Animal Rescue Training in Nicaragua

By Bill McKee Murrow College Backpack Journalism Project Read more from Bill on his Backpack Journalism blog.

Along the banks of Laguna de Apoyo, a lake formed in the crater of a dormant volcano in Nicaragua, an unlikely group has gathered – veterinarians, rescue experts and volunteers preparing for disasters. When big storms like Sandy or Katrina strike, causing destruction and mayhem, people are not the only ones who need rescuing.  Pets and livestock are also at risk.

Volunteers gather around the banks of Laguna de Apoyo.

Rescue specialist Kim Little normally trains firemen, police and rescue response teams on what to do in the event of disaster.  But this week Little is some 3,000 miles away in Central America, teaching technical animal rescue. “This class was designed to help animal rescue (workers) get the skill level to work with (human) rescuers, and (to give human) rescue people the knowledge to be able to work with the animals without being harmed,” said Little. Little has been running a rescue training business out of Billings, Mont., since 1982.  He grew up in Colfax on the Palouse in eastern Washington and says he draws on his outdoor experiences river-rafting and climbing to develop his training program.

Volunteers prep for the pulley.

“I’m here to help train people from the United States who wanted to come down to learn and possibly be volunteers for World Vets when a disaster strikes.  But I’m also here to train local people, because even with a World Vets response, it’s going to be 24 to 48 hours before they’re going to be there,” Little said. Little is running the program for World Vets, a non-profit organization that designs international veterinary and disaster relief programs to help animals worldwide.  It has built clinics around the world and provides surgical training and practical experience to veterinarians and students, both abroad and from the U.S. With Little’s help, World Vets has developed this program, north of Granada in the Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, to address a missing element in disaster relief – hands-on technical training for animal rescuers.

Volunteers learn to use        the pulleying system.

For Kansas State University veterinary student Laura Schurr, the training is an opportunity to go beyond the standard care she learns in class lectures. “After seeing all the destruction in Haiti, I remember watching on TV after the earthquake, I knew that was a place where I could be of help,” Schurr said. The group spent a day in class learning the basics – the organizational structure of a rescue team, how to read animals and approach a rescue situation, and basic knots used in rescue operations.  The next few days were spent out on the lake, putting those classroom exercises to the test.  The group practiced rope rescues on water and on land, basic boat rescue techniques, and learned to devise safe and effective pulley systems for harnessing and raising injured people and animals to safety from below.

Rope tying is demostrated to volunteers.

Graduates of the course are certified at a level higher than that required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for animal rescue, and their names will be added to a database of potential disaster relief volunteers to be called on in case of an international disaster. The rescue training is just a small part of the mission in Nicaragua, however. World Vets is about to open its second clinic in the city of Granada – a training center for both foreign and local veterinarians. Dr. Sarah Seitz is a World Vets veterinarian working to develop the clinic.  A recent graduate of Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Seitz says the programs that World Vets offers provide a unique opportunity for veterinarians and students who hope to brush up on their skills.

Volunteers undergo a final exam to test their skills.

“It’s a good place for them to come practice surgery in a low-stress environment.  They get one-on-one training, which is really important.  In most vet schools around the world, that is not available,” said Seitz. At the center in Granada, World Vets provides Latin American veterinarians and students with free surgical training, while international students can enroll in programs that allow them to work with experienced professionals in a modern surgical center – an opportunity many institutions lack.

Veterinarians and students receive free surgical training.

The center in Granada provides free health care, including spays and neuters, for the animals of local residents, as well as strays.  Locals get valuable help for their pets, while students get practical clinical experience. With surgical centers and rescue operation programs across the globe, World Vets works to increase the standard for animal care worldwide, providing vets and volunteers the opportunity to learn under ideal conditions, while still preparing for inevitable disaster.

Monkeying Around on my Last Day in Granada

No that's not Spiderman, that's me, zipping through the treetops

I may not be able to swing through the trees like a monkey, but a ride on a zipline through the jungle isn't too bad either.  Not a bad way to spend my last day in Granada.

Thanks to everyone who made it happen - Dr. Sarah Geitz and World Vets, Kim Little and Rescue 3, and of course Lucrezia Cuen Paxson and the rest of the Murrow School at WSU - I had a wonderful time and will be ready to go save some animals the next time a disaster strikes.

