Author: SPCAI Staff

by Emma Koeniger, SPCAI Staff

Located in the province of Almeria, Spain, PAWS-Patas was the first animal shelter established in their area of Southern Spain. They have been actively caring for and reducing the number of stray and abandoned animals for 26 years. Founded by a small group of volunteers in 1989, the PAWS-Patas volunteer base has grown to 60 people, all working to provide care to needy local animals and raise public awareness for animal welfare issues. 

PAWS-Patas helps roughly 300 animals each year without any government funding. No animal is ever turned away based on medical or behavioral issues. Every animal taken in receives medical care and individual attention so that they can find the best home possible. Recently PAWS-Patas has found forever homes for their animals in Spain, Holland, Germany, Belgium and the UK. From 2014 -2016 the PAWS-Patas team was able to rehome 628 dogs and 242 cats!

SPCA International is proud to support PAWS-Patas with a Shelter Support Fund grant. 

By Lori Kalef, Program Manager

For over six years, SPCAI has had a strong and innovative partner in the Tanzania Animal Welfare Society (TAWESO). Our most recent collaborative efforts have focused on the welfare of working donkeys across Tanzania and education initiatives to improve their treatment. Recently, we learned about a growing inhumane industry in Tanzania: the donkey skin and meat trade.

Tanzanian donkeys are being slaughtered at an alarming rate due to soaring demand for their meat and skin in China. In China, they manufacture a gelatin from donkey hide fabled to have anti-ageing and libido-enhancing properties.

Our partners at TAWESO quickly began fighting this horrible commerce by lobbying and educating local government officials. During meetings with government councils, mayors, and chairpersons in districts where donkey slaughterhouses are opening, TAWESO presents evidence of the cruel habits of this burgeoning industry.

Through TAWESO’s non-stop advocacy for donkeys, two large commercial slaughterhouses will close next month! WOW!

SPCAI’s financial support and veterinary supply aid donations are critical to ensuring TAWESO has the resources to continue their work. After this incredible victory, TAWESO will carry on treating the sick, wounded and overworked donkeys of Tanzania and educating their owners. We are so proud to call TAWESO a partner. 

By Lori Kalef, Program Manager

It is with tremendous sadness and heavy hearts that we inform you that little Laurel, an adorable OBP: Worldwide puppy that was rescued last month from Iraq with a terrible eye injury, passed away. Our Iraqi team of veterinarian professionals and rescue experts did everything in their power to save Laurel and surrounded him with love as he left this world.

In April, Laurel was urgently picked up by our team in Iraq from a U.S. Naval Base. Many of you may recall Laurel’s story. He was rescued by an ex-infantryman named Nick Cooper was working at Camp Swift. Cooper found Laurel with a terrible and painful eye wound from a being caught in a fight between two adult dogs. Laurel was suffering from a complete retinal detachment when Nick found him, but that never stopped Laurel from wagging his tail and showing his gratitude. Nick took him in, fed him and gave him as much care as he possibly could in this remote area of the world. In order to get Laurel all the care he needed, the SPCAI team picked him up and transported him to Erbil, Iraq, to see a veterinarian and prepare for travel to the U.S. Along the way, little Laurel exemplified courage, determination, trust and puppy love.

Sadly, after receiving required vaccinations and much needed care for retinal detachment, Laurel began demonstrating symptoms of distemper[1], a serious disease that runs rampant amongst street dogs in this area of the world. Laurel was given round the clock supportive care and treatments, something that is not so readily available in Iraq, but his little body’s immune system shut down and Laurel crossed over the rainbow bridge.

Our entire team is devastated over Laurel’s untimely passing, but we take comfort knowing that he had the best treatment we could give him. Right up to the end he knew kindness from humans and experienced unconditional love and devotion thanks to Nick’s good heart.  

Laurel left this world with dignity and grace and I know that he will continue to inspire us, and you, to do our very best to prevent suffering and give more animals a chance to live a good life in this often cruel and challenging world.

by Emma Koeniger, SPCAI staff

As the humanitarian crisis continues in Venezuela, a study done by the Simon Bolivar University found that roughly 87% of Venezuelans are unable to purchase food for themselves and their families. Not only are the people of Venezuela going hungry but their pets too.  In 2015, the inflation level in Venezuela rose to 275% and even increased to 800% in late 2016/early 2017. This inflation has crippled NGOs in Venezuela, as they solely rely on support from individuals to fund their programs and day-to-day needs.

Red de Apoyo Canino is an animal shelter located in Caracas, Venezuela. Founded in 2007, the staff and volunteers work tirelessly to improve the lives of abandoned and abused animals of Venezuela, and also the lives of animals belonging to low-income families. Red de Apoyo Canino provides free veterinary care, low-cost and free spay and neuter services, humane education, as well as rehabilitation and adoption for the 270+ animals in their care.

