CARES in Jeopardy due to Record High Floods

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Iquitos is suffering the ravages of the highest river water levels in the past 25 years.



Amazon CARES has mobilized volunteers in Iquitos, Peru.  As the water crept closer toward our no-kill shelter, we began to heavily promote adoptions.

Crowded Conditions for Animals

Every single shelter animal was saved!  In the absence of dry land, 50+ animals were forced to live together in a crowded building.  Luckily, adoption figures for April have reached a record high of 18, alleviating some of the crowded conditions.


It is very heartbreaking to watch the total loss of our beautiful animal sanctuary, which we have added on to and fortified over many years.





Thanks to generous Donors, a grant from the Fondation 30 millions d'Amis, and wood donated by the municipality of Belen, we have begun the process of building a new structure as quickly as possible.   The new, smaller kennels are being built at the highest point of our property.  




For comprehensive coverage of the damage inflicted upon Amazon CARES and our facilities, please read our Spring newsletter.  While there, be sure to subscribe!





The Peruvian Jungle, which makes up almost 60 per cent of the country, is the rainforest region inthe north and eastern part of Peru, and in which 2 big rivers, theMaranon and the Ucayali, flow together to form the Amazon River.  Iquitos, the capital of Loreto, is located on the Amazon River, but is unreachable by road.


Loreto, one of Peru's 25regions, covers most of the north easternportion of Peru.  Loreto has wide river flood plains, which are covered with rainwaterand usually are swamped.  Most of the rainoccurs between January and June; monthly rainfall is greatest in March.










For more information about the Loreto region:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loreto_Region

The Saddest Blog I've Ever Written

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Our animal shelter where we cared for 50+ dogs has been completely destroyed. See video:



We relocated all animals into a treatment building that is built on stilts.   It was a very trying 2 months as the dogs were forced to live in a very crowded space.  Healthy, sick, small, large, puppies...all were forced to live together.  We always have promoted adoption, but it is not ingrained in the culture of Iquitos.  However, the flooding provided an added impetus to get the word out.  
We had a record number of adoptions in April and May, and now we are caring for just over 20 dogs.  Incidentally, we shelter cats as well, but at another facility, in-town at our Vet Clinic.  Our dog shelter is 30 minutes away by boat or land (currently only by boat, of course) from our in-town clinic.  We got an emergency grant of $4000  from the Fundación 30 Millions d'amis (30 Million Friends) of France , and our supporters stepped up also, helping us raise an additional $1200.

Last week we completed work on a new, smaller, shelter at the highest point of our property.  It is such a relief for the remaining animals to have space to roam again.  You can see these photos on Facebook.


The effort has nearly destroyed us.  We had to cancel our April Veterinary Trip.  We are currently $500 short on paying our bills this month.  Sadly, a matching grant Donor we depended on states that we misunderstood his original grant limitations.  We hope to receive the money promised to us, but that will not occur for another 6-12 months.
I have never earned a salary as the Founder or Executive Director of Amazon CARES.  I founded and supported Amazon CARES when I sold my part in my family's 125 year old jewelry business in 2005. Since 2004 I have supported CARES, but in late 2011 my money ran out.  I have enough to live on, but not enough to continue supporting CARES in the same manner.  Despite the fact that my travel to Peru will be severely curtailed, I am currently looking for full time employment to supplement my income and keep CARES alive.  Luckily, we have a wonderful Director in Peru and a wonderful, loyal staff (at least for now...if we can't pay salaries that would probably change).
We still run very active ABC programs, and thankfully, these programs and the medicines needed are paid for by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation.
It is very hard to get grant money for shelters, however.  The WSPA doesn't believe in sheltering, for instance.  They believe that long term solutions are found through active ABC campaigns and Humane Education.  We are very involved with both of these strategies as well.  I would challenge any international animal charity of our size to rival our Humane Ed program, which has continued despite recent challenges.
However, we believe sheltering is an essential component.  Many dogs are abandoned, especially litters of puppies, or dogs suffer from infections (mange, parasites) that can be treated easily.  We have seen enormous transformations from former, sickly street dogs to beautiful, healthy adoptable pets.  We are a no-kill shelter, incidentally.



