THE solution to the stray dog overpopulation in the Commonwealth is spaying/neutering, Beth Pliscou of Saipan Cares for Animals said in a recent interview.
Saipan Mayor’s Office personnel Lee Mark Deleon Guerrero and Tony Ray Cabrera pick up a stray puppy near the entrance of Home and Plus department store in San Antonio on Jan. 13, 2021.
Photo by Jeanette L. Sarabia
Saipan, however, does not have a veterinarian on-island, so spay and neuter services can only largely be performed when visiting veterinarians are on island.
Pliscou nonetheless is grateful to the local community for aiding in SCA’s efforts to treat and care for all animals.
One of SCA’s partners, Boonie Babies Foster, founded by sisters Aria and Grace Keilbach, is an animal advocacy group that feeds, fosters, and finds homes for Saipan boonie dogs.
Boonie Babies Foster became widely popular after Aria posted a video of herself on her TikTok page rescuing a stray dog.
Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, in a separate interview, said in the past, his office offered spaying and neutering services, and even brought in a veterinarian from the states.
But like the rest of the CNMI government, his office no longer has sufficient funding to continue these services.
He said his office’s Dog Control Program has five remaining employees who pick up stray dogs and cats, and bring them to the shelter.
In the early days of the pandemic last year, he said the program stopped operating for two months due to lack of funding.
“We are aware that there are a lot of dogs on island,” the mayor said. “Some people continue to raise dogs and just let them loose…. Let’s try to concentrate on picking up the stray animals,” he added.
He noted that the new animal shelter in As Perdido is scheduled for completion this year.
Dogs can be seen roaming around the island without a leash, sometimes with or without a collar.
Photo by K-Andrea Evarose S. Limol
Meantime, “we are doing our jobs,” he said, adding that program manager Martin Pangelinan and his team work daily to address the stray animal issue on island.
Pangelinan, for his part, said a typical workday for his team involves feeding the dogs at the animal shelter, patching up its fences to contain the animals, setting up traps in the village to catch strays, and bringing the strays to the shelter.
“If strays are not claimed or adopted within two weeks, they are put down, and then taken to a designated burial site in the Marpi landfill,” he said.
There are currently 25 dogs at the animal shelter and nearly 800 dogs were registered with the mayor’s office in fiscal year 2020, Pangelinan said.
A dog without a Dog Control Program tag that is found roaming on a public road, at a beach, park, or schools is considered a stray animal and is then picked up and brought to the shelter by the DCP team.
In order to have the dog released, the owner is required to pay a $10 registration fee, a $16 first impoundment fee, a $20 penalty fee, and a $5/day boarding fee.
Pangelinan said his team also helps remove carcasses of animals from public areas even during weekends.
“They are doing a lot for the community,” Mayor Apatang said, referring to the DCP team.
The mayor added that he has worked with the Legislature in creating legislation that would penalize people for failing to register their dogs or not keeping them on a leash.
He said there was an incident in the past in which a community member had died after being bitten by a dog.
With the reopening of public schools, the mayor is “highly encouraging community members to register their dogs and to keep them on a leash.”
