HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The lack of power at the Guam Animals in Need shelter in Yigo is preventing it from supporting the community as it did prior to Typhoon Mawar, according to shelter officials.
“GAIN is still closed to the public due to having no consistent power. We have been trying all avenues possible to reinstate power and resume services – calling GPA directly and even attempted to get a FEMA generator without success,” said Lauren Cabrera, GAIN president. “We are frustrated that GAIN services are not being prioritized. People are getting bit. Animals are being dumped at GAIN on a daily basis.”
GAIN remained without power as of Friday afternoon.
GAIN Executive Director Alison Hadley said the nonprofit understands restoration will take time and that some of its downed power lines might be more problematic to address because the shelter isn’t right along Marine Corps Drive.
But areas surrounding the shelter have power.
GAIN has no way to communicate with the community or with Animal Control and mayor’s offices regarding the receipt of incoming animals, nor can it schedule or update its database to reflect the animals housed at the shelter, according to Hadley.
“We can’t do our jobs; right now we cannot fully support the pets of Guam or those who have animal related issues,” Hadley stated in a news release.
“The community desperately wants a place to bring animals right now but, unfortunately, until we have power, we cannot accommodate them. Hopefully something will be done to fix this situation soon,” Cabrera said.
Piti Mayor Jesse Alig, president of the Mayors’ Council of Guam, said mayors haven’t been able to turn in stray animals because of power and facility issues at the shelter.
The release from the shelter stated that it sustained major damage from the typhoon, mostly to its perimeter fences and kennels.
But the release stated structural damage has been fixed. The lack of power appears to be the “greatest damage” GAIN faces. There has been no information or updates on the status of the immediate area, or when the shelter should expect to see its power restored, according to the release.
Frustrated
Territorial Veterinarian Dr. Mariana Turner expressed some frustration with the ongoing lack of power, stating in the release that GAIN provides many essential services to the community, from low-cost spay/neuter services to quarantine to prevent the spread of rabies. Without power, the shelter can provide none of this, Turner said in the release.
“The Animal Control officers and the mayors’ offices similarly cannot complete their tasks of keeping the public safe from aggressive strays,” Turner stated in the release. “As we know, prior to Mawar making landfall, there was messaging that those who needed to seek safe shelter leave their pets behind. Now those pets are roaming on the streets, many of which are … contributing to the pet overpopulation problem.”
She added that GAIN, the Spay and Neuter Island Pets Clinic and the Animal Health Division of the Guam Department of Agriculture have worked hard over the last year and half to decrease the number of strays on Guam by providing low-cost spay and neutering services, as well as increasing the number of Animal Control officers.
“We are now going on five weeks without being able to provide this much-needed service. And it is not only our local residents affected by this issue,” Turner said. “The (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and Red Cross field workers, visitors that are here to help us recover from this devastating natural disaster, are being attacked and bitten by these animals on the streets and we are unable to even attempt to remove these animals at this time.”
Residents can reach GAIN through Instagram or Facebook and the shelter is accepting animal-related emergencies for humane euthanasia.
“If you have an animal-related emergency, you can call 671-988-1615. If you have a situation with an animal that has bitten or attacked, please contact Animal Control at animalcontrol@doag.guam.gov,” the release stated.
While GAIN can’t resume regular services, it has been successful in providing community pet food distributions over the last several weeks, a project done in partnership with the agriculture agency’s Animal Health Division, the SNIP Clinic and the Boonie Flight Project.
Empty dog kennels at the Guam Animals In Need shelter in Yigo on Friday, June 30, 2023. Due to a lack of power, the shelter remains closed to the public.