As the flood waters reside we will need to continue rebuilding our shelter.  The one we constructed quickly is well built, but too small.   We may try to salvage a small part of our old shelter, but it is preferable to continue building another small shelter building on the highest land, adjacent to what we have already built.  


We recently rescued a dog found starving to death on a small patch of dry land and surrounded by water.  His owners had abandoned him.  Even as we have improved our adoption rates, there will continue to be a need for shelter for dogs such as this rescue dog above.  He will heal and be adopted, but it will require months of re-hab.  We simply refuse to euthanize him, when he is a dog with a bright future as a member of somebody's family.
Funds are badly needed for reconstruction and for dog food.


I am sad to report that the survival of CARES is a matter of weeks, not months.  There is no other charity like ours in the region.  In a matter of a few years, much of the work we have done will have come undone.


Thank you for reading this blog.  I am extremely saddened to reveal this heartbreaking news.  If you can help us with a donation of any amount, we would be very grateful.  Click here for more information.


Molly Mednikow
Amazon CARES Founder

Government Support for Animal Health Not Guaranteed

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Veterinarians from South Africa and Russia are in Peru working with the CARES team to sterilize street animals.  The trip began on June 19 and will conclude on July 2.

Harri of Amazon CARES captures a street
dog as part of our TNR Campaign

Despite a publicized and signed contract with the Punchana municipality, on the third day of our public and animal health campaign, officials were no-shows!  As our volunteers waited for transportation to Punchana, and our Peru Director Bruno Antoine called various authorities with no response, we reached the conclusion that officials had decided that a vacation day took priority over public health.  



A government contract in Peru, signed with much fanfare and media attention, does not guarantee the promised support.

A Mobile Clinic in BellaVista-Nanay

It was a lost opportunity for the people and animals of the Bellavista-Nanay neighborhood of Punchana.  These people have been hard hit by recent floods and the post flood situation.  In fact, local health officials recently enacted an emergency plan due to the outbreak of Leptospirosis, a potentially deadly disease transmitted from animals to humans.


This is the sad reality Amazon CARES faces during nearly every Veterinary campaign.  

June Trip Success. Vets Needed for August!

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Bruno Antoine, Director of CARES Peru, welcomes Veterinary Volunteers to our Iquitos based clinic.

On the heels of the June Veterinary trip ending, we have a great itinerary planned for our August Veterinary Trip.  See details and a map of destinations on the trip page of our website.
All placements are full except for VETERINARIANS.  We urgently need licensed Veterinarians for this amazing trip, August 11-26.  Due to our urgent need, we can offer discounts on the trip fee.  If you are a Veterinarian, or know of one that might be interested, please share this blog with them.  For thoughts on the June trip, keep reading...

South African Vet, Jackie Terblanche with Russian Vet Nurse, Yelena Poveda.

The June Veterinary Volunteer Trip has just ended.  Vet Nurse Yelena Poveda, a native of Russia, commented 

"I am back from the jungle to civilization, here in Iquitos, and I'm about to pack my bags and go back to my country tomorrow night.The trip was fantastic! I was very glad to meet with the Peruvian doctor and with my colleagues the vet techs from the Amazon CARES clinic. Together with two vets from South Africa, we made a fantastic team! We worked hard to treat and sterilize animals in Iquitos and in the villages along the rivers. We also had a great time together exploring the jungles and fishing. I think these relationship won't end here!!!
The people in the area where we worked were amazingly friendly and warm, it was a true pleasure to do what we could for them. 

Overall, a great experience, and if some of my friends the vets or vet techs want to volunteer for this unique project, visit their trip page on their website."

By the Numbers: June Veterinary Volunteer Jungle Trip

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The June 17-July 1, 2012 volunteer trip has wrapped up.  We hosted 2 South African Veterinarians, Jackie Terblanche and Kyle Perrin and Russian Veterinary Assistant Yelena Poveda.

This was a small crew that worked hard in Iquitos and in the jungle. 


In total:

• 102 animals were spayed/neutered; 
• 141 animals received non-surgical treatments;
• 126 Albendazole anti-parasite pills were distributed to people living in river communities.