Thanksgiving in Granada

As it is Thanksgiving (at least back home), I’ve been thinking about what I’m thankful for today.  While I’m enjoying Nicaragua, I’m thankful that I’ll be going home soon.  I miss my friends and family, and I’m a bit sad I’m missing spending the holiday with them.


Dr. Seitz demonstrates proper prep techniques before surgery

I’m also thankful for our wonderful host here in Granada.  Dr. Sarah Seitz has done a wonderful job of making us feel at home here, providing us with meals and opportunities to see the city and surrounding area.


Dr. Seitz been with World Vets now since January and is heading the establishment of the new veterinarian teaching hospital here in Granada.  Despite the complications of coordinating the construction of the facility, stocking it with the necessary supplies and equipment, putting together the training programs for vets from both the U.S. and Central America and performing regular services to the pets and animals in the city, Dr. Seitz still managed to find time to take care of us here for the Technical Animal Rescue course this week.  I’m not sure when or how she has time to sleep, but I’m thankful that the program here is in such obviously capable hands. 

Despite his name, Killer is really just a big pussycat -
probably even more so now that he’s been neutered

I’m thankful that the three surgeries that she led at the new clinic went well today.  The dogs brought in this morning to be sterilized were all healthy and happy as they were returned their respective homes.

And finally, I'm thankful that I'll be missing Black Friday.  As disappointed as I am that I'm missing a turkey dinner today, I have zero desire to deal with that crazy mess.

Previous Patients

World Vets is clearly doing their job here in Granada. The streets here are strewn here with stray dogs, begging at tables and scrounging through garbage for food. We are planning on doing neuters and spays tomorrow at the clinic that World Vets has opened up in town, but we had a little trouble when we went out to find dogs.

Strays who have already been sterilized by World Vets are marked with a
tattoo near the incision site so it’s easy to tell they’ve been a patient before

Typically it takes no time at all to locate a few viable candidates, but tonight it seemed that every one we found, it had already been to the clinic. The few that hadn’t already been spayed or neutered had owners who weren’t interested in sterilization. After two hours of driving around and talking with locals, we finally decided to wait until morning to try again.


We have one pup back at the hacienda Merced. Bobby is our training dog. I'm not sure kind he is. Which breed is the one that’s stuffed with foam?

He's definitely seen better days, but he's still staying together well enough for our purposes - floating long enough for us to get out to him and pull him back into shore, and sitting still while we practice putting harnesses on him and tying him to a stretcher.



Scruffing the back of Bobby's neck serves a two-fold purpose - it's
proper technique for a rescue, and it helps keep Bobby's stuffing in

He only knows one trick, though. Stay Bobby. Stay.

At our trip to Laguna de Apoyo today Kansas State vet student Laura Schurr took to the water to save Bobby during our water training. She decided to come to the Technical Animal Rescue school after watching the disaster in Haiti and wishing there had been
something she could do. Now she's learning
techniques that she hopes she can one day apply when the next inevitable disaster strikes.

Time and Temperature in Nicaragua

Late afternoon at Casa Merced

I’ve been trying to figure out why it’s so weird that it starts getting dark at around five here.  It shouldn’t be all that strange since where I’m normally at in November it’s already good and dark by this point in the day.  I realized today it’s because of the heat.  In the summer in the Pacific Northwest, it doesn’t get dark until after eight or nine in the evening, but here it’s warm year round (just slightly less so during the winter).  My body says that when it’s warm out, the sun should be out until late at night.  Nicaragua laughs at my body’s confusion.

Despite that, I’m really starting to take to things here.  This country seems to exist outside of time.  When people say nine o’clock, they may mean nine, or they may mean nine-thirty.  To many, I understand, this is very frustrating.  For me personally, however, having always had trouble with time and the relativity of it, it really kind of makes sense. 

Working on boating skills at Laguna de Apoyo

We went to the Laguna de Apoyo today to work on some rope and boat skills – throwing a coiled rope accurately is much harder than it looks on television.  The water was refreshing, but far from cold.  Apoyo is a crater lake warmed by geothermal activity of the nearby volcanos.  There are so many here that even the locals seem to have trouble keeping track of them.  They do make for incredible scenery, though.

Animal Rescue - the Basics

Kim Little is a rescue specialist.  Working out of Billings, Montana, Little is a specialist in the rescue industry with more than 25 years experience, and has worked in disaster situations around the globe.  He began learning the basics as an active outdoorsman growing up in the Pacific Northwest, and now uses the expertise he’s learned from years of whitewater rafting, rock climbing and boating in teaching others how to safely and effectively extract both people and animals from dangerous conditions. 

