The Hardest Part

Boonie Babies Saipan

Humane euthanasia amidst a shelter crisis

People often only see the glamorous side of animal rescue work. They picture endless days filled with puppy kisses and watching dogs and cats walk off into the sunset with their new owners with the distinctly rewarding feeling of having saved them from less fortunate fates. While we do get more puppy snuggles than most people, the average day at Boonie Babies—and other animal organizations across the United States—is far from what people imagine. The reality of rescue today is that saving an animal often means killing them.

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When we make posts—like the Instagram reel above—about euthanasia, we are flooded with comments asking how we could put down healthy dogs, calling us monsters, and asking why we can’t take them all home ourselves. The ugly truth is that when a dog is brought in off the street, euthanasia is often the most compassionate option for the animal. If you haven’t seen it with your own eyes, it can be hard to understand that a life on the streets fighting for scraps and grappling with untreated diseases is no life at all. A quick, painless end is infinitely better than long-term suffering. 

Others ask why they can’t just keep them at the shelter. There is a huge lack of awareness about the capabilities of shelters and why being a “no-kill” shelter is not usually a viable option. Euthanasia rates across the United States have reached an all-time high; there are nearly a million more pets in shelters than there were pre-pandemic, and shelters do not have the capacity to handle this new trend. The Saipan mayor’s shelter is only equipped to handle around 60 dogs, nowhere near sufficient to house the roughly 20,000 strays roaming the island. 

Animal rescue statistics are hard to accurately collect and analyze, but the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals estimates that more than 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized each year. Data collected from various shelters across the U.S. by American Humane shows that 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter shelters are euthanized. Euthanasia rates on Guam and across the CNMI are even higher.

All of this information is making me depressed. What can I do?

We share this dark and painful side of rescue not to make you feel hopeless, but instead to urge people to see the severity of the shelter crisis and hopefully inspire someone to help in any way possible. Even though euthanasia is now a routine aspect of our lives, holding an animal during the last moments of its life never gets any easier. We wish euthanasia was not the only option for most of the animals we see, but we also recognize that ending an animal’s suffering is still helping that animal.

Now that you know more about the animal shelter crisis, what can you do to make it better? Even if you can’t adopt, there are many things you can do to help, including:

• Educate others. Many people know nothing about this crisis and therefore don’t know how to help. Sharing what you’ve learned about animal rescue could save an animal’s life.

• Volunteer at a shelter or as a foster parent. Shelters everywhere need more hands, and fostering an animal is a wonderful way to enrich an animal’s life while freeing up space at shelters for other animals in need.

• Donate to organizations like Boonie Babies or other local rescues. Any small amount makes a huge difference to us.

• If you’re going to buy a dog, do your research to ensure that it comes from a reputable breeder. Backyard breeders are one of the largest contributors to overcrowded shelters and high euthanasia rates.

• Last but not least, adopt! If you’re after a specific breed or type of animal, rescuing is still an option for you. There are hundreds of breed-specific rescues across the country; start by searching “[breed] rescue” to find your perfect pet!

Boonie of the Week

Every Friday Aria heads to the mayor’s shelter for what we’ve started to call “euthanasia day” to give some personal attention to the dogs who are about to be put down. “I like to give each dog a treat and take a picture of their face so they can feel that at least one person in this world thought they were worthy of a little love and being remembered,” Aria says.

Meet Olive!

Seeing this week after week can crush you. However, sometimes it leads to moments like the one that brought Olive to Boonie Babies HQ. There Aria was one routine, tragic Friday morning, handing out treats and snapping portraits, when she saw a beautiful, happy, tan boonie girl jumping around in her kennel with excitement. Even healthy, happy dogs are often euthanized, so Aria did not get her hopes up that this time would be any different. With no room at home, Aria had to leave this girl behind, presumably forever.

The next Friday, Aria saw that same happy tan boonie at the end of the row of kennels. Wondering what she was still doing there, she once again said hello and goodbye, gave her a treat, and walked away. The next Friday came and went just the same. And again for two more Fridays.  

On the sixth Friday, Aria was angry. When she’d first seen this dog, she was in surprisingly good condition for a stray, but after weeks in a chaotic and non-nurturing environment she had greatly deteriorated. She was skeletal, yet her sunken cheeks still opened in a smile and her thin tail still wagged when she saw Aria.

Aria finally had to ask the shelter staff why she was still there, wasting away, instead of being euthanized like the other dogs. Apparently Olive had a lucky—or perhaps fated?—rescue story: she had been picked up right outside a church, and the shelter staff feared that if they killed her, they “might go to hell.”

Since she could not continue to rot in the shelter, Olive was taken to Boonie Babies headquarters. Literally saved by God, Olive is once again lively and ready to find her forever home. If her story speaks to you, please contact us to learn how you can adopt or sponsor Olive!