SHS continues work to boost access to vet care in NMI
Although briefly closed while their usual clinic space at the Saipan Mayor’s Dog Control Shelter was utilized for the military veterinary clinic, Saipan Humane Society has been working diligently behind the scenes to increase access to veterinary care in CNMI.
“There has been limited access to veterinary care for years. The improvements we strive to make will not happen overnight, but progress is being made,” said SHS founder Lauren Cabrera.
Some of the things SHS is working to bring to the community include consistent access to wellness and preventive medicine. With high rates of parvovirus, tick disease, mange, heartworm, and intestinal worms on island, prevention will be aimed at vaccines, flea/tick prevention, deworming, and rolling out a new comprehensive heartworm testing, treatment, and prevention program.
Beyond these basics, SHS is also working hard to develop relationships with on and off-island labs to allow for more advanced diagnostics such as bloodwork and biopsies of tumors. “We are getting there,” said Cabrera. “These partnerships don’t form overnight, and it takes a lot of work to develop.”
Per Cabrera, SHS also hopes to expand and offer more consistent hours to the public. Currently, the primary barrier to doing this is lack of funding to hire staff. “We price our services low or at cost, so the community can afford them. Because of this, our profit margin is not high enough to support the large team that we desperately need. But we want to ensure the entire community can care for their pets,” said Cabrera.
As a volunteer-run organization of three primary individuals, SHS hopes to transition to paid staff soon, expanding their team by hiring more people to assist. “We are constantly overwhelmed with calls and messages. We are doing our best with our small team, but want to offer more consistent access to care.”
Additionally, another barrier faced by SHS is limited clinic space. Thanks to Saipan Mayor Ramon Blas “RB” Camacho, SHS has been allowed to use the Dog Control facility during business hours. However, many patients cannot travel to the clinic or cannot come during business hours. SHS hopes to offer a solution to this soon.
SHS continues to build relationships with off-island veterinarians with hopes of multiple large-scale spay/neuter clinics each year with equipment they are purchasing from Boonie Babies Rescue, in thanks to donations from the Lynn Raulerson Trust and Lush Charity Pot. Part of SHS’ mission is to address animal overpopulation, the leading cause of animal suffering in the CNMI.
For the latest updates regarding clinic hours, visit their social media pages. If you’d like to donate or assist in some way, reach out to info@saipanhumanesociety.org. (SHS)
Saipan Humane Society
