Best Friends Mexico Flood Rescue

Wrapping up operations!

sharonstjoan — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:00:32 GMT

Hundreds of stranded animals fed and rescued!

By Sharon St. Joan, Best Friends Network

This update is based on an account given by Troy Snow, with the Best Friends Rapid Response Team

As Rich Crook, Best Friends Rapid Response Manager, wrote in an earlier update, as soon as the Mexican government installed huge pumps (the largest Rich had ever seen), the water level fell dramatically. The pumps worked 24 hours a day, and this effectively brought a quick end to the crisis.

Although the Tabasco flood covered a significantly larger area than Hurricane Katrina, there were clear differences. For one, people were not prevented from returning to their homes after they had evacuated, and this meant that many were able to return to care for animals that they hadn't been able to bring with them.

Several international groups were on the scene helping. IFAW had sent a team to rescue farm animals, especially the many cattle. HSUS was there. HSI (Humane Society International) and Best Friends were working together caring for dogs, cats, pigs, horses, cows, turkeys and chickens.

From the beginning, Mexican groups were available and ready to help; the first on the scene was APTA. However, they had no food to distribute, so Best Friends (thanks to your generosity and kindness!) was able to supply food every day to distribute to the stranded animals. Boats traveled throughout the city of Villahermosa delivering food to animals on rooftops and on tops of walls. In some cases people had stayed with their animals, and they were grateful to receive food for the animals.

Rich Crook and his team did an outstanding job pulling all the various groups and volunteers together and coordinating the animal rescue operations with the military and other Mexican authorities. The very dedicated Mexican animal groups, local veterinarians who generously worked long hours caring for the sick and injured animals who were brought to them, all the caring volunteers, and the Mexican officials who paved the way so that help could be delivered to the animals--all were part of a huge team that assured that help efficiently reached the animals in need.

In between the essential organizational meetings, Rich Crook found time to go out himself, with the rest of the Best Friends Team, in boats and trucks to coax frightened dogs to eat the food offered and to leave out food for the cats and shy dogs who would come out of their hiding places later when the people had left.

When they came across injured animals, they brought them in to the station that had been set up at the university for vet care. They could be picked up later by their people. Healthy animals were given food, and then were left at their homes to be there when their people returned.

When Troy Snow arrived, they headed immediately out to a still-flooded area on the outskirts of the city to deliver food to the animals there.

In one painful situation, the team had to leave a weak, starving cow in the water because they had no way to get the animal out of the water. In Troy Snow's words, "The day before this photo was taken, this cow was found lying on her side, with her eyes rolling back. The team couldn't get her to eat, drink, or respond in any way. Then, Ron, a volunteer from Georgia, came up with an idea.... Granola bars! The next day, we were returning to check on the cow, expecting to see the worst. As we rounded the corner, everyone cheered as we saw her standing on her own, doing much better. Here, Ron gives her another treat to distract her while the vet checked her out. With more food, and the water receding, she was going to be all right! Another life saved and another victory!

With the floodwaters mostly gone and so many groups and volunteers hard at work on the scene, the Best Friends Team has been able to return earlier than expected, leaving the rescue work in other, very capable, hands.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this response to help the animals of Mexico and their people! Although, sadly, many animals did lose their lives in the flood, those who survived have been, and still are, being cared for, and given food and medical attention, as needed. All this is thanks, especially, to all of you who have given so generously, with so much kindness and caring, to the animals of Mexico!

Donations for the Mexico Flood Relief Campaign will continue to be used to provide food and medical care for animals surviving the flood.

Photos: Troy Snow has taken over eighty amazing photos of animals being cared for in the flood. To see a slide show of these, please go to Flickr. You will need to sign in. Then enter "Troy Snow" in the "Search" box, and scroll down until you find his photos from Mexico. Click on the Mexico heading, then click on "Slide Show."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/troysnow/sets/72157603198764904/

Not much floodwater left!

sharonstjoan — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 09:14:45 GMT

Floods subside; life returns to normal!

By Rich Crook, Best Friends Rapid Response Team

Rich Crook wrote this report prior to his return from Mexico. The Best Friends team has now successfully concluded the transfer of relief operations to the Mexican group, APTA, who will continue to feed animals in need. Local vets have taken over the care of sick and injured animals. We apologize for the few days delay in our reports. There were a few logistical snags. One more update from Mexico will follow!

