Utahn raising money to save pets in Haiti

SALT LAKE CITY — With so many people dead, displaced and desperate in Haiti, it's easy to forget about the pets that may also need emergency relief, says a part-time Utahn who is hoping to raise $1 million for the beleaguered country's animals.

Arthur Benjamin, who has homes in Sandy, Dallas and Boca Raton, Fla., is working with the Humane Society of the United States, which in turn is working with veterinarians in Haiti to help save dogs and cats, cows and pigs, displaced following last week's earthquake.

"It's not like I've forgotten about the people," says Benjamin, who is also hoping to raise $1 million for Haitians. "But people have forgotten about the animals."

Solutions may include building shelters, shipping pets to owners who have already fled, and arranging for the animals to be adopted. The Humane Society is also sending American veterinarians to Haiti.

In a blog last week immediately after the quake, Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle noted that "there are no organized animal welfare groups anywhere in the country, and no animal shelters or veterinary schools. This lack of infrastructure will complicate any response."

Benjamin, who helped found Utah's Living Planet Aquarium and served as its chairman of the board before resigning in 2007, serves on the board of Utah's Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and is president of American Dog Rescue.

It was a TV news story during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — about a little white dog running after a bus carrying its owner to safety — that propelled Benjamin to take up the banner for the four-legged victims of natural disasters.

"I was sitting with my little white poodle Buddy, and I turned to him and said 'What are we going to do about this?'" Benjamin recalls. Buddy had been his wife Gail's therapy dog before she died in 2004.

He put Buddy's picture on the Internet, with an ad that read: "White, good-looking male seeks Cajun girlfriend to wed, swimmers preferred," raised $3,000 to help Katrina pets, and managed to get that girlfriend for Buddy, a poodle he named Holly.

How to help

Donations can be made at www.americandogrescue.org by clicking on "Help the Animals of Haiti."

e-mail: jarvik@desnews.com