Dr. Erin Black, left, and Lacey Frame were on Saipan through the support of Banfield Foundation and BluePearl Cares. They conducted a spay and neuter clinic and trained Saipan Humane Society staff as SHS prepares to move to an animal clinic in Garapan.
Jehniffer Villagomez, left, and clinic manager Ruby Ma, right, are all smiles as they assist a dog at a recently concluded spay and neuter clinic.
VISITING veterinarian Dr. Erin Black and veterinarian technician Lacey Frame provided training to the Saipan Humane Society staff and conducted spay and neuter clinics on island, SHS President Lauren Cabrera said on Thursday.
Black and Frame were on Saipan from April 14 to 17. Their travel was funded by the Banfield Foundation and BluePearl Cares.
Cabrera said aside from conducting training and clinics, Black and Frame also helped create “more functional clinic processes” that are more efficient and of higher quality.
To that end, she said Saipan Humane Society staff learned how to use a microscope to observe animal skin issues, and were trained in blood draw, IV placement and animal ultrasound.
Cabrera said Black and Frame likewise helped staff improve their clinic check-in and check-out practices as well as client documentation processes.
Cabrera said the training persuaded them to adopt appointment-based clinic operations.
“We’re now trying to encourage the community to make appointments so we can be more organized with our time,” she added.
To set an appointment, go to saipanhumanesociety.org/.
Cabrera also announced that from late April to early May, SHS will move to a new clinic facility in Garapan. More details will be released once the permitting process is completed, she told Variety.
“It will not be a shelter, it will be a clinic and we will still be partnered with the Mayor’s Office of Saipan and its Dog Control Program,” Cabrera said.
She said the new clinic will be larger than the space SHS currently uses.
The new facility will also have examination and procedure rooms as well as spaces to separate sick animals from healthy ones.
Cabrera said Black and Frame’s assistance helped them transition into the new clinic.
“How can we still provide high quality care without a vet? There’s a lot of ways — you just have to be creative,” she said. “So [Black and Frame] were helping us kind of increase our skills so we can do that.”
Cabrera said because the CNMI doesn’t have a veterinarian, SHS will conduct video conference calls with veterinarians off island.
She was thankful to the Banfield Foundation and BluePearl Cares for supporting the travel of visiting veterinarians.
“It’s very hard to find foundations and organizations that will support us [in the CNMI] and we don’t generate enough profits to exist without the help of other organizations,” Cabrera said. “One of [Banfield Foundation’s] big things is bringing animal healthcare to places where there are none. We’re one of the very few places in the United States where there truly is no veterinarian.”
She said it is “not realistic” for full-time veterinarians to be profitable, and no veterinarian can volunteer their expertise indefinitely either.
