Saipan Humane Society clinic manager Ruby Ma bandages an injured dog that was brought to the SHS clinic on Thursday.
IN the past week, four dogs were shot near their homes, two of them fatally, Saipan Humane Society clinic manager Ruby Ma said.
On Friday, Jan. 19, a 15- to 20-pound dog was brought to SHS after it had been shot. The owner waited a week to bring it in, and it died shortly after being seen at SHS, Ma said.
On Tuesday, two injured dogs from As Gonno were brought to the Dog Control Program animal shelter. One 80-pound Rottweiler-mix has gunshot wounds on its chest, eyes, head and belly, but is alive. Another dog was shot in the chest and the head, and later died.
The fourth dog was brought into the shelter on Thursday, and was treated for a single gunshot wound to the leg. Its owner said the dog had gone missing for four days before it walked back to his property with the wound.
“We thought maybe something happened to him and then after four days he came back to the house. It looks to me like he probably lay on the ground for four days with no food or water,” the owner said.
The owner said the dog, which is four months old, ate food and drank water after it returned to their house.
At the SHS clinic, the dog was treated for a wound infection.
“We have dogs because we need protection, we’re isolated, we have a huge area so they won’t go anywhere to cause trouble,” the owner told Variety.
Even if the dogs were being a “nuisance,” the better course of action would have been to talk to the owner.
“We would have compensated [our neighbors] for whatever [the dog] was doing,” the owner added.
SHS President Lauren Cabrera said that the number of dogs they are seeing with gunshot wounds this week is not their typical caseload.
She reminds the public that Public Law 21-31 prohibits animal cruelty in the CNMI. But, she added, the law is difficult to enforce.
“Enforcing it is challenging. And the dogs can’t tell us who shot them,” Cabrera said. “I would encourage the community to stay vigilant. If they see something report it. Hold each other accountable.”
She said people who are cruel to animals may show a propensity to harm others.
“Even if you don’t like dogs it’s still important to make sure we don’t have people going out and hurting animals because it can lead to worse things,” she added.
Ma said most dogs that bark at passersby can be easily frightened. Shooting dogs is unnecessary, she added.
“It’s easy to shoo the dog away,” she said. “Make a loud noise or throw something near them but not at them… You don’t have to like dogs, you can hate them, but don’t kill them.”
Ma added, “It’s very disheartening to see four dogs get shot. There is a reason why a dog is our first companion. They are our friend, our family, our protector, our emotional support. It’s time for us to protect them.”