Red de Apoyo Canino did not close their doors in 2015 when the inflation level rose to the highest level in the Western Hemisphere. They could not give up on the animals and people of Venezuela who so desperately needed them.  With severely limited resources this amazing group of animal advocates persevered, helping hundreds of animals in 2016.

Today, SPCA International is incredibly proud to support Red de Apoyo Canino and their unwavering dedication to the animals and people of Venezuela. Through the help of an SPCAI Shelter Support Fund grant, Red de Apoyo Canino will be able to fund a vaccination drive in their community.

By Lori Kalef, Program Manager

During times of conflict and war, the suffering of animals is often overlooked as the focus on the human implications and impact on society takes precedence. But make no mistake, animals are victims of this terror in many ways; in fact, it is believed that millions of more animals die from the causes of war than humans.

Animals suffer greatly in war-torn countries because the people who care for them must flee their homes without warning, leaving their dogs, cats, and livestock behind to fend for themselves. Horror stories of slow deaths from disease, starvation, injuries, and thousands more caught in the crossfire and killed by landmines.  Disrupted services like animal shelters, veterinary care, and even zoos leave an enormous void.  In the Afghan war during the 1990's, more than 75,000 animals were lost due to mines alone. In 2009, animals abandoned and caged at the Gaza zoo starved to death and those who didn't were shot point blank.

In 1989 some refugees fleeing Nicaragua during the Revolution made every attempt to bring their cattle and horses with them to the border of Costa Rica where thousands of refugees found asylum. However, discovering the last few hundred yards to the border were laced with landmines, they tied their livestock to trees, likely intending to come back for them at some point, but never did. Brave animal activists later went to the area to see if they could help. Many of the animals were dead due to starvation, and the few emaciated ones who were still alive survived on eating the bark off the trees that they were tied to. 

During times of terrible war and the resulting human flight, it is typical that no help for these animals can be found for thousands of square miles. No veterinarians, no animal control, no legal system to punish abusers, and any presence of police or military must focus on the immense human needs. There is no dog or cat food because human food is hard to find and there is no excess money to spend on helping animals. During a war, animal suffering grows, and these terrible conditions persist long afterward, even as the country begins to rebuild.

In the years since the civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, thousands of animals were left behind to endure immeasurable hardship and starvation. During the Iraq war, insurgents sometimes strap bombs to dogs and donkeys and blow them up as convoys pass by. Stray dogs and cats in Iraq and Afghanistan are still abused and killed on a daily basis. Reports from U.S. service members describe how these innocent strays are often stoned, cut, burned or poisoned. 

SPCA International is charged with helping the animal victims of war. Since 2008, our Operation Baghdad Pups: Worldwide has rescued over 700 dogs, cats and even one donkey befriended by our service members to the United States from combat zones around the world like Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria, Africa, Romania, Kosovo, Jordan, and Qatar.  SPCAI has built relationships with shelters and rescue groups on the ground in war-torn countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, helping these dedicated groups find financial resources that are otherwise non-existent. SPCAI is committed to expanding our efforts in these areas of the world by continuing to support rescue and relief organizations, shelters and dedicated animal advocates on the ground.

by Meredith Ayan, SPCAI Executive Director

In July 2016 we told you about a terrible situation in Brazil ahead of the Summer Olympics – stray cats at a small local airport were being maliciously poisoned and killed. It was presumed that the person laying out poison wanted to clean up the grounds for the influx of international visitors. Luckily, with your help SPCAI was able to intervene. We visited these cat colonies, met with the volunteers who were caring for them, and initiated a trap neuter and release (TNR) campaign to control the population, vaccinate and provide necessary veterinary care.

As is common with these projects, a closer look revealed much more work to be done and far more cats than we originally estimated. Our initial estimate was that maybe two or three cat colonies existed on the airport grounds, but we soon realized that number was as high as six individual colonies. Tragically, we also discovered a majority of the cats were suffering from Sporotrichosis, a fungal disease that when untreated results in unsightly, painful open wounds. Managing the Sporotrichosis outbreak has meant unexpected expenses and a much longer project as the cats must recover in quarantine.

Our partners in Brazil, Oito Vitas, have been managing the project on a daily basis. They are tracking and monitoring all the cats trapped, neutered, vaccinated, in treatment and released. They have trapped over 45 cats now, 23 have been returned, 25 remain in recovery, and about 25-30 still need to be trapped.

This has been an immense undertaking, but the pilots who care for these colonies and have been feeding them nightly for years are so grateful that their feline friends are at last getting the attention they deserve. (You will see these feline-loving pilots holding the cats in some of the photos below.) Without a funding partner like SPCA International, Oito Vidas would have struggled to tackle a project of this scale. Without our help, these cats would have remained uncared for and suffering. Along with the lives we have saved, we have brought awareness that poisoning and killing animals is not effective population control. Without the support of SPCAI donors – none of this would be possible. Thank you for helping us reduce suffering and save lives!