HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A group of 45 to 50 stray dogs near the cliffside of Tiyan has raised safety concerns from residents, prompting the Department of Agriculture to start setting up dog traps in the area.
For its part, a private animal rescue group, Guahan Paws for Pets calls for a more lasting government solution of spaying and neutering dogs rather than just rounding them up.
Guam has a stray dog population of 25,000 to 60,000, mayors and animal rescue volunteers said, and Guam Animals In Need’s kennels have always been filled to capacity.
“It’s beyond control, it’s out of control,” said Barrigada Mayor June Blas, whose district covers Tiyan. “It’s a risk to people’s lives. We need help to deal with this.”
Agriculture Deputy Director Adrian Cruz said even if many of these dogs in the area were caught, there won’t be enough space at the Guam Animals In Need to place them.
He acknowledged that the issue won’t be solved overnight and would take everyone’s cooperation.
Rosie Blas, a resident in the area where the pack of stray dogs converges, said it’s “very scary” to walk nearby because the dogs could bite or maul a person.
The grandmother said it is “horrifying” to even imagine a child or an adult chased by this many dogs at the same time.
The Tiyan resident said a group of people has been feeding the stray dogs, so the dogs keep on coming back and their numbers are increasing.
“I told one of the persons feeding the dogs that I understand they want to care for the dogs, but they are also endangering people’s lives in the area,” Blas, 59, told The Guam Daily Post. “I told her the neighborhood has to face the dangers, not them.”
Visits to the site by The Guam Daily Post showed several stray dogs roaming in the area, as well as several empty aluminum trays.
Blas said the aluminum trays that were left behind are proof of food coming regularly to the dogs. The stray dogs generally looked healthy.
“Can these people feeding the stray dogs be held liable for putting people’s lives in danger here and for leaving trash in the area?” Rosie Blas asked.
Under the law, Cruz said, a person who feeds a dog at least three times becomes the owner of that animal and is therefore responsible for that animal.
“So as a responsible pet owner, that person needs to make sure the animal is put on a leash, is being taken care of in your property,” Cruz said. “If you are going to claim and feed the dog, help us out and claim the dog fully.”
‘Didn’t happen overnight’
Members of the Guahan Paws for Pets on Monday said there is a misunderstanding of what’s really going on at the Tiyan area where the stray dogs are.
Jennifer Williams, Ciara Tamayo, Tina Guzman, and other members of the volunteer animal rescue group, said Guahan Paws for Pets has been feeding the stray dogs “to earn their trust” so that these dogs can be safely rescued, spayed and neutered, and be fostered or adopted.
“Now, the government is putting the blame on us when we are trying to do our best to rescue these dogs,” Williams said.
Williams shared the sentiment that the problem with the stray dog population has been “out of control” because people continue to dump their unwanted dogs in the area, and the government has not addressed the root cause of the problem, which is the lack of massive spaying and neutering of animals.
The group also said the financial hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic may have been a major reason for the increase in the number of dogs in the area.
They said some members of the group started rescuing animals from the site some three years ago, so the issue didn’t happen overnight.
At the Tiyan site on Monday, Williams said a Department of Agriculture representative was at the site where dog traps have been placed.
“We’re told that we could be cited for feeding the dogs. It’s not fair to point the finger at us when we are the ones trying to help solve the problem. The government should be able to fine those people who continue to dump their dogs in the area, and it’s been happening for years now. It didn’t happen overnight,” Williams said.
The group has been able to neuter, spay, vaccinate and find foster homes and adoptive families for countless numbers of stray dogs.
Some of the animals, they said, never even had human contact, therefore feeding them to gain trust to be able to rescue them, is necessary.
This process has worked for the animal rescuers they said, “so it is imperative that everyone leave them alone so that we can continue to rescue animals out of there and get them fixed and into homes.”
‘Agreement’
Williams said Guahan Paws for Pets wants to work with mayors and other agencies in addressing the stray population.
After their conversation with the Agriculture representative on Monday, Williams said her group will temporarily stop feeding the stray animals for two days and hopes that mayors and Agriculture will work with the group for a solution.
Mongmong-Toto-Maite Mayor Rudy Paco, the chairman of the Mayors’ Council of Guam’s committee on stray animal roundup, said the committee stands ready to deploy more dog traps to the area to assist Barrigada, Agriculture and the Guam International Airport Authority.
Mayors learned about the pack of dogs after concerned citizens shared stories, photos and videos about them.
Cruz said addressing the issue of stray animals does not only fall on the government.
In other areas where dog traps have been set up by mayors, people were releasing the dogs caught in them, mayors said.
From March to May, Paco’s committee within the mayors council was able to collect, trap, rescue and then drop off nearly 300 adult dogs and puppies to GAIN. This excludes the kittens and wild pigs caught.
Agriculture and other entities have also been catching stray dogs. Right now, the agency has only one animal control officer.
Littering citation
Nic Rupley, spokesperson for the Guam EPA, said if the agency is able to identify a responsible party for leaving behind trash in an area that’s not theirs, then Guam EPA can issue a litter citation.
Rolenda Faasuamalie, Guam International Airport Authority marketing administrator, on Monday said the area where stray dogs were reported to have been seen does not appear to be airport property.
However, she said, GIAA is concerned if the stray dogs infiltrate the airport public areas, affecting the safety of airport employees and patrons, and the airport secured areas, creating a hazard to safe airport or aircraft operations.
When GIAA became aware of the presence of the number of stray dogs gathering in one area near the airport, it contacted Mayor Paco’s office and Agriculture.
“We will continue to work with and assist all entities in ensuring safety and security is not compromised in this regard,” Faasuamalie said.
Guam has private groups dedicated to rescuing animals, holding adoption events and coordinating the pets’ adoption by stateside residents.
But with up to 60,000 estimated stray animals, limited resources to spay and neuter them, limited kennels to place them and limited households adopting rescued animals, Guam continues to face a daunting task of controlling the population, public officials and volunteers said.
Stray dogs gather at Maga’haga Highway, formerly known as Tiyan Parkway, on June 27 in Tiyan, Guam.
