Saipan Humane Society Executive Director Lauren Cabrera, second left, with staff members at the Saipan Rotary Club meeting on Tuesday at Crowne Plaza Resort.
THE Saipan Humane Society informed the Rotary Club of Saipan on Tuesday about the challenges of providing healthcare to island pets with a staff of only four people.
SHS Executive Director Lauren Cabrera said since they opened earlier this year, they have provided over 1,000 vaccines, over 1,000 doses of flea and tick medication, and treated over 500 sick and injured animals.
Cabrera said they don’t have their own clinical facility.
In terms of facility access, she said they are thankful to partner with the Saipan Mayor’s Office. However, she doesn’t have the ability to administer care during the weekend when the animal shelter in As Perdido is closed.
So “we stockpile [items] at our house,” she added.
SHS needs more resources in order to attend to more animals, she said.
“We don’t have an actual examination room. We don’t have space where it makes sense to store things, and so it’s just crazy. We really need our own facility where we can be open beyond the hours 8 [a.m.] to 4 [p.m.],” Cabrera said.
She said their organization is staffed by herself and three other women. The Saipan Mayor’s Office provides assistance, but the number of animals they see during clinic hours keeps them “really, really, really busy,” she added.
“We do need more help —volunteers or staff or interns — who can help us because running a vet clinic and doing [administrative work] is a lot of work,” she said.
“I’ve reached out to so many organizations for grants, and the thing that keeps coming up is that we’re not a state so they will not fund us,” Cabrera said. “They refer me to international organizations for animal welfare, which also won’t fund us because we’re part of the U.S.”
Still, Cabrera said the society managed to partner with the U.S.-based organizations Banfield Pet Hospital and The Inner Pup, as well as Canada-based Veterinarians Without Borders.
For the next phase of their growth, Cabrera said SHS will build capacity for their staff, produce educational materials about pet care, and host a mobile clinic.
