News and Updates

Addressing the Needs of Animals in Haiti

On Sunday, Feb. 7, ARL of Boston Senior Rescue Technician Bill Tanguay joined the Animal Rescue Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) which is jointly led by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). 

Feb 14 update from bill tanguay

Happy Valentine’s Day from Santo Domingo! Yesterday was our last day in the field and I’m really going to miss working with this team of people. We had a lot of fun trying to overcome the language barrier with our new Haitian friends on our commute this morning. It turns out that Dr. Gidros is actually Guido. After spending 2-3 days with him he finally corrected us. Our cold-as-ice ex-military security went giddy with joy when I dropped one of my fizzy electrolyte tablets into my water bottle and made “juice” (below left). Suddenly, everybody wanted some. After a week of driving around with them sitting like statues in the back of the van, we were all laughing and trading drivers’ licenses. We made our box of food public and everybody went crazy for a certain brand of canned tuna. Guido couldn’t understand why it said chicken on the can but was actually fish. We arrived in the first village of the day to find people already waiting for us with their animals. We quickly set up our clinic, and in about an hour animals stopped showing up and we were breaking it down again to move on. We arrived in the next village just as people were coming home from church and it wasn’t long before a large crowd formed again, mostly with cattle and goats.

After a few hours, things suddenly stopped, just as they did in the last village. We treated 420 animals in these two villages over the last two days, bringing our total to over 1,000. We broke down our last clinic and headed for the hills. On our way back to Port au Prince, we got a flat tire from a big hole in the street. It just so happened that there were two guys with a jack and tire iron waiting by the hole for people to get flat tires. 10 minutes and $5 later we were on our way. We got back to the house we were staying at in Tomasin, and had to say goodbye to all of our new friends. I doubt I’ll ever see them again, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet them. I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to help out down here; I wish I could’ve done more. The RSPCA (England) will be relieving us sometime over the next few days, and ARCH hopes to have Haitians relieve them when they leave. This is something that will stick with me forever.

Bill arrived safely in Boston and is back working with the League's Rescue Services Department responding to animal and wildlife emergencies here in Massachusetts.-ed. note. Photos courtesy of WSPA/IFAW.

feb. 12 Update from bill tanguay

Today was the beginning of three days of mourning for the earthquake victims, which is being observed nationally. All businesses are closed, people are fasting, and attending various religious events. Haiti is a very spiritual place. We first headed to a small village named Roche a　Bateau just outside of Leogane with our new vet, Dr. Gidros. Everything went very well. Wednesday we worked as fast as we could, and today we had more help and were able to slow down and stay organized. We decided to head to another village, further down the road. It was beautiful, with big green fields and distant mountains. Everybody there was very happy to see us, especially when I fell down with a calf on top of me. Nobody smiles and laughs like a Haitian. It makes you want to fall down all the time. When all was said and done, we treated 210 animals, mostly cattle, a lot of big bulls. It was a tough day. Tomorrow, we're heading back to the same two villages to finish up. It would be nice if we could finish up early, but I really don't mind if we don't. The best part of being down here is mixing it up with the locals. Photo courtesy of WSPA/IFAW.

Feb. 11 Update from bill tanguay

Today we drove out to a city in the desert named Thomazeau. At first people were bringing us a lot of pigs for vaccination, which were definitely some of the tougher animals to handle. The pigs did not like being touched, and we had to tether them to a tree to keep them under control. But things went pretty smoothly after that. We ended up treating 210 animals in Thomazeau, mostly pigs, goats and sheep. We treated about a dozen donkeys as well. Thankfully, we still had time and enough supplies to do it again.

We packed up and headed to an extremely hot and dusty place where there were a lot of people, with even more animals, and little shade. We found a few trees and set up our clinic. The heat, the dust, the crowds, and the fact that we had pretty much run out of water was starting to get to me and then things started to slow down. We had finally finished up with most of the goats. There were still a lot of cattle and donkeys to treat, but they came in more slowly. We ended up taking care of over 200 animals. For the next three days we'll be working in Leogane, which was completely devastated by the earthquake. We'll be working alongside a health clinic run by the U.S. Dept of Public Health and a National Guard Unit.

Photo above: Animal Rescue Coalition for Haiti team member and ARL of Boston rescue technician Bill Tanguay cares for a cat in Thomazeau, Haiti. Photo courtesy of WSPA/IFAW.

Feb. 9 Update:

Bill Tanguay: "Today was great. We left about 7:30 this morning and drove out to a small village near Croix-des-Boquets. I worked with a crew from IFAW and a local vet named Emil. We ended up vaccinating 189 animals total, mostly goats, pigs and sheep. 

We vaccinated a few cats, 13 donkeys, 6 horses and a few chickens, too. 

None of these animals are used to being handled, so we ended up putting on quite a show for the people, especially with the pigs. There's no question that the people here love their animals and were very happy to have us. The kids love having their picture taken and really like playing with our stuff. Everybody wanted my leather cat gloves, and I would give them up if I didn't need them. There was also a little girl with a strange wound on her hand. We cleaned it up and tried to find her parents to tell them how to keep it clean. She said she has no parents, so we taught someone else in the village what to do. We're working in the same village tomorrow, and someone from the Red Cross is coming with us to check her out. I'm probably dirtier than I've ever been but I'm happy. The shower mysteriously stopped working when we got back today, I'm going to go try again."

Left: Animal Rescue Coalition for Haiti team member and ARL of Boston rescue technician Bill Tanguay cares for a stray puppy near Croix-des-Boquets, Haiti. Below, left: Bill Tanguay (in red shirt) and ARCH team members vaccinate a pig. Below, right: ARCH team members vaccinate goats and other livestock to prevent the spread of illness. Photos courtesy of IFAW/WSPA.

Feb. 6 Update

Animal Rescue League of Boston Senior Rescue Technician Bill Tanguay will be leaving for Haiti on Sunday, Februrary 7 as part of a special rescue team organized by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH). Bill will join the IFAW team in the Dominican Republic and will then travel directly to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Please check back for updates as they become available.

Left: ARL of Boston Senior rescue Technician Bill Tanguay is an experienced first-responder during natural disasters. In this photo, he is rescuing a stranded dog in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Our skilled animal rescue technicians are frequently called upon to assist in natural disasters like the tragedy in Haiti.  Just as we did during Katrina and the Iowa floods, we are ready to help where needed.

Jan. 22 Update

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) have joined forces to create the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), a group of animal welfare agencies working collaboratively to address the needs of companion animals and livestock in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

As a member of WSPA's Disaster Alliance and IFAW's Emergency Relief Network, the Animal Rescue League of Boston is prepared to assist ARCH, and our rescue technicians are currently on standby. We will update our website as more information becomes available. For breaking news and current information, please visit WSPA's website.  

Please help Haiti's animal victims by contributing to WSPA's Disaster Relief Fund by clicking here or by donating to IFAW's relief efforts by clicking here.

Our skilled animal rescue technicians are frequently called upon to assist in natural disasters like the tragedy in Haiti.  Just as we did during Katrina and the Iowa floods, we are ready to help where needed. To learn more about our Rescue Services team, click here.