiti Hide

There is a lot of work to be done to help the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti – and dogs are on the job. Teams from Great Britain, the United States, Holland, France, China, Russia, Peru, Mexico, and Taiwan are either in Haiti, or en route to help find the dwindling number of survivors.

“During <one> rescue, Task Force members crawled into tight spaces to reach the area where the Search Dogs had shown interest and found the third woman still lying in bed. She was pinned to her mattress by the ceiling of her bedroom, just inches from crushing her.”

– Search Dog Foundation January 18, 2010 Update

Dog breeds range include German Shepherds, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Border Collies, among others.

Debra Tosch, Executive Director of the Search Dog Foundation, said:

“The rescues in Haiti underscore the critical importance of Canine Search Teams in finding survivors in the aftermath of major disasters.”

The Search Dog Foundation is active and posting updates, including slide shows, videos, and photos, on canine disaster search teams at their Deployments Blog.

Discovery News has an article about the worldwide efforts of search dogs in Haiti.

Care2 Make a Difference article discusses the various rescue dog teams deployed to Haiti.

disasters, earthquake, Haiti, jobs for dogs, search and rescue dogs, working dogs Hide