A day in the life of the Saipan Humane Society

What it’s like to provide animal services in an underserved community.

Picking up the slack in an underserved community like the CNMI when it comes to animal care is no mean feat, which makes what Saipan Humane Society is doing even more remarkable. The abundance of compassion, care, and community spirit of all these volunteers who run their clinic at their adopted home at the Saipan Mayor’s Office Animal Shelter in As Perdido are what drives the organization each and every day, creating a haven for CNMI pet owners who need advice, medication, and other basic veterinary services for their beloved pets.

Let’s take a look into what SHS’ four-women staff— primary clinician and liaison Lauren Cabrera, vet techs Ruby Ma and Guadalupe “Lupe “ Ingham, and the newest team member and administrative assistant, Jehnifer Villagomez—accomplish on a typical day of caring for the CNMI’s pets.

Morning: A symphony of barks and tail wags

Ruby and Lupe were already knee deep into work when I arrived on Thursday morning. Two families with small dogs were waiting for their turn outside while a big dog named Louie and his owner waited patiently inside to be seen.

I asked what time both Ruby and Lupe came in and they said even before the clinic opened around 8am- 8:30am.

They were caring for a French Bulldog named Tano who had a nasty rash on his neck. As they were caring for him, Jehnifer was outside assisting and checking in a couple with a puppy named Hope—who acquired a strange affliction overnight—her eyes vibrating rapidly from side to side.

More small dogs come in. Lupe checks in a pet owner with four dogs and weighs each of them. Their small yaps grew into a chorus of barks loud enough that Lupe and I couldn’t really hear their owner talking. We move away from them slightly. This is a regular occurrence. Still, Lupe jots down notes with a smile on her face and goes back inside to see what needs to be done next.

The trio works together seamlessly and sometimes they come inside the small office space to catch a breather, cool off in the air conditioning, and answer my questions that come up. They all do a little bit of everything.

While Lauren isn’t doing veterinary work, her efforts are focused on sick visits, injured animals, simple procedures, and answering clinical questions from other staff during wellness visits. She leans heavily on a combination of things she’s learned from working as a nurse practitioner, things she’s learned and continues to learn from being mentored by veterinarians, evidence-based readings, and her current schooling as a vet.

On a busy day, they get about 40 patients, Jehnifer said. On a not-so-busy day, about 20-30. At the time when I asked her that question, it was still before the lunch rush hour, so she couldn’t say what type of day it’ll be.

Their hours of operation from 10am to 2pm are based on the availability of the Dog Control Program Shelter facility. The Saipan Mayor’s Office generously offered SHS free use of their clinic space during regular hours.

Their general opening procedure involves preparing meds and vaccines for the day, preparing the clinic space, responding to WhatsApp messages and email inquiries, and making social media content.

The clinic opens at 10am to give them the bandwidth to work on administrative tasks prior to clinic, plus see scheduled appointments and follow ups before clinic when needed, said Lauren.

Midday: To eat or not to eat

As they are only open for a short period during the day, these women barely have time for breaks or to eat lunch. They are usually swamped during lunch hours when pet owners have their breaks and bring in their pets to get checked.

I left for lunch and got the crew some food with that thought of their busy lunch hour in mind. They were grateful.

I went outside to check on how many people were in line and came back to see Lupe and Ruby grabbing a few quick bites. I apologized that I forgot to bring them drinks in my hurry—they were still grateful.

They worked through lunch and finished wrapping a cone around a dog named Max who had a head wound due to a fight. He woke up with a start as he came out from the anesthesia. I snap more pictures as his owner comforts him before taking him away. By this time, the clinic had assisted patients with ear infections, vaccine requests, and patched up dog fight wounds. They said common requests from pet owners are flea/tick preventive and vaccines, and dewormers.

Lauren said they also see “gastrointestinal illness at an alarming rate, most likely related to parasites such as hookworm, roundworm, giardia, etc. We also see a large number of dog fights and other injuries, and some extremely bizarre and clinically challenging cases.”

Lauren wants pet owners to know that preventive care is the best medicine.

“We recommend all pets get at least Simparica Trio (flea/tick, heartworm, and intestinal worm prevention) and vaccines. If you notice your pet is sick, do not wait—check our schedule and bring it in at your earliest convenience.”

Closing time: The work never ends 

I asked Jehnifer again how many dogs they had seen and she said 16. To me, it seemed like a whole lot more. I could not keep track of how many dogs came in and out, but out of all the dogs, there was one kitty named Sweet Pea who was brought in by a resident cat lover named Wayne Deballonia. She was a cutie and made absolutely no sound as DCP worker Stephanie Camacho held her.

“We ‘close’ at 2pm because we rarely actually get out of there at 2pm, usually wrapping up patients and working until the shelter closes,” said Lauren. “Our closing procedure involves other administrative duties and cleaning.”

Even after they close, the work never stops as they get emails, social media messages, and inperson questions that the four women of SHS try to respond to as best they can. Lauren said she hopes the community who seeks their services are patient with them as they are a very small team.

“We are working hard to rapidly expand our team and clinic space, but also trying to protect ourselves from burning out completely. We are not able to answer phone calls because there is no dedicated staff/desk for this, and we try our best to answer messages but are always juggling many things.

However, we do our best with what we have. Please check our website to see the most updated schedules.” She added, “Ruby and I built SHS together starting in February, and worked full-time on a volunteer basis until we were formally hired in July, along with Lupe. We hope to expand our team and clinic space as funding allows, so we can provide better quality and more efficient care.”

As the last patient is checked in and the team is trying to wrap up and clean, the sense of fulfillment lingers in the air. For the SHS team, every wag of a tail and every purr of contentment is a testament to their dedication.

In an underserved community where resources are scarce, the SHS clinic stands tall, proving that love, compassion, and determination can overcome any obstacle. I heard Lauren say as I left the office, “We’re taking a much needed mental health day tomorrow,” which was a Friday. I smile, wave goodbye, and say “TGIF!”