STORY: This is Pumpkin.
Like thousands of other stray dogs and cats on the Pacific Island of Saipan, she was on a euthanasia list until Lauren Cabrera, an animal health officer in the local government, decided to rescue her.
Pumpkin is one of the few lucky ones.
There are roughly 42,000 human residents of Saipan, and more than 21,000 stray dogs – an unusually high ratio.
The Mayor’s Dog Control Shelter says it has no choice but to euthanize between twenty to forty dogs and cats every Friday, many of which are healthy.
“I used to get mad about euthanasia when I first moved out here. I was like, ‘Why the heck are the shelters euthanizing so many animals? Can’t they just save them and find them a home or keep them until they find a home?’ And the reality is, no.”
Cabrera, a New Hampshire native, used to be a nurse practitioner, treating humans, before she realized animals needed her even more.
She moved to the U.S. territory in 2012 and founded the Saipan Humane Society in 2023.
With no permanent veterinarian on the island, keeping up with spaying and neutering is a challenge.
And adoption levels are very low.
Close to 40% of residents live under the poverty level, so the cost of pet surgery is out of reach.
“After a euthanasia day, I usually feel pretty depleted. It’s… it’s hard to see so many animals die…”
Adoption off the remote U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean is costly and fraught with logistical issues.
So, Cabrera co-founded the Boonie Flight Project, an all-volunteer transport-based rescue that has sent 681 dogs from Guam and Saipan to adopters on the mainland.
She now posts TikToks of the animals on the organizations account in hopes of garnering attention and funds to allow for more spaying and neutering, as well as flights out of Saipan for those lucky enough to find adopters.
Cabrera is currently applying to veterinary schools on the mainland U.S. If accepted, she plans to travel back and forth. After graduating, she wants to return to Saipan to work as a vet.
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