Pet industry manufacturers are joining animal aid groups in relief efforts ongoing since the Jan. 12 earthquake that flattened Haiti’s capital.

The Nutro Co., a subsidiary of Mars Inc. (McLean, Va.), donated $50,000 to the Search Dog Foundation (Ojai, Calif.), which deployed six canine disaster search teams to Haiti. The search teams discovered 10 individuals that were pulled alive from the debris—the highest success rate in the organization’s 14-year history.

“We have all seen the tragic images from Haiti, interspersed with moments of hope when survivors were pulled from the wreckage,” said David Ansell, president of Nutro.

The Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti, an international group of professional animal welfare organizations created by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (Boston) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Yarmouth Port, Mass.), was at press time preparing a mobile animal clinic and staff to perform outreach work in Haiti. The coalition also plans to provide food, clean water and rabies vaccinations to animals belonging to people displaced by the disaster.

Volunteers from the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (Washington) also have gone to Haiti.

“Our team is committed to assisting the animals of this disaster-stricken nation in any way possible,” said Kelly O’Meara, director of the group’s companion animals division. “As our team continues its work in Haiti, we are already planning for a second wave of veterinarians and disaster responders to make their way to the affected area.”

HSUS response teams provided food for animals found wandering the streets, checked on animals in a local zoo and assessed the needs of farm animals in the region.

They also responded to pleas from an American couple living in Port-au-Prince who were forced to leave their two dogs during their evacuation. The dogs, Bella and Deeter, were located and transported to the Dominican Republic.

American Dog Rescue (Dallas) issued a $50,000 challenge grant to help bring awareness to need for donations to aid domesticated animals affected by the disaster. The group will support HSUS by matching donor contributions dollar-for-dollar up to half of the $100,000 initial goal.

“The devastation is so great as is the need that the animals—as in Katrina—are being lost to the greater needs,” said Arthur Benjamin, the organization’s founder and president. [April 2010 PET AGE]