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Boonie Tails

By Grace Keilbach

The Saipan Mayor’s Shelter

When Aria and I first started working with the Mayor’s Shelter in 2022, conditions were horrific, much less a shelter and more a holding facility prior to euthanasia. This indoor/outdoor facility, with no air conditioning and barely any kennel doors that actually lock, was doing its best to function. The Shelter blamed the lack of animal welfare standards on limited resources, and if you know anything about Saipan or shelter work in general, there were then and are still very limited resources. However, working with limited resources is different from outright neglect, and does not excuse for the additional suffering these animals endure.

For years, we have remained publicly silent while actively trying to work with and support shelter staff to ensure proper animal care. Thanks to Saipan Humane and G.A.I.N. (the municipal shelter on Guam), the Saipan Mayor’s Shelter staff attended multiple trainings on proper animal handling and care, and also been provided the tools necessary such as drugs for euthanasia to raise the standard of care. Additionally, a dedicated group of volunteers visits the shelter weekly to assist with tasks such as filling up water bowls and getting dogs out of their kennels to the dog run or on a walk. For context, in order to walk every dog in the shelter and fill up everyone’s water, it took four of volunteers only one hour.

Throughout our time volunteering with the Shelter, we became extremely desensitized to our situation and genuinely believed the excuses: not enough time, money, staff, or resources. Above all, we also wanted to maintain a positive working relationship with management to maintain access to the Shelter. Anytime we raised concerns publically about care standard in the past, we found ourselves unwelcome into the Shelter. Animals starving to death before being euthanized, legs being broken by staff throwing around crates with a metal wire bottom, severely injured animals being brought in and left to rot for weeks until euthanasia day, and much more unrelated to resources or support. We can no longer stay silent and make excuses while animals suffer. Our goal is not to attack shelter staff personally, it is simply to ensure that animals are being provided care, because even those who will be euthanized deserve humane treatment.

Pushing for change

The following is written by shelter volunteer Maggy Moussalem:

Today we stand together not just as individuals, but as a community that believes compassion matters. Our island animals deserve humane treatment and proper care. Yet too often, these animals are left to suffer in silence— neglected, overlooked, and without adequate care.

After witnessing this suffering firsthand, I am compelled to speak up. In one heartbreaking case, a video circulated on Sunday, March 8th, showing a kitten confined in a rusted cage, crying out with no access to food or water. When I went to the shelter the following day to help, the outcome was devastating. By the time I arrived, the kitten was found dead inside the rusted cage, soaking wet, and in a tragic state. No animal should endure such suffering in a place meant to provide safety and care.

Despite multiple discussions to discontinue this practice, the kennels continue to be hosed down while dogs are still confined inside. Puppies have been left drenched, forcing them to remain soaked for prolonged periods. This not only causes severe discomfort but can also lead to hypothermia, illness, and a significant decline in their quality of life. These conditions lead to unnecessary suffering and in heartbreaking cases, it often results in death.

For several years, community organizations and dedicated volunteers have raised concerns about operational challenges at the shelter (inconsistent or absent feeding and watering, inconsistent or detrimental sanitation, and prolonged suffering). Despite countless attempts made by community members to provide support, resources, and assistance, these concerns persist.  Repeated neglect and the ongoing failure to provide even the most basic standards of care continue to impact the well-being of the animals entrusted to the shelter.

In 2020, the CNMI took an important step forward by enacting Public Law No. 21-31, which made animal cruelty, and pet theft, illegal for the first time in our history. 

Public Law No. 21-31  

“To prohibit cruelty and theft of animals; to provide penalties for such acts; and for other purposes."

The conditions being reported at the Saipan shelter raise serious concerns and demonstrates that the law is not being upheld.

These experiences are not shared to assign blame, but to highlight the urgent need for meaningful change. The animals of Saipan deserve humane treatment, proper care, and systems that ensure their well-being is protected.

We are asking our leaders, our public officials, and our community to work collectively to improve the shelter system, strengthen animal welfare policies, and ensure humane care.

The well-being of our animals is inseparable from the health, compassion, and integrity of the CNMI.

The petition

As we work to reform shelter policy and management, please consider showing your support by signing this petition. We want our government to know that not only our own community has had enough, but people everywhere are outraged. Click HERE to sign!

Ending on a good note

I know seeing these images and reading about the horrific state of animal welfare isn’t exactly the Monday pick-me-up you needed, so I wanted to share the silver lining and other good things that are happening for our Boonies right now too. The fact that many people on and off island are actively working to improve animal welfare in the CNMI is incredible. We have never had more support and we could not be more grateful to everyone involved, including all of you reading this right now. Big things are happening and we are so excited to share them with you soon.

Additionally, Saipan Humane is currently hosting a spay and neuter clinic, preventing thousands of more animals from suffering. Every single spot for this clinic has been booked, and although we wish there were more, this is such a huge sign of our community coming together to prioritize their pet’s health and end the cycle. We are also expecting more vets soon! Aria will be helping out with animal handling and we are happy to report all Boonie Babies rescues are now fixed. To everyone who has donated, thank you for helping us ensure no community members are turned away due to cost. If you would like to sponsor a surgery, $75 covers the cost for a dog and female cat, $50 covers a male neuter, and anything helps make a difference. Click HERE to donate via PayPal. Grandpa or anyone else skeptical of online money transfers, you can always mail us a check 😉.

Free money for Boonies!

Click the link in this ad to passively donate to Boonie Babies! We receive money for every person that opens the link, every click counts!

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Boonie of the Week

Meet our adoptable “Boonies” who thanks to your help, are all fixed, happy, and healthy. Now, they just need loving homes! Although we are hoping for on-island adoptions for all of them, dogs like Koda, Maisie, and Leo the Doodle are not likely to be selected. If you or someone you know would be interested in learning more about them and the flight process, please email us at [email protected]. They are all extremely loving and have completed Boonie Bootcamp with Aria, making them the perfect addition to any family.

We have accidentally become a fluffy white dog rescue…. #SaveTheBoonies (and the honorary Boonies too)! Thank you for reading and we will see you next week!

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