People were not the only ones affected by the devastating earthquakes in Haiti.
Lafayette veterinarian Renée Poirrier traveled to affected areas the week of Feb. 7 to vaccinate local animals that may have carried diseases harmful to people.
The alumna of the University’s School of Veterinary Medicine and director of the Louisiana State Animal Response Team joined American and Haitian animal emergency aid workers in Haiti.
She responded in support of the Animal Relief Coalition of Haiti, which is jointly led by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the World Society for the Protection of Animals.
A six-member team of Poirrier and co-volunteers that set up health clinics in Haiti treated many animals including livestock, donkeys, horses and dogs.
The group de-wormed all animals, then treated large animals for anthrax and smaller animals for rabies, Poirrier said.
“Everyone lined up to get their animal treated, and many children would come to see their pets get treated,” Poirrier said.
The conjunction with local efforts helped to make the trip successful.
“We worked with the local government as well as with local veterinarians, so they knew the area and could tell us where the best spots were to set up clinics,” Poirrier said.
For the first few days of the trip, Poirrier said she slept in a tent on an industrial park protected by United Nations officials in Sonapi.
“There was a lot of rubble and destroyed buildings, but locals were constantly cleaning the streets,” Poirrier said.
Poirrier arrived two weeks after the earthquake hit Haiti, and she said there was rapid progress during the one week she stayed in the area.
“We were told to bring a week’s supply of food and water, then they changed it to three days, but we ended up not needing any at all because they fed us every day and gave us bottled water,” she said.
Poirrier left her tent and extra food and supplies for Haitian natives to use when she departed.
“Before I left the country, I was told many locals were living in tent cities. But in reality most of their tents were only made of sheets,” Poirrier said.
Health clinics were set up in four towns around Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and as many as 310 animals were treated per town.
“The main goal was to protect humans from diseases that animals could transmit to them, and the long-term goal is to treat and prevent all animal-related diseases,” Poirrier said.
Poirrier said she was shocked by the loss of life across the island.
“Almost everyone I talked to through a translator had lost a family member to the earthquake,” Poirrier said.
ARCH will continue to financially support Haiti in its mission to treat animals in Haiti, and it is trying to hire more local veterinarians and train local Haitians to complete this type of work which will boost the Haitian economy, Poirrier said.
Contact Mallory Logan at [email protected]