IFAW's Animal Rescue Blog

IFAW Cozumel: There's Something about "Joyce" - The Diary of a Dog's New Family

We recently had the chance to visit a very special dog named Joyce after she was rescued from Cozumel and adopted to a loving family in New York City. We were so moved by the incredible progress Joyce has made, and the impact she was having on those around her, that we wanted to share some messages we've received from her new family. - Kate Atema - IFAW

Saturday, July 17

I can hardly wait until 5pm when I can scoop my Sweet Joyce up and begin on her Road to Recovery. The antibiotics report was indeed sobering. I've printed a copy out and I'm going to run it over to the vet now to see if I can get one of the doctors to take a look.

If my vet can't see her tonight, I might get her into the 24 hour emergency place. I want her on the best meds just as soon as possible. We are going to save this leg, dang it!

Monday, July 19

What. A. Dog.

Wow -- we are so in love with her already. I wanted you all to know that her first night was a huge success. Valentine and Chica, my other dogs, happily welcomed her, and everyone had chicken and treats and lots of snuggles. We simply can not believe our good fortune to have such a special gal join us. Clearly, she is smart, funny, sweet, mellow, fun...housebroken! Just amazing.

I can not thank you all enough for you efforts to save her. She is seeing a regular vet this afternoon to get the antibiotics she needs, and we are going to consult with the surgeon tomorrow. I will keep you posted.

Meanwhile -- for your viewing pleasure, a cute picture of Joyce on her first night is attached. She is staring at Chica, trying to figure out what to say first ;-).

IFAW Goes Long Way to Rescue 36 Dogs in Northern Canada

Twenty hours from Toronto, in a remote part of the province of Quebec, IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) is providing veterinary services to the dogs of the Cree Nation. There is little or no access to vet care in this region. Without veterinary care, and few opportunities for re-homing, sick, injured or unwanted roaming dogs and puppies are often killed. Recently, IFAW stepped in to rescue 36 dogs and puppies that were to be shot. IFAW staff member, Meg Canty, spoke of her experience in Canada:

I flew to Montreal with another IFAW staff member, where we picked up 40 crates and two vans. After an eight-hour drive, we met up with four other rescue staff in a small town in northern Quebec. Another nine-hour drive awaited us in the morning before we reached the community where the dogs would be rescued. I was amazed by the isolation.

Often in these remote communities, puppies are adopted, but as they grow up, some are no longer wanted, and left to roam. IFAW continues to educate these communities about proper care and ownership of animals. We also provide spay/neuter programs, vaccinations, and veterinary visits--but it takes time for these programs to have an impact.

When IFAW was alerted that the dogs and puppies were going to be killed, we notified the community that we would be there to receive any unwanted dogs. Several were turned in the first evening we arrived; the final number rescued was 36.

My job was to drive one of the vans, and to feed and walk the dogs over the fourteen-hour ride back to the adoption shelter. I never expected these stray dogs to be so sweet and friendly--no aggression, no accidents, no barking--they were all so good. I also didn't realize how attached I'd become, especially to Bobby Jean who rode shotgun with me. Leaving was extremely emotional, but I’d go again in a minute. Dogs like Bobby Jean deserve safe and loving homes.

For more information on IFAW's work around the world, please visit www.ifaw.org

IFAW rescued dogs arrive to Longmont, Colorado

 This post was filed by International Fund for Animal Welfare's Michael Booth reporting from Longmont, Colorado.

Glancing over towards the main building as we taxied to a stop we saw 3 TV cameras, a few radio reporters, a more than a dozen other people with big smiles, all waiting for us. It should be said, the crowd that gathered at the Longmont Municipal Airport were not there for us humans, rather our four-legged companions making their first trip to the US.

As the engines died off and the door opened we heard a big round of applause and a woman that shouted 'you made it'!

One by one, the Cozumel dogs disembarked on to a very warm Colorado day, a weather not too different from the island they had left now more than 1700 miles away.

'They look so happy!' another woman exclaimed. Yes, in fact the dogs were not in the least concerned or fearful, they exited their kennels with tails wagging and jumping up and down.

