THIRTY Boonie dogs left the island yesterday, January 23, to be with their hopeful adoptive owners in the mainland US.
“This is a historical day for Boonie Babies and Boonie Flight Project Guam since it is the first time in the history of Saipan that we will send off this number of dogs to the mainland US. We are excited for the dogs, and we are happy that they will finally be able to meet their owners,” Boonie Dogs co-founder Grace Keilbach said in an interview.
Grace and Aria Keilbach founded Boonie Babies, an organization that rescues and shelters boonie dogs here in Saipan and eventually finds permanent homes for them.
Grace said they have taken care of the dogs for more than 6 months before finally being able to send them off to the US.
“We have rescued them, sheltered them, fed them, and genuinely cared for them,” she said.
She said most of the people who offered to adopt the dogs contacted them online and reached out to them after learning what they do and watching videos of the boonies which they post on social media.
“We are thankful to their adoptive families for their desire to take these dogs even if they come from afar,” she said.
Boonie Flight Project Lauren Cabrera expressed her gratitude to the community and the social media community in the US for the support that they have received to make the dogs’ journey possible.
“We have received a lot of donations that made these trips for the dogs possible, but we still do need to raise funds to cover the cost of this enormous flight. We hope that the community will continue to support our efforts to get Boonie dogs off the streets and give them a better life,” she said.
The dogs are expected to arrive in the US within the week.
The dogs will undergo a quarantine period in Guam and Hawaii as part of the transit period.
Cabrera is encouraging community members to be responsible owners by spaying their pet dogs.
“Please sterilize your pet to contain the number of unwanted dogs suffering on the streets,” she said.
According to her, there are several people on the adoption waiting list from the US.
“These dogs on the streets are loved stateside,” she said.
Boonie Babies and Boonie Flight Project will be conducting a spay clinic today, January 24 up to January 26.
Aria for her part also thanked the volunteers for their assistance in processing the dogs’ documents, taking care of them, and helping in transporting them from their shelter to the airport.
Boonie Flight Project has adopted out more than 450 dogs to adoptive owners in the US since April 2021.
Front row, from left to right: Noah Lewis, Boonie Babies founders Aria Keilbach and Grace Keilbach, Boonie Flight Project founding partner Lauren Cabrera and volunteer Anya Lewis.
Back row, from left to right: Volunteers Victoria Sewell, Sarah Bergman-Lewis, Steve Lewis, Nicky Nichols and Saipan Pickleball team Nelson Krum, Donna Krum, TJ and Lori Hill and Caden Church.
