It happened in the middle of the night, with no warning. As of yet, the catastrophic Haiti earthquake has taken over 70, 000 people with it.

It has been nearly a week since Haiti witnessed its horrific, widespread devastation. As the need for food and water rises in Haiti, animal care needs also grow. What is being done to help these animals and victims of Haiti?

While helping people is an obvious priority, Animal human rights organizations all over the world are doing anything they can to help the animal victims of this catastrophic natural disaster. Haiti is a country with no veterinary programs, animal shelters or animal advocacy groups. The World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the United Nations International Fund for Animal Welfare are currently preparing to send support to the suffering animals in need. The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to  Animals (ASPCA)–in addition to countless other organizations–is currently taking donations for their efforts to help these suffering dogs and cats. These donations will pay for temporary dog shelters, dog kennels, veterinary care and adoption services.

Ironically,  police search dogs and trained rescue animals are currently being sent to help those in Haiti. Trained service animals will search and sniff out Haitians and animals buried beneath the rubble.

Ed Sayres of ASPCA states in a USA Today article, "We hope that by addressing the needs of the animal victims … (we) will ultimately provide much-needed relief to the entire country of Haiti, humans and animals alike."