Mark R. Johnson DVM. Dr. Johnson is Executive Director of Global Wildlife Resources, Inc. This non-profit organization specializes in wildlife capture and handling and promotes care, honor, and respect for animals touched by wildlife research and management. Dr. Johnson was project veterinarian for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 1995-96 gray wolf reintroduction program into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho and was the wildlife veterinarian for Yellowstone National Park for four years. He is Adjunct Assistant Professor of University of Minnesota and Affiliate Faculty of University of Montana. Dr. Johnson wrote the agency training manual for wildlife chemical immobilization for USDA Wildlife Services and has taught for the U.S.F.W. S. National Conservation Training Center. Dr. Johnson's courses and field assistance with wildlife captures has reached across the country. In the past several years, he has directed his specialty toward improving the lives of people and feral dogs and cats in the Caribbean and assisted with three rescue operations after Hurricane Katrina. His most recent service is volunteering for Vets Beyond Borders to teach how to capture feral dogs in India.

Why Contribute to Global Wildlife Resources?

Global Wildlife Resources, Inc. (GWR) is a small non-profit organization led by wildlife veterinarian and executive director, Mark R. Johnson DVM. Mark has been handling many species of North American wildlife for researchers and managers and still teaches wildlife handling courses around the country. He is now applying his wildlife experience in unique ways. During his 20 years of experience, Mark has developed very conscientious and caring approaches to humane animal handling and shares his skills and tools with animal welfare organizations around the world. GWR courses promote care, honor, and respect for every animal and every colleague. In honoring every person and culture, we are proud to have strong working relationships with diverse organizations from Humane Society of the United States to USDA Wildlife Services.

There is huge need for training and equipment in places such as India and Asia, where feral dogs own the streets and rabies is a common risk to children and adults. Animal handlers have few skills to humanely gather the animals for animal birth control (ABC) programs and have even fewer humane tools. Feral dog captures in these regions are often unsuccessful, dog handling is severely harsh and can lead to many injuries and deaths, and animal handlers are physically and emotionally stressed and often bit. Even in the U.S., there are snare poles in almost every shelter to forcefully manage fractious dogs, yet few shelter workers are familiar with the more humane Y pole.

In line with these and other needs, here are GWR's current projects and missions:
1) Promote the Y pole for all animal shelters.
2) Produce a Y pole training video for shelter workers and wild canid researchers.
3) Conduct at least one trip each year to India and central Asia to teach and promote humane capture and handling of feral dogs.
4) Bring pride and purpose for animal control officers in other parts of the world to empower these often unappreciated workers, to create a safer environment for both animals and people, and to teach handlers how to develop a respectful and caring relationship and connection with the animals they handle.
4) Publish a resource booklet on humane and effective designs for bear culvert traps.
5) Revise the GWR website to better convey our heart-felt perspectives and philosophies and to provide a strong array of resources for wildlife professionals and feral dog spay/neuter programs around the world.

Yours Truly,
Mark R. Johnson DVM
Your contribution will significantly help us improve the lives of animals and people.
Wildlife Veterinarian
Executive Director

Vets Beyond Borders (previously known as Vetcharity) is an Australian-based, non-for-profit, incorporated organization establish by veterinary volunteers in 2003. Vets Beyond borders co-ordinates and runs veterinary based animal welfare and public health programs in developing communities of the Asia and Pacific region. An important part of their projects is the training of local veterinary and papa-Veterinary staff to ensure that the work can continue and that the benefits for the animals and communities are ongoing. Vets Beyond Borders relies on the hard work of volunteers and promotes volunteer work among the veterinary community. It thrives from donations from people and organizations from around the world. Through their current programs, they aim to address one of the world's most challenging animal welfare issue which also has serious implications for human health - the overpopulations of street dogs. The world Health Organization estimates there are over 400 million stray dogs in the world today. Dog bites are the most common course of rabies infection in humans. WHO estimates that 30,000 people a year die from rabies in India alone.

Local authorities who have no alternative will often resort to culling when street dog populations become too late. This is traumatic and violent for the whole community and often needs to be repeated every couple of years. The dogs are at risk of death by shooting, drowning, electrocution or poisoning. Dogs that do escape and survive will go on to breed and the cycle will start again. Vets Beyond Borders want to break this cycle through the establishment of neutering and rabies vaccination programs and the training of local veterinarians with the skills required to run them. This will prevent the killing of dogs in the future. Donations are needed for this wonderful organization.

Form Object

Or you may mail your donation to: Heart of the Earth Animal Equipment 205 High Street Fruitdale, SD 57717 1) Money collected will be sent once a month to each organization and please remember that your donation is tax deductable. 2) We will mail receipts to everyone who donates. 3) A web page with names of donators and amount donated will be posted. 4) You may donate anonymous if you prefer and your name will not be on the list. 5) Someone from Global Wildlife Resources or Vets Beyond Borders will contact you to thank you for your donation so please include your email address. For more information, please go to: Vets Beyond Borders and Global Wildlife Resources