The Long Road to Recovery: Helping People and Pets in Puerto Rico

As summer 2017 ended and fall began, the world watched as storm after storm formed in the Atlantic and hurricane after hurricane made landfall, battering the nation’s coastline. Those in the path of oncoming disaster rushed to protect their homes and families, many fleeing to safety until the storms passed and help made its way to the community.

After Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, affected citizens in Texas and Florida communities received an immediate influx of supplies and support from neighboring states. Banfield Foundation aided in this response, providing help to pets impacted by the disasters. You can read about those efforts in an article I wrote earlier this year.

But when Hurricane Maria arrived in Puerto Rico – hot on the heels of Hurricane Irma, which had also caused wave surges that damaged parts of the island – millions of residents had nowhere to flee, and help was far away. In some areas, flood waters rose six feet in just 30 minutes. In others, gusts of wind reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. Relief efforts already complicated by distance became even more difficult when the hurricane damaged the island’s ports and airports. Stranded and devastated by the storm, Puerto Ricans desperately needed help from their fellow Americans, and still do. Even now, two months later, half the island is without power, and the governor estimates 25 percent of the island will still lack power come January.

When we heard about the extent of the damage, our thoughts immediately went to our associates who call Puerto Rico home – and to the four Banfield hospitals on the island. Initially, we were unable to establish contact, but we had no doubt our associates would need help, and our hospitals would require repair to be able to serve pets in need.

Immediately, we began planning a course of action, which we would later flesh out as we learned more. We knew right away that we needed to account for our associates, then mobilize the resources of Banfield and the Banfield Foundation to help people and pets on the island. As part of the Mars family of businesses, we were keen to partner with other Mars brands to live our purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. In addition to the veterinary support outlined below, Mars helped ensure our associates had access to emergency water, food and batteries, while Royal Canin, Pet Nutrition and Horsecare donated pallets of pet and horse food to provide additional support.

Supporting Banfield Associates in Puerto Rico

What would you do if you woke up tomorrow to discover that your home was destroyed and your workplace severely damaged? How would you even begin to recover? Millions of people in Puerto Rico faced this reality in September, wondering how they would be able to rebuild without the prospect of paid work. We didn’t want our associates to feel that desperation. 

When a Banfield hospital closes temporarily due to unforeseen circumstances, Banfield ensures associates are paid for up to five days of the closure (potentially more depending on the circumstance)—this policy was recently updated. Upon hearing about the devastation in Puerto Rico, we knew five or even 10 days would not be enough time to reopen our hospitals and get associates back to work. We also knew our associates were undoubtedly facing a number of personal challenges. As such, we will continue paying every single one of our associates in Puerto Rico until business operations are fully restored.

Providing Healthcare to Pets Affected by Disaster

Typically, Banfield and the Banfield Foundation would coordinate sending people and resources to impacted areas to provide critical support in the aftermath of a natural disaster. We were committed to doing the same in Puerto Rico, despite logistical challenges. That meant working with veterinary organizations and relief operations able to access the island, and with those already on the ground in Puerto Rico, to deliver supplies to veterinary emergency responders. Working with the Miami Veterinary Foundation, the Banfield Foundation donated $50,000 in supplies to support non-Banfield veterinarians who were providing free preventive veterinary care in remote parts of the island.

A short time after the hurricanes, Banfield was able to reopen the least-damaged of our four hospitals on the island, our Bayamon location, and immediately began providing free veterinary care to all pets whose owners were able to get them there for help. Daily from 9:00 a.m. until the generator runs out around 2 p.m., the hardworking associates in our hospitals are providing free veterinary care ranging from routine wellness exams to vaccinations and antibiotics. Pet owners have been lining up as early as 5:00 a.m. to get their pets seen by our veterinary staff, and despite the limitations of relying on generator power, associates are able to treat approximately 90 pets per day. 

To date, Banfield has reopened three hospitals in Puerto Rico – and more importantly, has provided free veterinary care valued at nearly $650,000 to 6,418 pets on the island. Our associates have spent 6,590 hours helping to ensure pets who need care, receive care. We believe giving back to the community means ensuring the residents of Puerto Rico are able to give their pets access to much-needed veterinary care, without having to make difficult financial choices.

Still, there remains far more to be done before Puerto Rico is on a clear and stable path to recovery.

Ensuring Community Health through Emergency Veterinary Response

In addition to donating $50,000 in medical supplies to support preventive care clinics in remote, hard-to-access parts of Puerto Rico, the Banfield Foundation has coordinated with veterinarians and organizations on the ground to support community health efforts in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

These clinics are intended to give pets across Puerto Rico access to vaccines, heartworm medications and flea and tick preventives to protect against diseases that can spread quickly in the wake of disaster. This isn’t easy – many of the medications require refrigeration, without which they become ineffective. On an island where power is in short supply, this means vaccines and other preventives must be transported and administered quickly. That’s no small task, either – local scouts and athletes must carry backpacks full of supplies on foot over rough terrain to reach local veterinarians providing care in remote communities. 

Banfield Foundation also provided grants totaling $60,000 to organizations including Colegio Médico de Veterinarios de Puerto Rico (the Puerto Rico Veterinary Medical Association), Second Chance Animal Rescue, El Faro de los Animales, Inc. and Save A Sato. These organizations rescue, board, treat and in some cases, rehome domestic animals displaced or otherwise affected by the disaster.

But despite the work Banfield, the Banfield Foundation, our partners and veterinary first-responders are doing across Puerto Rico, there are still tremendous challenges to recovery. We must all commit to give more of time, awareness and effort, to do as much as we can to help our fellow citizens who desperately need help.

Banfield Will Do More in Puerto Rico – Will You Join Us? 

The emotional and physical recovery of communities that have experienced disaster depends on the well-being of animal populations. Alongside our associates, with the guidance of our leadership and the generous aid of Banfield Foundation donors, Banfield is committed to providing the long-term attention and support that Puerto Rico’s people and pets need to recover from Hurricanes Maria and Irma. If you’d like to be a part of our response, visit www.banfieldfoundation.com/donate.