We owe much gratitude to the Fondation Brigitte Bardot and Embrace Pet Insurance for their continued support of our Veterinary campaigns.



Everyone had a great experience.  There was much work, but also great times sightseeing and getting to know one another.




Many more photos are available on our Facebook page in Spanish.  While on Facebook, please like our English Amazon CARES page too!


we have Veterinary volunteer trips August 11-26 and also in October.  Readers of this blog will already know that our August trip is full, except for licensed Veterinarians.  We URGENTLY need Vets and will discount the trip fee.  Learn more.

Buckhead CID executive director to address BBA

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Jim Durrett, executivedirector of the Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID), will speak atthe Buckhead Business Association’s Weekly Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, July12, at the City Club of Buckhead.
“Jim Durrett comes tous with a wealth of expertise in transportation, land use and creative livablecommunities,” notes Catherine Cattles, 2012 president of the BBA.  “Welook forward to hearing from him about his mission to make Buckhead a morewalkable and liveable urban environment, including his plans for improvements tothe transportation network and public realm that connect people and placeswithin the Buckhead community, despite limited resources.”

Jim Durrett

Prior to joining theBuckhead CID, Durrett was founding executive director of the LivableCommunities Coalition, a not-for-profit organization formed in 2005 to promotesmart growth development in the Atlanta region.  Prior to that, Durrettserved for five years with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), an organizationdedicated to land use and real estate development issues, as the foundingexecutive director of ULI's Atlanta District Council. 
Durrett formerly waswith the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce as the vice president ofEnvironmental Affairs, and was the senior vice president and chief operatingofficer of The Georgia Conservancy. 
He began hisprofessional career as a hydrogeologist in the DeKalb County office of GolderAssociates, an international geotechnical and environmental engineeringconsulting firm.
Durrett is activelyinvolved in the community and currently serves on the following boards: MARTA board of directors (which he chaired in 2011); Livable CommunitiesCoalition board of trustees; Project Interconnections advisory board; and VSAArts of Georgia board of directors.  He is a member of LeadershipAtlanta’s Class of 2013.
From 1998 to 2005,Durrett was a member of the Georgia Environmental Advisory Council, appointedby the Governor to advise the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, theGeorgia Environmental Protection Division and the governor on environmentalpolicy matters.  He was a member of the inaugural class of the Institutefor Georgia Environmental Leadership and a participant in the RegionalLeadership Institute. 
Durrett chaired theadvisory committee for Georgia For a Lifetime, an initiative of the GeorgiaCouncil on Aging.  He also has served on numerous collaborative committeesand task forces working on growth management, affordable housing andenvironmental issues in the state of Georgia.
An Atlanta native, Durrettattended the Westminster Schools in Atlanta and earned a bachelor’s degree inEconomics from the University of Virginia and a master's degree in Geology fromthe University of Georgia.  He completed post-graduate work inhydrogeology at the University of Texas.  He lives in DeKalb County withhis wife, Pat.  They have two sons, James and Ryan, both attendingcollege.

Councilwoman Felicia Moore to co-host 2012 Business Growth and Opportunity Meeting July 27

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Atlanta City CouncilwomanFelicia Moore in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration,Invest Atlanta and the Atlanta Advisory Committee for InternationalRelations will host the 2012 Business Growth and Opportunity Meeting inDistrict 9 on Friday, July 27.

Felicia Moore

The meeting will takeplace from 10 a.m. until 12 noon at facility of Empire Distributors, located at3755 Atlanta Industrial Parkway. Atlanta Industrial Parkway runs off of DonaldE. Hollowell Parkway, just west of I-285 in Council District 9.
Moore, who alsorepresents a portion of the western part of Buckhead, said professionals willbe on-hand to inform businesses of tax credits and small business incentiveswhile doing business in Atlanta. Businesses will have an opportunity to receiveuseful information regarding programs to support the diverse needs of smallbusiness owners.
She encourages allbusinesses to attend. To register for the meeting call 404-330-6044 or email fmoore@atlantaga.gov.
Every year the U.S.Small Business Administration and its nationwide network of resource partnershelp millions of small businesses start, grow and succeed.