Super Typhoon Yutu\u2019s ferocious winds, clocked at 180 miles and per hour and with gusts that topped 200 mph, did catastrophic damage not just to people\u2019s homes and properties but also to animal shelters.<\/p>\n
At the height of the storm, with the constant shriek of the winds and ear-splitting roar of properties being damaged, the fate of the animal shelter was at the forefront of the mind of Spencer Camacho-Merchadesch, the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office Dog Control Program manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation of animals during a typhoon is so dire that it makes them extra vulnerable,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The animal shelter had a total of 139 animals composed of adult dogs, cats, and puppies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe morning after the storm, I prepared myself to go to the shelter, cleared debris and assessed my home real quick, waited for the winds to calm down and went straight to the shelter and I was just speechless with what I saw,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Driving toward the south side of Saipan where the animal shelter is located made clear in his mind the extent of the damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the damage in the neighborhood around me and thought I have to get to the shelter. The kind of damage that the shelter might have incurred was unfolding around me as I saw houses and building without roofs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When he finally made it to the shelter, it was in total destruction. \u201cThe perimeter fence was gone, trees were uprooted, the roofs on the kennels were gone and there were so many dogs outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Camacho-Marchadesch and his team went to work right away. \u201cSince there were many dogs out of the kennel and loitering around the compound, our goal was to make sure there was food and water available for them\u2026 We temporarily repaired the perimeter fence last Sunday and we were able to lure the dogs back into the kennel… There are still dogs roaming within the compound but we will get them back to safety,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are taking it day by day. The first day was overwhelming for me and to my staff but the second day we\u2026are doing good as the morale is good,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The animals at the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office Dog Control Program are ready for adoption and the program is also accepting food and water donations and encourage volunteers to help rebuild the animal shelter. You can call Camacho-Marchadesch at (670) 783-4743.<\/p>\n
Over at the Saipan Cares for Animals clinic in Koblerville, SCFA president Beth Pliscou said a total of 35 dogs that includes 12 puppies were in their care during Yutu.<\/p>\n
She said no animals were harmed inside their shelter, but the destruction around the clinic was problematic. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur perimeter fence went down and it was something that needed to be put up right away because our neighbors are not tolerant of dogs stepping out of our property. The outdoor shelter of the cats, which we call the \u2018catio,\u2019 was also destroyed so we called volunteers on our Facebook page to help us and many came,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone here at the clinic is good because this house is strong. It has survived Soudelor and now Yutu\u2026Currently, the fence is up so what we need now are the staples\u2014food, paper towels, bleach, water so we can try to keep the animals and the clinic clean,\u2019 she added.<\/p>\n
In anticipation of the storm, Pliscou brought 14 dogs and a number of kittens home. Sadly, her home took a beating from Yutu. \u201cWe lost our roof and windows\u2026 I managed to put the dogs in the yard\u2026but now there are fallen trees and sheet metal that are kind of wrapping around the fence,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201c[We] had to fix the gate so they can get out\u2026 I can get water and food for those 14 dogs and the cats in the house go out the broken windows but I can feed them inside\u2026 We had cats fostered out and they are under good care with the families that sheltered them,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
At the height of the storm, Pliscou was thinking of the animals and people. \u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine anyone getting through losing roofs like that. Where could you go? I was really concerned about people. Animals are really good at hiding and I knew that the animals in the clinic were going to be alright because the house is strong but one can\u2019t help but be concerned for other people,\u201d Pliscou said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the typhoon, we have been taking care of the dogs in the clinic but there has been emergencies so I just tell people to come in the evening and I help them out of my car\u2014my little ambulance\u2014where I can help their dogs with different problems right on the spot,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Saipan Cares for Animals is a non-profit organization making donations and volunteer work welcome. Please call Pliscou at (670) 285-5448 or email epliscou@att.net .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Super Typhoon Yutu\u2019s ferocious winds, clocked at 180 miles and per hour and with gusts…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[42,67,17641,1507],"class_list":["post-287695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news","tag-food","tag-people","tag-saipan-cares","tag-saipan-mayor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287695","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=287695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287695\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}