{"id":284887,"date":"2018-09-19T06:06:25","date_gmt":"2018-09-18T20:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=284887"},"modified":"2018-09-19T06:06:25","modified_gmt":"2018-09-18T20:06:25","slug":"animals-also-sought-shelter-during-typhoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/animals-also-sought-shelter-during-typhoon\/","title":{"rendered":"Animals also sought shelter during typhoon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Puppies and cats are up for adoption at the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Dog Control Program. Call program manager Spencer Camacho-Marchadesch at (670) 783-4743 (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A video making the rounds on Facebook shows a man rescuing six dogs that have been abandoned just before Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas this week. The video shows the dogs up to their chest already in floodwaters and were in danger of drowning if not for the timely arrival of help.<\/p>\n

Tragically, the video is typical. In times of disaster, animals are oftentimes a second thought, bearing the painful brunt of crises and often dying in the process.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s Typhoon Mangkhut was an example. It not only impacted people; it was also devastating to animals, especially those that don\u2019t belong to a family to care for them. <\/p>\n

Imagine a situation where you are lost, disoriented, and trying to understand the environment you\u2019re in. Even worse, what if you are a homeless cat or dog, wandering the streets and looking for food while battling strong winds, rain, hunger, and cold.<\/p>\n

This is what Abby Elmo of Chalan Piao felt when her daughter came inside the house holding a small kitten in her hands last Monday afternoon just hours before the expected landfall of Typhoon Mangkhut.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter asked me, \u2018Mom, can we adopt this cat?\u2019 I asked where she found the cat because the owner might be looking for it. The kitten appeared to be pitiful, vulnerable, and sweet. Our whole family decided to take the poor kitten in and she\u2019s now a part of the family,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to make space for her in our house and in our hearts. We already have other [pets]. \u2026It was a tough decision [and] in my mind, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s another pet!\u2019 But once you see this kitten, your heart will melt and, with a typhoon that was strong as Mangkhut, you know immediately that she will not have any chance to live,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office Dog Control Program manager Spencer Camacho-Merchadesh said there were a total of 70 cats and dogs at the compound when Typhoon Mangkhut hit the Marianas last Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard for animals right now\u2026I was at the compound the day after the storm and checked on the animals. There were only some debris scattered and we are fortunate to still have water and all the animals are okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have accumulated this much animals in the compound because, aside from the calls that we get from people like off-leash dogs or those who are confined, there are just so many out in the streets with no homes that we are forced to pick them up and bring them to the shelter,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Spencer said the shelter needs the community\u2019s help in sharing their homes with the cats and dogs that are under their care. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome everyone who has a room in their hearts and homes to come and adopt\u2026 Our dogs range from 3-month-old puppies to 7-year-old dogs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are open everyday, including weekends from 7am to 4:30pm\u2026 At times, especially before and after a storm, we need all the help that we can get. For more information, call the Mayor\u2019s Office at 234-6208 or in my phone at 783-4743,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Saipan Cares for Animals feared so much for the safety of their dogs and cats at the clinic that they sought help from the community to help foster the animals during Typhoon Mangkhut. \u201cI did a quick post on Facebook that I was concerned that the cat area might be blown away and we have no place for them inside because the cat area outside is where they live. People just immediately came and responded and that I had more people to take care of the cats than we have cats,\u201d said Saipan Care for Animals president Beth Pliscou.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was 28 cats that were gone in just an hour. All fostered out. People kept coming and they took some puppies that also needed a lot of care because they are young and needed more attention, that\u2019s why we cannot leave them for 24 hours. Somebody took all the puppies for foster care,\u201d Pliscou added.<\/p>\n

Pliscou is hopeful that adoptions will come out of foster care. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hoping that some adoptions will happen because they took them into their homes\u2026 I really did not know what we would them with them before the storm. One thing is for sure: we cannot possibly leave them outside. All the dogs were put in kennels inside, but there isn\u2019t a kennel for the cats because we don\u2019t have the room,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always have a few families that are regulars that are always fostering and getting animals, but when we really had this emergency, people were right there. We have kittens, puppies, and young adult dogs that are up for adoption. Please call 285-5448 for inquiries. It\u2019s only $30 to take one of them and everybody is spayed and neutered and vaccinate,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Julie Florencondia-Hall of Navy Hill was one of the responders to SCA\u2019s call to foster cats. \u201cA friend sent me a message about Saipan Cares for Animals post about the need for fostering. The original plan was to take two cats but I went home with three… I really felt sorry and worried about what might happen to them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Florencondia-Hall said the cats kept them entertained, making the height of the storm bearable. \u201cThey\u2019re really fun and friendly and easy to take care of because they\u2019re litter trained. My daughter Julianna played with them and we were happy to give the cats a home,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A video making the rounds on Facebook shows a man rescuing six dogs that have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":284888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[401,67,17641,22618],"class_list":["post-284887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-facebook","tag-people","tag-saipan-cares","tag-typhoon-mangkhut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}