Today we went to Goviotos and Soloya, (the two areas that were similar to the lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina). These two areas are on opposite sides of town. Neither area had much in the way of water left today. Today was my first trip to Soloya, and I was quite shocked to be able to drive thru pretty much most of the streets with no problems.

No sooner had we made it back to the hotel than we had to meet a group of folks at the airport arriving from Mexico City with food and supplies. Pam and Troy were also on the same flight. It took us until 1 am to get all the people, supplies and food back to the hotel and stored for the night. It’s been like this since I got here, non-stop.

While Jessica and I were in meetings and reassessing flooded areas, Karen and Corolla were up in a helicopter doing another aerial survey. From what they said, the rivers had clear edges once again, and pockets of stranded livestock were non-existent. All good news!

Operations here are moving much quicker than anyone had anticipated. people are already going back to their homes, businesses are restocking their stores (not sure I recommend that just yet) and the water is all but gone. I see continuing to distribute food throughout the week and possibly turning it over to APTA to wrap up by Monday.

The operation has shifted continuously almost since day one. The only consistency I’ve been able to establish is sending food into the field on a regular basis. No additional volunteers will be needed, and I see no reason to send any vets in from the states. Unless we already have a company willing to donate a large quantity of food, I see no need for breaking our backs trying to get food shipped in. We received two tons today and have another five tons coming down on Friday, Dr Thomas Tellez is shipping any donated food to the campus this week for distribution.

Photo: Troy Snow / providing for horses too

Dog food deliveries to the animals continue!

sharonstjoan — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:50:57 GMT

Day Seven -- Lots of local vets, shelters, and officials are helping!

By Rich Crook, Best Friends Rapid Response Manager

With the exception of the triaging of the animals, there are enough local vets on board to handle incoming animals, which I feel after yesterday's assessment, will be minimal.

What has made a huge difference in this operation verses Katrina is that people were never actually kept from returning to their homes to care for their animals and belongings (huge).

The animal situation is mixed. The animals we are seeing moving about look to be in pretty good shape. However, there are many dead animals (part of the original Government assessment of 10,000 feared dead).

This has turned to ground ops, doing food drops and directly handing food to animal owners, rescuing any sick and/or injured, bringing them in to local vets (already lined up). Utilizing local groups and volunteers.

I have a big meeting set up shortly (at the Campus) with no less than five local groups present, with local officials, to present the next few days' operational plan.

Photo: Best Friends Network / Red Cross official, Rich Crook plan next steps

Several teams to feed animals in the city

sharonstjoan — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:44:12 GMT

Day Six - Other teams to head to outlying areas

By Rich Crook, Best Friends Rapid Rescue Manager

The situation here has changed drastically (for the better) just in the last 24 hours. The Government brought in many large pumps (the largest I’ve seen). Once their pumps were up and running, the water dropped overnight. The water is nearly gone in an area that was under several feet of water just the day before. When I first arrived I estimated (based on water lines on the buildings) that the water would be gone in just seven to ten days, it took only seven (so much for the Government's 30 day theory).

Jessica Higgins (HIS) and I spent the morning meeting with the Director of the Biology Campus (Dr. Wilfrido Miguel Contreras Sanchez), We now have an area set aside for staging supplies and housing a few local volunteers. I’ve set a meeting tomorrow at the campus for most all groups involved to discuss operations for the week. I plan to establish several teams to hit the streets (by vehicle) passing out food and assessing the health and basic conditions of the animals as they go. I also plan on sending basic recon teams into the outlying areas to assess the rural situation (any areas beyond the sewer system will most likely still have quite a bit of water). I don’t anticipate hearing about much in the way of companion animal issues in these areas.

After meeting with the director of the campus, we met with Dr. Jorge Thomas Tellez (vet in charge of all operations) and Mario Orlando Reyes Sangri (President of the Veterinary college). We discussed operations, timelines, and who will deal with injured or sick animals that we may come across. We also visited a few offices within the Health Department structure to locate a suitable map to work off of.

Photo: Rich Crook

Concern about dog food supplies

sharonstjoan — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:32:59 GMT

Day 5 - as Mexican groups gather to help

By Rich Crook, Best Friends Rapid Response Manager

Started the day bumping into the folks from the Discovery Channel. I took advantage of the opportunity to lobby for footage of the animal situation. They seemed very interested. They had just arrived and will be here for a week. We are supposed to hook up later this evening to chat further and have a soda.

