Front row, from left, 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, volunteers Victoria Sewell, Sarah Bergman-Lewis, Steve Lewis, Nicky Nichols and Saipan Pickleball team members Nelson Krum, Donna Krum, TJ and Lori Hill and Caden Church.
THIRTY boonie dogs left the island Monday, and will soon be with their adoptive owners in the mainland U.S.
“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 U.S.,” Boonie Dogs co-founder Grace Keilbach said in an interview.
“We are excited for the dogs, and we are happy that they will finally be able to meet their owners,” she added.
Grace and Aria Keilbach founded Boonie Babies, an organization that rescues and shelters boonie dogs on Saipan and finds permanent homes for them.
Grace Keilbach said they took care of the dogs for more than six months before they were flown to the U.S.
“We have rescued them, sheltered them, fed them, and genuinely cared for them,” she added.
She said most of the people who offered to adopt the dogs contacted them online after learning about Boonie Babies and watching videos of the dogs, which were posted on social media.
“We are thankful to the adoptive families for their desire to take these dogs even if they come from afar,” she said.
Aria Keilbach, for her part, thanked the volunteers for their assistance in processing the dogs’ documents, for taking care of them, and for their help in transporting the dogs from the shelter to the airport.
Lauren Cabrera, founding partner of the Guam-based Boonie Flight Project, also expressed her gratitude to the local community and the social media community in the U.S. for making the dogs’ journey possible.
Boonie Flight Project has partnered with Boonie Babies on Saipan to transport the 30 dogs to their adoptive families in the mainland U.S.
The dogs, which are expected to arrive in the U.S. this week, will undergo a quarantine period in Guam and Hawaii.
“We have received a lot of donations that made these trips for the dogs possible,” Cabrera said. “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 there are several people on the adoption waiting list in the U.S. “These dogs on the streets are loved stateside,” she added.
Cabrera at the same time is encouraging community members to be responsible owners by spaying and neutering their pet dogs.
“Please sterilize your pet to contain the number of unwanted dogs suffering on the streets,” she added.
Boonie Babies and Boonie Flight Project will conduct a sterilization clinic from Jan. 24 to 26 at the Saipan Mayor’s Office dog shelter in As Perdido.
