Noah's Ark, Jamaica

Updates from the Field: Noah's Ark Disaster Relief & Rescue

Background: Dogs and Cats in Jamaica

For the past 20 years, a Jamaican woman named Deborah Binns has been helping low income people in Jamaica to feed their pets and get them sterilized and also feeds and cares for many of Kingston's street dogs. Although Deborah has a full-time job as an economist, she finds time, every day to check on the dogs and cats she's looking after.

In Deborah's view, the main animal welfare problems in Jamaica are a general lack of knowledge about dogs and cats and their needs; the indifference of many pet owners towards their animals; and overt cruelty just for the sake of it-cruel actions such as deliberately running over dogs and cats in the street, throwing boiling water on dogs, hanging dogs, and drowning cats.

Most dogs in Jamaica are kept for guarding the household and family, and cruel methods are used to "train" them, including beatings, starving them and then feeding hot chili, and chaining them for the entire day, until they are set free at night to guard.

Kingston's street dogs blanket the roadways, and street dogs may suffer even more than dogs in homes. They get hit by cars, and are left to slowly die by the side of the road, they may starve to death, they suffer from many illnesses, and people throw rocks at them to chase them away.

In 2006, Deborah, with one other person in Jamaica and one in Atlanta, registered as a Jamaican non-profit organization, Noah's Ark Spay & Neuter Group. The group's motto is: "To save as many as we can, for as long as we can." Recently, Noah's Ark Spay & Neuter received a donation from The Pegasus Foundation; this has been the only substantial monetary contribution Deborah has ever received for her work. Most of the costs for Deborah's work have come directly from Deborah's bank account.



Noah's Ark Spay & Neuter (which is essentially Deborah) is the only organization in Kingston that works directly with low income communities, to spay, neuter and provide other care for dogs and cats, and education for the local people. Also, Noah's Ark is the only organization that tries to make the lives of street dogs more getting to the heart of the problem. On the island, there is a Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which operates a shelter, but has no consistent or effective community outreach program.

Note from Karen

I lived in Jamaica for ten months, and spent every Saturday with Deborah, taking food to people to supplement their dogs' diets, explaining to people that dogs need to eat more than once a week (a misconception that seemed fairly common among dog owners), convincing people that their dogs need water just as humans do, taking care of their ill and injured dogs and cats, getting their pets spayed and neutered, and visiting and feeding street dogs, who would have received no other care if it wasn't for Deborah.

I went with Deborah only on Saturdays, but Deborah has different routes she takes every single day of the week, where she drops off food, checks on dogs and cats, and talks to neighborhood people about their pets. The people-as well as the animals-on her rounds expect her, and if she doesn't show up, her phone starts ringing: "Ms. Binns, are you ok? We didn't see you today and we're worried about you." Deborah is responsible for getting hundreds of dogs and cats sterilized, and for currently helping care for about 300 animals.

How can you help Deborah and Noah's Ark

Spay-Neuter Fund:Deborah always welcomes funds to contribute to her spay-neuter efforts. She works with one vet on the island who has agreed to give her discounted prices; others have refused to discount their prices, and charge her the full cost.

Deborah's discounted prices are as follows for:

Spaying a dog.......US $45 Original cost ..US $ 100
Neutering a dog.......US $ 35 Original Cost...US $ 75
Spaying a cat.........US $ 35 Original Cost...US $ 50
Neutering a cat......US $ 30 Original Cost..US $ 40

Deborah also covers costs for all the other veterinary care needed by the dogs and cats she cares for, and welcomes donations to help defray her costs.

For more information or to contribute to Deborah's efforts contact us.

Or send a check or money order to:

Karen Menczer
Animal-Kind International
POB 300
Jemez Springs, NM 87025 USA

Please include a note earmarking the money for the Jamaica Spay-Neuter Fund.

Humane Education Fund:According to Deborah, "lack of education is a huge obstacle to making the lives of animals better, and education is the only way there will be long-term improvement." Deborah would like to make educational literature on animal welfare available to everyone island-wide, starting with schoolchildren up to adults.

If you'd like to send humane education material to Deborah, contact us.