(Press Release) — Alison Hadley and Arleen DeCastro of Guam Animals in Need or GAIN, and Dr. Brenda Smith, DVM, stopped by at the Saipan Mayor’s Office on April 1, 2022 and had a chance to discuss with Mayor David M. Apatang various matters related to animal health and what could be done to deliver improved animal healthcare in Saipan.
“We are very fortunate to have a great relationship with Guam Animals in Need and can work together in improving our capability of providing and delivering better animal healthcare to dogs and cats in Saipan,” Mayor Apatang said.
“For as long as I have been the mayor of Saipan, and even before I took office almost eight years ago, Alison Hadley has been keeping in constant touch with us, checking how we are doing and whether we need donations of dog and cat food,” said the mayor.
“I want to thank Alison and Arleen DeCastro for their time to visit with me, and hear GAIN’s success stories in Guam. I especially want to thank Cyrus Luhr, president of the board of GAIN, for all the generosity GAIN has extended to us here in Saipan,” the mayor added.
“Dr. Smith, Arleen and I are available to offer our experiences and challenges in operating the GAIN animal shelter in Guam, and how the Saipan mayor’s office can overcome challenges and continue to operate the Saipan dog control program with success,” said Alison.
“In the coming months, with the assistance of Dr. Smith and the incoming Guam territorial veterinarian, Dr. Mariana Turner, GAIN will be capable of making spay and neuter services in Saipan, which will be a tremendous health benefit to many pets and impounded free-roaming dogs in Saipan,” said Alison.
“Mayor Apatang is open to the suggestion of revisiting the CNMI Animal Protection and Control Act, or Public Law No. 21-31, to see how Saipan dog program staff maybe statutorily authorized to perform procedures that we in Guam are statutorily authorized to perform, like in many other jurisdictions in the states in the U.S.,” said Alison.
“In many jurisdictions, services to care for dogs and cats are authorized by law to be performed by a person who is not a veterinarian,” said Dr. Smith.
“As a veterinarian, staff must be trained and certified by a licensed, practicing veterinarian, and I am sure we can take a look at the law and bring Saipan into the list of those many jurisdictions that permit non-DVM’s to perform very limited procedures,” Dr. Smith added.
“Our collaboration with GAIN and Dr. Smith will be to draft legislation that would provide for the Saipan dog control program, like GAIN, to perform humane euthanasia on dogs that are critically injured or have very little hope of recovering from serious health issues,” Mayor Apatang said.
“It is time to bring how we operate our dog control program to present time practices and move on from old practices,” the mayor added.
In a separate meeting with Rep. Ed Propst, the lawmaker expressed his support of the mayor’s collaboration with GAIN and Dr. Smith.
“I welcome any proposed amendment to the Animal Protection and Control Act, to provide for limited services to be performed by non-DVMs through rigorous certification requirements and trainings,” said Propst.
“Because of the challenges in getting a veterinarian to our islands, one who will be here on a fulltime basis, we need to make adjustments in our laws to permit non-veterinarians to perform limited services, similar to other jurisdictions,” Propst added.
Alison Hadley and Arleen DeCastro of Guam Animals in Need or GAIN, and Dr. Brenda Smith, DVM, met with Mayor David M. Apatang at his office recently.
Rep. Ed Propst, left, says there is a “need to make adjustments in our laws to permit non-veterinarians to perform limited services, similar to other jurisdictions.”