Rescue specialist Kim Little teaches the class some basic knots

Little is in Nicaragua this month to head the Technical Animal Rescue (TAR) aspect of the World Vets Program.  He teaches students hands-on technical skills necessary in performing rescues in disaster situations, including water and boating rescues, and high and low-angle rope rescues.

These are animal rescue skills that Little has developed and reformed over his years in the field, from rescuing animals from trees and under houses, to serious disaster situations like Hurricane Katrina.  Little has been all around the world practicing his trade, and now brings that wealth of experience to training others.

Monkey Island to Santiago Volcano

Granada kind of reminds me of the French Quarter, an old haunt of mine in New Orleans.  Narrow streets, where the buildings flow into each other, so you can't tell where one begins and another ends, old cathedrals looming over benches with people sleeping on them or hanging out in doorways, even glass glued to the tops of walls to keep people from climbing over.  Then again, New Orleans doesn't have nearly as many stray horses.




Hanging out with Manchito on Monkey Island

The day started with a tour of the area, including a boat ride through the islets of Lake Nicaragua.  Then a quick lunch before we headed off to the Masaya Mercado.

Masaya was in full effect.  Located north of Granada, the town is well known for its market.  It is currently, however, in full swing for a month-long fiesta celebrating the combined faiths of the indigenous populous.  People packed the streets as bands played traditional songs, performers danced in costume and  all had a good time.  The highlight for me - the guy in the baby outfit pretending he couldn't hit the pinata.

The day ended with a tour of Masaya Volcano.  From the top is a magnificent view from Managua to Granada, as well as a look down the throat of an active volcano, spewing forth sulfurous smoke.  The volcano tour also included a spelunking trip down into a traditional ceremonial cave where the sacrifices were chosen to appease the angry gods of the volcanos.  The gods were, thankfully, quiet tonight - we all made it out okay.



Sunset over Santiago Volcano in Masaya

El Primer Dia

After spending a day wandering around Managua, I already find myself starting every conversation by thinking first about how to manage to communicate what I’m trying to say in my bastardized Spanglish. 

The crumbling façade of the Antigua Catedral is magnificent, though you can’t approach it.  This beautiful cathedral, located in the abandoned Plaza de la Revolucion, was once the bustling center of Nicaragua’s capital.  Destroyed during an earthquake in 1972, it now stands empty, a poignant symbol of the city’s past.

In order to get out of the heat (as well as replace the sunscreen and bug spray I foolishly packed in my carry-on) I decided to visit Managua’s numero uno shopping center.  Metrocentral is a bustling, modern mall with dozens of stores, a large food court and a theater.  I thought about going to see Skyfall to kill a few hours before I was set to meet the other members of the World Vets group, but since I can barely keep up with Bond movies when they’re in English, I decided not to waste the money.

Cabs can be found in abundance.  Rides are about as expensive here as they are in U.S., with the notable exception that there are no meters.  The driver will simply tell you how much it is to go somewhere and you can then decide whether to hop in or not.  Speed limits, car lanes and traffic signs seem to be meaningless here.  It makes for an interesting ride.

Tools of the Trade

As I grew up on a farm doing lots of odd jobs, I often heard the phrase, "Use the right tool for the right job" (usually in a lecture after getting caught using a wrench as a hammer).  This was what I thought about as I gathered together the vast array of equipment required to produce quality video, audio, web and print pieces from the road.  Not seen here: the camera tripod and insect repellant.  The apples are staying in Pullman.

Proper Preparation

I now have hepatitus A, typhus, tetanus and the flu - it's okay though, that's all part of the process of preparing for my trip. Innoculations, that is. I also have lots of bug spray, flip flops and a swim suit, despite the fact that it's halfway through November and the ground is covered in snow outside my window.

All part of the process for preparing for Nicaragua. The World Vets' Disaster Relief Program in Granada, Nicaragua begins this Saturday. The program includes not only hands-on training in practical, real-world techniques on saving animals, but a carriage ride around historical downtown Granada, a visit to an active Volcano and a trip to the Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve. 

Granada, Nicaragua - Technical Animal Rescue

Training includes veterinary topics specific to disaster relief addressing basic and unique animal needs during disasters and strategies to minimize disease transmission during a disaster.

This year, World Vets Technical Animal Rescue training program will be held in Nicaragua. This course is packed with practical, real world tips and tricks on how to safely rescue animals.