Skip to main content

By Mauricio RABUFFETTI

Porto Alegre, Brazil – At a makeshift field hospital for pets rescued from Brazil’s flooded south, a steady stream of volunteers arrives clutching shivering dogs, and carriers emitting the plaintive meows of displaced cats.

Many pets and farm animals have spent days in water, without food, in the inundated state of Rio Grande do Sul, where torrential rains swallowed homes and turned streets into rivers, killing more than 140 people.

According to the latest figures from the state government, released Sunday, 10,555 animals have been rescued in the flood-hit region in recent days.

Most of the animals rescued are dogs, but there are also cats, rabbits, chickens, pigs and horses — which arrive sedated to the shelter in the state capital Porto Alegre.

Each animal is reviewed and photographed; the images are then uploaded to the internet to help owners track down their pets.

The animals are treated for injuries and fed. Some are wrapped in thermal blankets to warm them up.

“We have rapid tests. If they arrive with any symptoms of infectious illness we separate them to be sent off to clinics and hospitals,” said veterinarian Cintia Dias da Costa, 48, dressed in waterproof gear under a steady downpour.

Horses are treated by equine specialists. Many are being taken in by universities offering them temporary shelter, said veterinarian Fernando Gonzalez, 51, as he dealt with a “very temperamental” dark-coated horse.

Along with the human misery, the plight of animals has gripped Brazilians’ hearts. In one widely viewed image caught on news cameras, a horse is seen stranded on a rooftop with muddy waters swirling all around.

Dubbed “Caramelo” by social media users clamoring for its rescue, the horse was eventually sedated and loaded into an inflatable boat.

In another viral video, a man is seen sobbing in a boat as he is reunited with his four dogs, rescued from the floodwaters.

‘I want to contribute’

“I want to contribute in some way and I prefer to work with these creatures, which are innocent and cannot help themselves,” said volunteer Priscilla Correa, 51, sitting with a tiny, trembling pooch between her legs.

In the parking lot of a nearby shopping mall, another temporary pet shelter has popped up, mainly housing around 200 rescued dogs. Some play with their caretakers, while others lie exhausted from their ordeal.

“Our feeling is that we are doing something to give visibility to the animal cause. We have to understand that the lives of animals have value,” said volunteer Fernanda Ellwanger, 42.

mr/rsr/mar/fb/bbk

© Agence France-Presse

(Featured image credit: wirestock – Freepik.com)

Image of the day: Rhine River shrinks as drought grips western Germany
Satellite Images: Rhine River in Cologne, Germany
Image of the day: Rhine River shrinks as drought grips western GermanyNews

Image of the day: Rhine River shrinks as drought grips western Germany

Germany is experiencing an unusually dry start to the year, with March 2025 becoming the driest March ever recorded in the country. The effects are…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskApril 22, 2025 Full article
Typhoon Gaemi displaces nearly 300,000 in eastern China
Image: VIIRS imagery from the NOAA-20 Satellite
Typhoon Gaemi displaces nearly 300,000 in eastern ChinaClimateNews

Typhoon Gaemi displaces nearly 300,000 in eastern China

By Isabel Kua and Oliver Hotham | AFP Beijing, China - Authorities evacuated nearly 300,000 people and suspended public transport across eastern China on Friday,…
SourceSourceJuly 26, 2024 Full article
Polar bears could vanish from Canada’s Hudson Bay if temperatures rise 2C
Polar bears could vanish from Canada’s Hudson Bay if temperatures rise 2CClimateNews

Polar bears could vanish from Canada’s Hudson Bay if temperatures rise 2C

By Nick Perry | AFP Paris, France - An international team of scientists said Thursday that polar bears faced local extinction in Canada's Hudson Bay…
SourceSourceJune 13, 2024 Full article