BC Cook
IT is not often when Saipan makes the international news cycle. Julian Assange passed through a little while back, that caught headlines. The military’s plans to re-open the airfields on Tinian got attention. But other than the occasional typhoon, Saipan quietly goes about its business away from the spotlight.
On Friday, Sept. 27, an article appeared in Reuters entitled “The Struggle to Save Dogs on the Island of Saipan.” Aleksandra Michalska did the reporting and Rosalba O’Brien did the writing. They bring attention to a subject that all Saipan residents are too familiar with, but outsiders know nothing about, the plague of boonie dogs. The statistics are staggering. The article says while there are around 42,000 humans on the island, they share space with more than 21,000 dogs. The vast majority of these are not pets, they are strays. Imagine how much food twenty thousand dogs consume, how much poo they produce.
What can be done? The Dog Control Shelter euthanizes twenty to forty animals every week, but the reproduction rate is higher than that, so they are losing the war of numbers. Can anything be done to tip the scales in our favor, start bringing those numbers down?
Enter Lauren Cabrera, the animal health officer at the Department of Land and Natural Resources. She is quoted in the Reuters article, “I used to get mad about euthanasia when I first moved out here.” That was how I felt, too. Then, like Lauren, I wrapped my head around the problem, but her solution was different from mine.
She founded Boonie Flight Project, an all-volunteer animal rescue effort that has saved over six hundred animals from destruction by adopting them out to families on the American mainland. “After a euthanasia day, I usually feel pretty depleted,” Lauren said. I cannot imagine. But when she has the opportunity to adopt one out, she says, “I try my best to shift my focus onto ‘I’m going to save these guys this week.’”
This solution, although extremely noble, is not a cure-all. Shipping animals to the mainland can be very expensive and transporting animals can be a jungle of regulations, fees, and bureaucratic red tape. For most Americans looking to adopt a pet, their local humane society animal shelter will have what they are looking for. But there are opportunities where this is the perfect solution.
We have not solved the boonie dog crisis, but I sure like what Lauren Cabrera and the Boonie Flight Project are doing. They deserve our support. Look into the organization when you get a chance and have a look at the full article in Reuters. Then add your voice to the conversation of what to do about the wild dog problem on Saipan.
BC Cook, PhD lived on Saipan and has taught history for over 30 years. He is a director and historian at Sealark Exploration (sealarkexploration.org)
