THERE were 34 boonie dogs under the care of the nonprofit organization Boonie Babies during the typhoon.
In a social media post, Boonie Babies said they were hoping that the community will also assist them in implementing a spay and neuter program. Otherwise, the only other solution they see is to “euthanize the dogs.”
“[W]e have honestly been feeling really hopeless. How do you fight a stray dog population of this size with no veterinarian, no adopters on-island, and no way to transport dogs off-island? The short answer is you don’t. We take in dogs, rehabilitate them, and then what? There’s nowhere for them to go. It’s a grueling cycle that has been eating away at us these past few months with the harsh reality of euthanasia being the primary solution to these issues,” the Boonie Babies stated.
At the same time, they thanked community members for the support they have given to fly off some dogs to their adoptive homes in the states earlier this year.
However, the flight program is not sustainable, the Boonie Babies added.
They are hoping that United Airlines will offer its PetSafe program to the CNMI.
They noted that members of the U.S. military on current permanent change of station orders, and State Department foreign service personnel on current reassignment, are permitted to transport their personal pets (dogs and cats only) as checked baggage on United flights between Guam and Honolulu but only under specific conditions. Moreover, connections on United flights outside of Guam or Honolulu are not available.
“As incredible as it was, [the flight program] was…a one-time opportunity and, unfortunately, definitely not a sustainable option to transport dogs off Saipan. The time, organization, and lots of money this charter plane required, although worth it for these dogs, was absolutely ridiculous when other far easier and more affordable options would be accessible if United Airlines opened PetSafe travel to the CNMI,” the Boonie Babies stated.
Their focus now is to “work on spay/neuter release with the stray dogs and see this as a solution to the root cause of the problem and a solution that will also be beneficial to the future.”
“Any donations made now go towards surgery costs for this program,” Boonie Babies added.
For more information, go to booniebabiessaipan.com/.