At 10 am we met with the folks from APTA, then went with them to pick up dog food for the day (1,000 pounds) and delivered it to the volunteers. My fear is that we may exhaust local supplies of food prior to getting the truckloads we need shipped in.

At 11 am we had an appointment at a local radio station interested in interviewing us; from what I could tell it went well. I had Karen be our spokesperson.

Spent the rest of the day answering emails and making phone calls. I spoke to Elia from Mexico City; he is very helpful in working with local groups in his area.

I then spoke to Monica and Temara from REDAMMA--not sure what it stands for--but here’s the website http://www.REDAMMA.com They have gathered two tons of food and additional supplies. It should be here Monday evening.

At 9 pm we met with Dulce from APTA, Brenda Rodriguez from Una Mejor Vida, which is "the association for a better life for animals” and Mvz. Xochitl A. Alimarano Santos from De Dogters, Xochitl, who runs a veterinary clinic in Villahermosa. They are asking how they can help and would like to work with Best Friends. We have a meeting set up for Tuesday morning to begin work out of the campus.

Tomorrow, I meet with Dr. Tellez to receive our specific staging area at the Campus. Once we know where exactly we can set up we can begin bringing volunteers and supplies in!

Photo: Rich Crook

------ End of Forwarded Message

Frequently Asked Questions.doc

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:55:51 GMT

Tens of thousands of surviving dogs and cats may need help!

sharonstjoan — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 05:21:31 GMT

Day Three (part one)

By Richard Crook, Best friends Rapid Response Manager

Today was spent in meetings. We started by having coffee with the local group “Association for the Protection of Animals Tabasco.” This is a group of five very dedicated individuals with a shelter under six to eight feet of water. They had to remove the 45 or so animals originally in the shelter and foster them throughout their friendship circle. They were very upset and concerned for the animals out in the flooded zones without food and suitable water, so much so that one gentleman broke down at the table. He had most of the rest of us in tears.

We explained that we’ve been through this before, and the animals are very resilient, and, as long as they have access to water, they can survive for weeks. While that provided only a small amount of comfort, what really helped was buying them 1000 pounds of food to distribute. That put a smile on their faces and gave them hope. I anticipate working much closer with them in the very near future.

From there we meet with a representative from the office of the Minister of Health (Mvz. Said Jorge David del Rivero). Mr Rivero informed us that there are 60,000 companion animals in the affected areas, with 20,000 being strays and 10,000 feared dead, leaving the potential for up to 30,000 animals unaccounted for. According to Mr Rivero, The water is only receding at a rate of ten inches per day, meaning that it may take up to a month for the water to completely recede (providing they receive no additional rain).

After chatting numbers with Mr Rivero for a bit, I asked who we might we need to work with to receive official permission and support to help in the region. He gave us the name of a local vet (Mvz. Jorge Thomas Tellez), who Mr. Rivero says the Minister of Health has given “Carte Blanche” to, to do whatever he feels necessary to help the animals.

So we set up a meeting with Mr Tellez and off we went. We arrived to find Mr Dick Green (and crew) from IFAW working on an injured dog. After the dog had been cared for, we all went out for a quick lunch. Dick shared that their primary focus will be with the large animals. I shared that our focus would be with the companion animals. (Certainly seems like a cozy fit!)

Continued...
http://network.bestfriends.org/mexicofloodrescue/news/20457.html

Photo: Rich Crook

"Can you help us?"

sharonstjoan — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 05:13:21 GMT

Day Three (part two) -- a telling conversation

By Rich Crook, Best Friends Rapid Response Manager

After lunch, I had about five minutes to lay out a potential plan for Mr. Tellez to kick around while he met with the IFAW folks. This included securing a local university both to house volunteers and to serve as a triage site for the sick and injured animals. Along with this, several boats would be needed to make continuous food runs and rescues. Mr. Tellez said, "Ok, let me think about it, and we can talk more after my meeting with IFAW."

When Mr. Tellez returned from his meeting and sat with us, he said, " I thought about what you’ve suggested, and I think we just need money for supplies, and I think we have plenty of people here to take care of the animals."

I said, '"Ok, what’s your plan for tending to the 25 to 30,000 animals potentially stranded without food and water?"

His answer was “Well, we have a small group of dedicated individuals out as we speak delivering food.”

I asked, "Are those individuals from the local group (APTA)?"

He said, "Yes, are you familiar with them?"

I said, Yes, we are the ones that bought the food they are delivering," I then went on to pose the question: "Do you feel five people in one boat can deliver food enough to feed 25 to 30,000 animals at least once a week?"
(Thanks for that one, Paul.)

