Dr. Whitney Collins performs surgery on a dog last week.
GENERAL veterinary medical care is essentially needed in the CNMI, according to visiting veterinarian Dr. Whitney Collins who is conducting a month-long clinic at the Saipan Dog Control Program office.
“Medically speaking, the tick disease and the number of animals not spayed or neutered on the island is concerning,” she told Variety. “I am also seeing a large amount of gastrointestinal upset, skin issues, and animals showing common signs of parasites, some of which can be passed to humans.”
She said general veterinary medical care includes, but is not limited to, vaccines, preventive medications and disease-specific targeted treatments like for heartworm disease.
“I would like to provide diagnostic services such as x-ray and blood work but getting the resources is proving to be challenging,” she added.
She also said that spaying and neutering pets is one of the best solutions to control unwanted dog population growth.
“I find it extremely important to control our animal population,” she added. “I perform similar work in other countries and on other islands, and many places are facing the same concerns as the CNMI when it comes to stray dogs and cats. It is a widely accepted solution to implement spaying and neutering to improve the health of the humans, animals and the ecosystem,” she said.
She wants to extend her services to Rota, but the biggest hurdle is funding.
“I’m hopeful with adequate funding, we can acquire the needed resources to start making a much-needed impact for the community. Receiving funding and resources takes time but with patience I believe we could start addressing the concerns in the near future,” she said.