One of the dogs, Alvina, was greeted by her new family. Mr. and Mrs. Carey were just a few yards away from the airplane anxiously waiting to meet her. 'She is so pretty, look at her big ears!' said Dana Carey to her husband. After a few minutes for photos, Alvina left to her new home. 'We going to give her plenty of food and water and let her rest for as long as she needs, she's come a long way so we'll do our best to take it real easy'. 'She's a survivor, I'm sure she'll do just fine' added Peter Carey.

Cozumel dogs take off!

 This report filed by International Fund for Animal Welfare's Companion Animal Director - Kate Atema, who was with the team in Cozumel and has now headed to Longmont, Colorado, to meet the plane on its arrival at the final destination.

Today was one of those days when everything comes together, and you realize that all our hard work - the planning, and planning and planning, which all seemed so theoretical a week ago - finally met the real animals whose lives we were changing forever.

The day started early for everyone. The IFAW team split up - half of us went to the shelter to start getting the dogs prepared for their big international flight, and the rest went with the pilot to help him negotiate the various permits and fees imposed by the airport (again!).

When we arrived at the shelter, the dogs were beside themselves. They knew something was up, and they were full of impish glee at the change in routine and all the special attention. Several volunteers were already there, ready to tackle the challenge of this mischievious bunch with a strategy of their own: a long tiring walk in the early morning heat of Cozumel.

By the time everyone returned, we had 9 dogs that were full of kisses but mostly willing to stand still long enough for us to put temporary emergency-contact collars on them, just in case anyone escaped anywhere between the Cozumel shelter and Colorado.

IFAW Canada: Northern Dogs - Back on the Trail with June Clinic Work

The following report is coming from Jan Hannah, Project Manager of the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Northern Dogs Project, which centers its work on dogs living in remote communities of northern Canada.

Day 1:

Here we are again! Same fantastic, proficient vets and vet techs doing their thing in the back (or in the trailer, as the case may be). Surgery, surgery, surgery, diagnosis, surgery, out-front consult, back to surgery. Laura is out in front with us again working her health check, vaccine and surgery knock down magic, and Ann has volunteered on this trip to be my intake companion. Ann is a nurse and runs a project in Cat Lake, northern Ontario that is similar to IFAW’s and I’m happy to have her and her experience. There are two students from Tuft’s University coming up so we have an extra van – two vans fit eight people, their gear and all the clinic gear. Any more and we have to rent another van.

 First things first. We set up the clinic as best as we can for the vet team and then we headed to the Bay to dip our feet in the icy spring water. Then we went to meet Cloud Nine Rescue Flights who had once again flown in the team from Montreal. The flight was longer than in May and Martine was quite air sick when she arrived. Straight to bed… we’ll worry about set up in the morning.

UPDATE: Good News, Cozumel Dogs Available for Adoption

The following is an update from Eduardo Santurtun, an International Fund for Animal Welfare veterinary team member working on the ground in Cozumel with our partner there, the Humane Society of Cozumel.

It is always a pleasure to update our IFAW blog with good news. And this update definitely contains good news!

Recently, we wrote about the dogs and cats evicted from one of Cozumel’s dumps. They received daily care and attention from a gentleman named “Gabacho,” who had lived at the dump for 20 years. IFAW and the Humane Society of Cozumel (HSC) teamed up to provide the animals with medical care and sterilization; because of this collaboration, the condition of the “dump dogs” and “dump cats” improved tremendously. With Gabacho and Zacatecas, the dogs’ gentle nine-year-old matriarch, there was a true pack.

IFAW US: A Dog “PAW-TY” in Navajo Nation

This post comes in from the Project Manager of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Dog and Cat Rescue Project in Navajo Nation, Gail A’Brunzo. The Navajo Nation is a sovereign Native American reservation in the south-western United States where IFAW has been working with Navajo authorities for over 12 years to help control pet overpopulation and provide vital veterinary services to low-income residents.

Anybody who knows anything about the “Rez” dogs on the Navajo Nation knows that these dogs are woefully disadvantaged. Distemper and parvovirus run rampant through the Nation because owners don’t have money or access to the two veterinarians serving the Nation, which is about the size of West Virginia. Dogs are also allowed to run at large, forming packs that attack livestock or bite people who are out for a walk. This often leads to “dog roundups” wherein dogs are regularly euthanized. They’re also often without shelter when the desert sun beats down or the harsh winter snowstorms hit in the winter. It’s hard to imagine that such a life exists for dogs that live in the United States and that is why the educational activities we had planned were so vital.