He answered, "No."

I said, "Then animals are going to die. Are you ok with that?"

He said, "No. What do you suggest?"

I then went on to explain what we had experience with during Katrina (in graphic detail) and reiterated my initial plan. By this time the poor guy was literally shaking and said, “Ok, forget the money. Can you help us?” I think it was at this moment that he started to realize the magnitude of the responsibility he was given.

Mr. Tellez informed us that the military had shut down open traffic on the water, and he had no authority to grant permission to enter, so off to the EOC center we went. We arrived around 6 pm and after 20 minutes of name-dropping, we finally made our way to central operations (it was what you would expect to see at a FEMA EOC). It was very busy--maybe 40 people on computers, full of military folks and federal officials, etc.

After another 45 minutes of talking to six different people, we found our friend Mr. Rivero (from breakfast). He was able to introduce us to the secretary of the Secretary of State. After another 30 minutes of "Yada, yada, yada," we were in agreement as to what we needed to do to get permission to help the animals. Basically, we had to type (on one of their computers) a report of all our activities since arriving, all the officials we had had conversations with to date, what we could do to help, and what we would need from them.

To summarize, I suggested we could help coordinate feeding the animals stranded, rescue the animals sick or injured, help to recruit volunteers, and possibly bring in additional groups. The time frame for this would be until the water recedes, and the people can return to their homes or take care of the animals themselves (30 days).

Now, for what I felt we needed from them; I asked for official credentials giving us permission to be on the water and on structures, two boats, two trucks, another staging site closer to the working zones, and a designated contact person within the military who would have a full understanding of our mission. Mr. Rivero, who typed all this up in Spanish seemed to think this was reasonable, but he wasn’t sure how the Governor would feel about the equipment, (it never hurts to ask).

This will be placed in front of the Governor in the morning, and we should have an answer by noon.

Mr. Tellez said he would talk to the university to secure a site and look into recruiting students to help. We spoke to Mr. Tellez at approximately 8 pm, and indeed, he has the vet university for both volunteers and animals!

Focusing on stranded companion animals

sharonstjoan — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 07:03:39 GMT

More from Day One - Meeting an old friend

By Rich Crook, Rapid Response Manager

Tomorrow we start our day with a helicopter ride with the military. One of our first stops will be at the office of the Minister of Agriculture (already arranged) this is where the camera thing comes into play. Curious yet? Ok, this was the deal: only certain people were allowed to take pics, so I slipped my camera to the representative from the Minister of Agriculture (he was allowed to take pics), then most of us had to step outside the hanger and eventually had to leave all together prior to the president coming out, so I had to leave my camera behind. He has since called and said he got some good shots, and we can swing by tomorrow to pick it up. Hopefully, when we stop by the Minister himself will be there and we can chat.

After we tour the city (and hopefully get some good pics), I plan on coming back to the hotel to begin contacting some of the local groups to see where they stand and get their side of the story. I’m sure at some point we will hook back up with the Minister of Health (companion animals) to further our discussion from today. That’s the plan as of the moment.

One last bit of information, when I returned to the hotel after press conference I ran into Dick Green from IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare). Dick is a friend and also a member of the coalition. We had a lengthy chat and swapped information. It appears at the moment that they will be focusing on the livestock issues, I said, "Sounds good! I think our focus will be on companion animals." So Dick said he has a fair amount of local group information he is willing to share and will get that to me tomorrow evening over dinner. I thought our conversation went quite well all things considered.

Karen Otoole, is an independent volunteer that worked with me (and many others) during Katrina, she speaks awesome Spanish and has done a phenomenal job so far.

Photo: Rich Crook / Flooded street in Villaharmosa

Best Friends Team talks with top Mexico leaders about relief needs

sharonstjoan — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 06:36:32 GMT

Day One

By Rich Crook, Best Friends Rapid Response Manager

Karen and I arrived early this morning to find the rental car companies not willing to rent us a vehicle. Luckily, there was a Hilton transfer van making their rounds so we hitched a ride and scored a deal on a couple rooms, and, as it turns out, the hotel was within a mile of the airport.

Considering both of us hadn’t slept since the day before, we grabbed four hours of rest and began to plan for the day.

The city still under water

We started out looking into what routes, if any, were open within Villahermosa. We found the city (800,000 plus) to still be completely under water and only passable by boat, large military type truck or helicopter.

