Category: Feature Stories

Lev isn’t a typical 12 year old. He’s making good use of his downtime during COVID-19 by 3-D printing custom dog tags, and he is donating 10% of his proceeds to SPCA International!

While stuck at home, Lev started thinking about how he could give back in some way to others. He wasn’t sure how, but he finally had a great idea after his dog Mojo lost his dog tag and Lev couldn’t go out to buy him a new one. He was worried about Mojo getting lost, so Lev used his 3-D printer to make a new dog tag. Then he had the idea to make pet identification tags for others and he founded “Thingz Custom” to launch his business.

Lev took his time researching animal welfare organizations and settled on SPCA International after learning about our work. Now, every purchase of one of Lev’s pet tags will provide a donation. Lev’s pet tags are made of plastic, so they are very light weight. He offers nine color options and they are very affordable at only $10. The best part is they are fully customizable. Check out Lev’s website at thingzcustom.com to order your pet tag today.

SPCA International is so thrilled to be partnering with such a compassionate young entrepreneur and philanthropist. Lev shares that his inspiration for founding Thingz Custom is because he cares about animals and wants to give back to an organization that makes a big impact on animal welfare.

So much has happened in the last few months, it is easy for the Australia bushfires to fade from our minds, but the animal rescuers in Australia continue their important work.

Thanks to many generous SPCA International supporters, we were able to respond quickly to help animal rescue organizations affected by the bushfires.

We are excited to share the progress of just a few of the grant recipients:

Wildlife Care WA Inc.

This organization is maintaining food and water stations for animals returning to scorched forests. These stations are critically important for animals because most food sources have been destroyed. They are also important because they help measure how many animals are returning to the area. Wildlife Care WA Inc. is using motion sensing wildlife cameras to monitor the animals and are thrilled to report many birds and some larger animals returning to the area. There is even a group of adolescent kangaroos that have banded together for safety and frequently visit the food and water stations. The next important item on the list at Wildlife Care WA Inc. is a trailer that will carry a water tank and other supplies for restocking the food and water stations.

Friends of the Western Ground Parrot

This unique organization is dedicated to saving the critically endangered Western Ground Parrot. Just a few years ago there were fewer than 150 of these birds in their last known habitat on the remote South Coast of Western Australia. This area has now been decimated by bushfires and the group is working to find out how many of these nearly extinct species are still alive. With the generosity of SPCA International supporters, we were able to provide funds to purchase solar powered acoustic recording units to capture the whistling teakettle-like songs of the ground parrots and estimate how many have survived.

Bluebush Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation

This organization rescues and rehabilitates young kangaroos that can’t live on their own in the wild. During and after the bushfires they rescued many joeys that were much too young to be on their own. Many of the joeys had hopped through ashes and burned their feet and tails. The grant provided by SPCA International helped with veterinary care, water access and fencing. These joeys will live on a huge reserve in a natural environment until their habitat has recovered and they are ready to be released into the wild.

None of this work would be possible without the support of so many kind and caring people who gave what they could during Australia’s moment of need. Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing even more updates from down under so you can see all the exciting bushfire recovery activities we are supporting in Australia.

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Last month we activated the SPCA International community to help care for four tiny kittens that were rescued in Peru. We were concerned when tiny Atiq struggled to put on weight, but now Atiq and his siblings are all safe in their forever homes.

SPCA International’s supporters have stepped up in a big way during the COVID-19 crisis. Thanks to many generous individuals, we will be able to provide a total of $160,000 to shelters and rescue organizations on the front lines of the COVID-19 animal welfare response.

With the conclusion of the “My Next Bowl” COVID-19 relief social media event last week, thousands of animals will receive the food and care they need during this difficult time. In addition to our regular grants, “My Next Bowl” will provide 55,634 bowls of food provided by individual donors and 14,300 bowls from Wishbone Pet Foods.

These are the organizations being directly supported thanks to the generosity of our supporters.

• Bo Ai Animal Protection Centre of Guangyuan
• K9 Global Rescue
• Unidad de Proteccion Animal
• Plush Bears Shelter
• Animal House Jamaica
• Associazione Etica Antispecista Jill Phipps
• SPCA Italia Protezione Animal
• Vucjak Shelter and Wildlife Sanctuary
• Furry Angels Haven – Wuhan
• Sneha’s Care
• Healing Animal SCARS
• Oito Vidas
• Animal Rescue Serbia
• Ravi Foundation Pakistan
• Detroit Animal Welfare Group
• World of Angels Foundation
• Clean Futures Fund
• SPCA Ouest
• Stray Dog Support
•  Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA) 
•  Anima Leondo RD
• Raincoast Dog Rescue Society
• Animal Friends of Kurdistan

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to evolve, SPCA International will be here to monitor the situation, keep you informed and connect you to the most pressing animal welfare needs. Thank you again to everyone who has supported our shelter and rescue group relief efforts during this time.