IFAW’s Companion Animal Program has been working with the Navajo Nation Veterinary and Livestock Program for about 12 years now and we wanted to find a fun way to continue spreading the word about important practices such as pet vaccinations, keepings pets from roaming and proper pet identification. We determined that would be dog “paw-ties” on the reservation! Two communities were chosen, Fort Defiance and Chinle, and the idea was to celebrate the important role that dogs play in the communities and impress upon dog owners the importance of responsible guardianship.

IFAW S. Africa: Prince Albert Sterilisation Project - A Job Well Done

The International Fund for Animal Welfare's Christina Pretorius writes this concluding blog having returned from Prince Albert, back to her home near Cape Town, South Africa over the weekend.

Eish! Wow! Amazing! These are all my feelings as I think back over the past week – an incredible 428 dogs and cats were sterilised by IFAW’s team. In all 240 dogs and 188 cats – how’s that for teamwork, hard work and an absolute commitment by every member of the team to get the job done.

In truth, had we been able to work all of Saturday and Sunday, as planned we probably would have sterilised 600 – 650 pets but Friday afternoon payday and a partiality by the much of the poor community for the demon drink conspired against us.

Way back in South African history (actually, come to think about it, not so way back) many of the farmers in the Western Cape Province paid their workers partially with the dop (tot) system. So people would be paid their wages in alcohol and money.

While this system is gone now, old habits die hard and hitting the bottle from Friday afternoon is pretty common in the province’s poor communities.

So by late Friday afternoon the party had already started, but by Saturday midday it was in full swing and our animal welfare assistants were suffering serious harassment as they went about their work in North End – Prince Albert’s township.

So, after consulting with the team, we decided to stay safe and call it a day.

IFAW S. Africa: Prince Albert Sterilisation Project - "A Well Oiled Machine"

This post is provided by Christina Pretorius of the International Fund for Animal Welfare who will spend the next few days in the tiny village of Prince Albert, high in the snow- covered Swartberg Mountains of South Africa, to document this important sterilisation project.

The system’s running, as the old cliché goes, like a well-oiled machine. The idea to use the loud hailer to ask North Enders to bring their pets to our clinic early yesterday morning was a bit of a waste of time – only seven people showed up with their dogs. And this despite Jane Levinson and volunteer Marion Walker braving the winter morning dark and freezing chill to hit the township at 06h30 to give people a reminder wake-up call, so to speak.

No matter, by 7h30 the AWA’s were out on the streets collecting pooches and pussies, while the vets got prepped and ready back at surgery. By 08h30 the first patients of the day were registered, weighed and pre-medded and from then on and throughout the day we began a steady processing of shuttling back and forth collecting pets for surgery, and returning those who had recovered and woken up.

We’ve encountered something interesting in the past two days – a number of people saying their dogs don’t need sterilising because they have already had an “inspuiting” (injection in the local Afrikaans dialect). We were wondering about this when I suddenly remembered that at one time women in South Africa were given contraceptives by injection – it seems that this notion of family planning by “inspuiting” still prevails.

IFAW S. Africa: Prince Albert Sterilisation Project: Progress to report!

This post is provided by Christina Pretorius of the International Fund for Animal Welfare who will spend the next few days in the tiny village of Prince Albert, high in the snow- covered Swartberg Mountains of South Africa, to document this important sterilisation project.

16 June 2010

We arrived to join the team in Prince Albert this afternoon after driving through the exquisite Hex River Valley, where the valley floor was a patchwork of red and orange vineyard, and snow shone on the high mountains that rear up on each side of this narrow valley.

Despite this amazing natural beauty there’s still plenty of the reality of the life of thousands of ordinary South Africans, who live in a shanty town that ribbons alongside the road. These people are mostly farm workers who eke out an existence between the seasons – and probably weren’t quite as enamoured of the snow (and hence icy winds) funneling down the valley.