The Animals Need Our Help
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Dr. Erica Ward has been an elephant veterinarian in Thailand since 2013. Her goal in WAWI is to take advantage of opportunities to provide care and medical treatment to domestic and wild animals around the globe, with a specific focus on elephants in Thailand. Small actions, such as canine spay and neuter clinics, can have a huge positive impact on animal and human health.
In the wake of the Australian bush fires, WAWI is committed to helping the wildlife of Australia and working with our local partners on actionable conservation solutions. If you want to get involved in helping us help animals around the world, we want your help! Medical care costs money and uses supplies, so we can always use either of those! In addition, we occasionally need volunteers to assist in research or providing or supporting medical care. Please contact us if you have a way to help or join our mailing list if you want to hear about opportunities to get involved. |
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Donation Thanks
A BIG thank you to Dr. Lori Bidwell for donating the funds to purchase a second Anesthesia machine. This machine has been put to great use during our spay and neuter programs throughout the year. Thanks to Dr. Lois Wetmore for helping coordinate the purchase and for donating the convenient case for easy travel.
Lifesaving Projects
Small Animal Outreach
September 2019
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In September 2019 we were at it again with our biggest team yet and two anesthesia machines! The four day spayathon was a huge success with 120 dogs and cats sterilized and many more vaccinated. Go Team Go!!
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February 2019Another successful clinic in the books! In February 2019, WAWI performed their 4th high-volume, high-quality spay and neuter clinic in an underserved area of Northern Thailand. It’s all hands on deck and 4 long days, but together we do so much good for a community with an overpopulation problem and no access to vet care for many miles. The team of hard working-animal loving individuals from WAWI, Burm and Emily’s Elephant Sanctuary (BEES), the local livestock department and Loop Abroad spayed and neutered 114 dogs and cats and administered countless rabies and combination vaccinations. We are looking forward to our next clinic in the months to come!
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February 2017In February 2017, WAWI performed a mass dog sterilization clinic in Northern Thailand. This was the first official WAWI sponsored event. We brought together pre-veterinary students from Loop Abroad, the local livestock and agriculture authorities, and the staff from Burm and Emily's Elephant Sanctuary to spay and neuter 115 dogs from the surrounding area. We also provided free vaccines to these dogs and check for other life-threatening conditions. We hope that this will be the first of many spay/neuter clinics to come!
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Elephant Research
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WAWI teamed up with Dr. Peter DiGeronimo from University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Wasinee Thepapichaikul from Mahidol University and Dr. João Brandão from Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences to conduct a research study on blood parameters in Asian Elephants. This research will help our understanding of the deadly Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus Hemorrhagic Disease (EEHV-HD) and has the potential to be used in the study of heart disease in elephants. It took months of preparation, but in April and May 2019, Dr. Erica, Dr. Pete, Dr. Wasinee, research assistant Stefan Gallini and a team of Loop Abroad veterinary students from Ross University collected and tested samples from 64 elephant in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Special thanks to the elephant facilities that allowed us to conduct the important research: Elephant’s World, Elephant’s Home and Nature, Chang Puak Elephant Camp Kanchanaburi, Wangpo Elephant Camp, Taweechai Elephant Camp and Ganesha Park. Without their cooperation, the study would not have been possible. Stay tuned- there are more plans for elephant research on the horizon!
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Elephant Welfare & Enrichment
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Providing enrichment is an extremely important part of providing good welfare to elephants in captivity. WAWI’s Dr. Erica Ward teaches about welfare and enrichment to staff and visitors of elephant sanctuaries including future veterinarians participating in Loop Abroad programs in Thailand. Not only is enrichment beneficial for elephants, it is also very enjoyable to plan, construct and implement!
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Donkey Outreach
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In May 2018, Dr. Erica Ward and Dr. Ruth Parkin embarked on an exciting outreach mission to Corfu Donkey Rescue, an impressive sanctuary in Greece that provides care and shelter for Corfu’s abandoned and abused donkeys. WAWI provided vaccinations and health checks to many donkeys, dogs and cats in need.
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Equine Outreach
Since August, 2018 WAWI has been providing outreach and capacity building to Second Wind Ranch & Rescue, a horse rescue based in Chiang Mai. The mission of the facility is to rescue ex-racehorses and other neglected equines. Once rescued, they rehabilitate them with the intent of finding them new homes.
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The Animals Need You. Can You Help?
Simple donations, such as $5 or a package of gauze that would otherwise be thrown away, can make a huge difference in the lives of the animals of Thailand. Can you help?
GIVE MONEYWe always appreciate donations of time and in-kind items, but the most-needed and easiest-to-use donation is funding of any amount. If you'd like to do a fundraiser for WAWI at your school or organization, please contact us. WAWI is a 501(c)3; all donations are tax deductible.
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GIVE ITEMSOur in-kind donations are organized through 27 Heartbeats, a US organization started by a high school student. We can really use almost anything and, if we can't, we can try to get it into the right hands.
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GIVE TIME AND SKILLSAre you a veterinarian? A professor? A vet tech? We may be able to use your help and support!
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