It was clear to me the only realistic shot we had was with the military, so back to the airport we went (which also doubled as a military base). Within about an hour we met a very nice military officer who was more than happy to arrange whatever we needed. My first thought was to get in one of the choppers before they changed their minds. Then he was kind enough to inform us that the President of Mexico, his wife and part of his cabinet were due to have a press conference in one of the hangers within the next couple hours. Naturally, we agreed, and he found us a nice spot to wait (inside the hanger where the conference was to be held). Talk about a stroke of luck.

While waiting in the hanger, we managed to locate a representative of the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Health himself, after having lengthy conversations with both gentlemen, we were able to gather the following information:

The Minister of Health (who spoke English, thank the Lord) told us that he believes that most of the companion animals made it out with their owners. Unfortunately, he feels that the ones that were left behind (some 9,000 plus) had perished due to the fact that most houses in the region are single story and the height of the water went up as high as 15 feet in some areas, leaving no hope for those people and animals trapped inside (very sad situation, if this turns out to be true).

The Minister of Health is open to any help we or any other organization can bring to the table. We ended the conversation with the Minister suggesting we get back together as early as tomorrow afternoon to discuss more of his concerns and needs.

Another view of the devastation

The representative from the office of the Minister of Agriculture had a much different opinion (as one would expect). He shared that they have some 1,800,000 cows in the region with many of them still roaming the streets and fields up to their bellies and necks in water and unable to eat. He did share with us that they were able to initially move about 10% of the cows out of harm's way prior to the flooding. When asked what he thought about the companion animal topic, he felt it was pretty well under control. He said people had been allowed back into the city (by boat) to return to their homes to salvage what they could and save any animals still alive.

Evidently, the local government knew the waters were rising and were monitoring the weather well in advance and had hit the streets roughly five days prior to the rains and asked people to prepare for the worst and get out while they still had time (right on). I’m sure that saved many people and animals.

I found the whole press conference experience very interesting and impressive. Originally, we were told we may have an opportunity to ask questions. As it turns out, no questions were allowed, and when the president got down to the real nuts and bolts, most of the 50 or so in the hanger were asked to step outside. I had to get creative, but I still managed to get a few decent pics (provided I get my camera back). Stay tuned :]

Continued at http://network.bestfriends.org/News/Admin/EditPost.aspx?np=20440

Photo: Rich Crook / two dogs just rescued from the flood

Best Friends Prepares Staging Area, Plans Rescue of Thousands of Animals

sharonstjoan — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 04:03:27 GMT

Stranded by Floods in the Mexican State of Tabasco

VILLA HERMOSA, Mexico-Best Friends Animal Society, the organization that helped rescue 6,000 dogs and cats following Hurricane Katrina, is prepared to launch a rescue effort to reach thousands of companion animals stranded by floodwaters in the Mexican state of Tabasco.

"We've seen dogs swimming for their lives, stranded on concrete blocks, on rooftops, and clinging to anything that will float," said Rich Crook, rapid response manager for Best Friends, the American animal rescue organization. "We're making final arrangements to get in and get as many of them out as we can."

Working with local authorities, Crook has established a staging area/rescue center on the campus of Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco Biological Campus. Four Best Friends rescue teams will be out on the water in the next few days to rescue animals stranded by floodwaters. Those animals suffering from injury or trauma will be brought to the rescue center where they will be treated by volunteer veterinarians.

"Most of the damage is on the northern and southern areas of Villa Hermosa and on the outskirts of the city," Crook said. "We estimate there are 15,000-20,000 animals that will need help."

The most immediate need, Crook said, will be to set up feeding and watering stations for the animals, all of which must be done on the water because houses are submerged to the rooftops.

"We are pleased to be partnering with the university, which has made the campus available for our staging area," Crook said. "This is something that is critical to a rescue of this nature. Having the use of buildings on the campus gives us a place where volunteers can stay and space to care for the animals."

Heavy tropical storm rains inundated the area surrounding Villa Hermosa last week, causing damage to as many as one million homes. Published reports earlier this week said floodwaters had caused $4.7 billion in damage to homes, farmlands and cattle ranches. According to Crook, locals said it took only three hours for the rain to rise over the rooftops.

Paul Berry, chief executive officer of Utah-based Best Friends, said the organization's rapid response teams are trained just for such a rescue operation.

"We've been through this in Katrina and there are many similarities here," Berry said. "As we have done in the past, we will work with local groups and lend our expertise where needed."

Photo: Richard Crook