Vet: Big things happening in CNMI with animal services

In her short time in the CNMI, volunteer veterinarian Dr. Whitney Collins has accomplished many things and she’ll be back for more as there are big things happening here related to animal services, treatment, and welfare.

With the CNMI being underserved when it comes to animal services, a series of clinics were held over the year, and just last month, Collins wrapped up veterinary care clinic services on Saipan in collaboration with the recently established nonprofit Saipan Humane Society and the Saipan Mayor’s Office Animal Shelter in As Perdido. In between she has also met with Rota Mayor Aubrey Hocog regarding their stray dog issue.

Collins has already left, but will be back to offer more services soon as well as assist Rota and maybe Tinian too.

In February, a public notice from the Rota Municipal Council ordered residents of the island to secure their pet dogs because of a plan to “destroy” unlicensed and unclaimed dogs following a rounding up operation. 

With that, during Collins’ visit there, she encouraged them to link up with local partners such as the Saipan Dog Control Program and the Saipan Humane Society who have been a great resource on Saipan.

Collins hopes that their meetings on Rota “gave the community validation regarding their concern about the feral dogs. The dogs can pose a threat to public safety and damage island ecology, and Rota is a perfect example of this. It is important to get a hold of the situation before it becomes overwhelming, and I think they are doing a great job raising awareness of the need.”

When asked what the barrier on Rota is regarding a more humane treatment of dogs, she said there are simply too many dogs and not enough homes “The only way to manage this is to reduce the number of dogs humanely, while limiting their population growth through spay/neuter. A shelter is only effective if effective programs are in place to manage the population growth; otherwise it can become a warehouse for dogs.” 

“I do hope to see them get enough funding to at least purchase basic supplies. If there is a small investment in controlling the dogs there now, it could save a lot of money down the road. If we wait until the problem is out of control, it could cost a lot more money and hurt the island as well,” she added.

Rota Municipal Council member Jim Atalig told Saipan Tribune he has been working with Rep. Julie Ogo (Ind-Rota) on getting a grant for the program, along with the Saipan Humane Society’s Lauren Cabrera and Collins and their group.

“[A] total number 30 residents have inquired about the licensing of their dogs,” he said. “I would like for our community to be more active in helping each other to address this issue. I would like to partner up with our community as [well] so we all can work together to resolve this problem.”

Cabrera said that she has tried to apply for many grants, but the CNMI does not qualify for many animal-focused grants stateside “because we are not a state. Yet international organizations will not fund us because we aren’t international. It is pretty frustrating,” she said. “But my hope is to find a grant to help. I have some ideas, but nothing solid. …I am looking into the possibility of some federal grants that could possibly apply—but that is a bit of a stretch.”

When asked how many stray dogs there are on Rota, Cabrera said that there hasn’t been an official survey done yet.

As for Collins, she said that she enjoys her trip to the CNMI. When asked whether she will make the CNMI her permanent home one day, she said, “At this time, due to other work abroad, there are no plans of my permanent relocation to the CNMI. However, I am interested in dedicating time to future regular return trips throughout the year.” 

The clinic scheduled for April 10 to 14 at the SMO Animal Shelter has been postponed, but there will be two veterinarias that will be available for clinics tentatively planned for May 18 to June 19 and possibly longer.

To sign up on the waitlist for spay/neuter or other services, go to https://bit.ly/SHSClinic