On the ground in Haiti

Our first morning there we wake up early at 6:00 am. The sky is already full of activity. We work on getting organized. A venture like this takes alot of organizing, planning and good timing. I worked with Angel to stock the medical supply box. We have injectable antibiotics, Vitamin B injectable and a gel for Sarna (mange). We also have bandage materials, Betadine, suture material and fluids.

While waiting to go find animals, we watch as trucks come and go through the gate by our camp. The UN is filling them up with donations of food. When the trucks leave the gate, there are swarms of people in the streets surrounding the trucks wanting to get some of the food. When one truck left an onlooker jumped in the back of the truck and threw out a big bag of rice and the crowd went crazy! They were all scrambling for that rice. It was very sad to watch.

On the first day we were supposed to meet up with the people from WSPA and IFAW but we had some trouble communicating and locating each other. When we finally did, Dr. Thomas, the local Haitian Veterinarian, was with them. He is a wonderful man and speaks perfect English. He is going to be a wonderful asset. He knows where to take us and knows where it is safe. He can go with us to the tent cities and talk to the people and make sure that they welcome us into their place to treat the animals.

Our plan is to go into the tent cities and meet with the leader there to get permission to come in that day or the next day to treat the animals. We tell the leader that helping the animals helps the people too and helps prevent the spread of disease. As we drive around looking for the tent cities, we see so much destruction and the streets are FILLED with people. People everywhere! They have no where to go. The buildings are flattened and many are frightened to go into them.

We are welcomed into every tent city we go to. The people are grateful for the help. We treat the animals with Ivermectin for internal parasites and skin problems (mange) and give them a Vitamin injection to give them a boost. In some cases we are giving injections of antibiotics. We also treat minor lacerations and injuries. Skin problems and very skinny dogs are the most prevalent. Every day we would treat anywhere from 10-65 animals.We show the Haitians how to apply flea powder and the gel for mange. A crowd of people always gathers every time we arrive at a location. It's heartwarming to see their smiles and hear their 'thank you's'. We are glad to show them how to properly handle their animals and they are very grateful. We are a role model for them. People literally come out of the woodwork with their pets for us to treat. Dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, goats, etc... Smiles on their faces. Amazing after what they've been through. The human/animal bond is unbreakable!

One dog we treated, named Dick, had obvious neurological problems since the earthquake. Dick was found buried in the rubble 1 day after the earthquake laying next to his 7 year old guardian, who was killed in the earthquake. He was obviously traumatized. We gave Dick an injection of Dexamethazone for his injuries and made arrangements to return in a few days to repeat it. The guardians were so happy. They loved Dick and we were glad we could help.

Inside SONAPI, we were told by Dr. Thomas, that there are some dogs belonging to a guy named Hector that need treating. We arrive at Hector's to see many, many dogs. He trains them to be rescue dogs and guard dogs. One dog, a schnauzer, has a laceration on his neck.Hector says it's probably from a dog fight because he was not able to get to his dogs for 3 days after the earthquake and they were probably fighting for food. We are able to clean it up and give meds for later. Another dog, a german shepherd, who had been missing since the earthquake (2 weeks) had a huge hole on his back and his right rear leg was badly injured to the bone. We cleaned him up and gave Hector antibiotics. We asked Dr. Thomas to return to treat him further.

One day we went to the Bolivian UN station to treat dogs that were living on their base. They were dogs that lived on the base when they arrived and they had befriended them. They were grateful for our help. They requested spay/neuter of the dogs and we told them that we hoped to offer that option soon.

During my time on the ground in Haiti, a young boy named Joseph befriended us and came to our camp every day. His family lived on the street and they didn't even have a tent. We would feed him and give him anything we could that would help him and his family. He would clean our camp and joke around with us. He did a great Michael Jackson impersonation.