Here at SPCA International our crew of animal lovers always appreciates a feel-good animal video. Check out this video for a quick break from the stress of the day. We hope you like it as much as we do. We hope it warms your heart and lifts your spirits. Enjoy!

SPCA International is proud to support CLAW (Communities, Legislature & Animal Welfare). They recently held a series of successful spay and neuter clinics in Fiji.

CLAW is doing great work on Fiji’s scattered islands.

Their recent clinics were held over ten days at nine different locations! They sterilized 390 animals on the islands of Suva and Beqa.

Thanks to the generosity of SPCA International supporters, we were able to send a shipment of veterinary supplies along with a grant to help CLAW.

CLAW brought together veterinarians, recent graduates and nurses from four countries. Along with many community volunteers, they made this a truly successful event.

CLAW also uses an innovative system of “Certificates in Animal Welfare”. These certificates give communities tangible goals to work toward. Two communities earned their “Bronze Certificates in Animal Welfare” during this campaign.

The beautiful islands of Fiji are home to glitzy resorts, but many locals live in poverty. Without help, they wouldn’t be able to afford to sterilize their animals.

During the past year, CLAW has sterilized over 1,200 animals. They are doing truly incredible work. Sterilizations save thousands of animals from being born into situations where they can’t be cared for. CLAW is looking forward to adding a vaccine component to future clinics to further improve the lives of animals.

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We put this cute video together just to make you smile! We hope you can take just one minute to enjoy this short video full of fluffy dogs and cats doing their thing. Wherever you are, we hope it will brighten your day.

During the current crisis, it is easy to focus on the negative, but here are just a few silver linings to think about when you need a pick-me-up.

People are spending more time with their nuclear families. Most of us have dusted off old games or started new activities and rituals together. Many of us are also reconnecting with friends and family over video chats and sharing kindness however we can with our fellow humans.

Animals are benefitting in a number of ways. Many shelters in North America are reporting high adoption and foster rates, China is banning the consumption of dogs and cats, and the Tiger King phenomenon has shed light on the plight of big cats in the U.S.

The environment is also getting a boost from less pollution. Less travel in planes and cars means fewer fossil fuels are being burned, and reduced manufacturing is producing less pollution as well.

Despite these positives, we know many people are battling in one way or another against COVID-19, so we extend our gratitude to all essential workers, especially those who work in healthcare and the grocery supply chain. We also extend our thoughts and hearts to those who are themselves or have a loved one who is sick, grieving or otherwise at risk.

Here at SPCA International, we are committed to helping animal welfare organizations around the world when they are faced with unforeseen disasters. The bushfires in Australia have devastated wildlife habitats and left animal welfare organizations scrambling for resources.

So, we are proud to share that SPCA International recently provided a $60,000 grant to the RSPCA in South Australia so they could purchase two rescue vehicles. The RSPCA works on behalf of all animals, but right now they are caring for more koalas than ever before.

Staff and volunteers are working daily to rescue koalas from smoldering forests and rush them to veterinary care. Many koalas have burns on their hands and feet from climbing scorched trees in search of food. Even those that have escaped burns are hungry and thirsty because their food source has been wiped out.

These koalas will be given the best care possible. As their bodies heal, most will be released into reserves and forests that were spared by the flames. The forests they used to call home will take a decade to recover.

The support we were able to provide to the RSPCA and other organizations in Australia was made possible by many generous donors in North America who gave donations of $20, $50 and $100 dollars. Together these donations will ease the suffering of hundreds if not thousands of animals affected by the Australia bushfires.

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Operation Baghdad Pups: Worldwide has been rescuing dogs and cats befriended by U.S. military members serving overseas since 2008. We have navigated some incredibly difficult situations in unstable regions.

We’ve had to find alternate routes out of countries at war and move animals through dangerous checkpoints. However, we’ve never before been confronted with something like the current COVID-19 crisis.

As borders close and international flights are canceled, our team is bringing dogs and cats to the U.S. as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we know some will be stuck for weeks or months while we wait for travel to resume.

These animals are caught in limbo. As they waited for routine travel clearances, the situation changed drastically. Now, we don’t know when they’ll be able to travel.

Currently, 19 cats and 11 dogs are on our waiting list to travel to the U.S. Caring for them during this crisis is already proving challenging.

Nearly every location where we are caring for dogs and cats is experiencing difficulties. Here are just a few examples:

• In Iraq, our staff had to secure a special permit for a veterinarian to travel across the city to provide vaccines to the dogs in our care.
• In Poland, a carefully orchestrated rescue flight was canceled just two days before it was set to depart.
• In Jordan, two cats are stuck in a boarding facility where a staff member is now living on site to care for them during the shutdown.
• In The Philippines, several dogs and cats have been stuck since early February.

We’ll continue to provide these animals love and care while their soldiers anxiously wait for travel to resume.

Here are a few of the sweethearts whose travel plans have been put on standby:

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If you would like to help us continue to provide vital support to shelters and animals around the world in this most challenging time: