Pet of the Week: Alexia, aka “Little Mother”

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Marlies in Pet of the Week | 1 Comment

Alexia aka 'Little Mama'

“Alexia,” this alert looking black and tan beauty, is known at the Bonaire Animal Shelter as “Little Mother.” She was brought into the Shelter with four totally different looking puppies, father(s) unknown. Alexia, a very mellow and relaxed dog, was considered to be the perfect mom to these pups.

All the puppies have been adopted and Alexia has been sterilized so can now live her own life. She’s very intelligent and serene at the same time. What a nice kind of dog to have around. When it’s necessary she barks, so she would be a good guard dog, protecting those she loves. Alexia is about one and a half years old.

You may see her at the Shelter on the Lagoen Road, open Monday through Saturday, 9 am to 1 pm and 3 to 5 pm. Tel. 717-4989.

Stroy and Photo by Laura DeSalvo, Bonaire Reporter- Dec. 31, 2010-Jan. 14, 2011

Queenie and her kittens

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Marlies in Pet of the Week | Comments Off

Just a few days ago this mother cat, “Queenie”, was brought into the Bonaire Animal Shelter. She had been found by a Good Samaritan with her two new born kittens: one black and one striped like its mom. Then, a few days later someone found another newborn kitten, a black and white one, and brought it into the Shelter to hopefully save its life.
Usually a kitten as young as this with no mother is sure to die, but when the new kitten was brought to Queenie, she immediately adopted it as her own and began feeding and cleaning it. That’s why she’s named Queenie – she’s a queen among cats. What a fine character this cat has! After her motherly duties are finished Queenie will be sterilized and put up for adoption so she will have an opportunity for a happy life. You may see her and her kittens at the Shelter.

Bonaire Reporter- July 16-30, 2010, Story & photo by Laura DeSalvo

500 Animals Sterilized Free!

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Marlies in News | 1 Comment

Mrs. Silda Beaumont from Amboina and her dog Kisha

The 500th sterilization of dogs and cats on Bonaire is a fact! In May 2009 the Bonaire Animal Shelter started a big project called “Bonny Superdog.” The goal was to sterilize 500 dogs and cats for free. The owner doesn’t have to pay. In this way, the Shelter wanted to contribute towards solving the overpopulation of dogs and cats problem on the island. Too many animals cause a variety of problems for people and the animals: the animals roam around, they are not fed, they get sick or hurt and they become aggressive. Consequently, too many animals have to be euthanized every year… a sad and unacceptable fact.

Number 500 – Kisha from Amboina
Number 500 was Kisha, a dog owned by Mrs. Silda Beaumont from Amboina. Kisha is a female dog of about two years old and she’s had some very beautiful puppies. “I don’t want her to have anymore puppies and that’s why I had her sterilized,” Mrs. Beaumont says. “I made the appointment with the veterinarian myself and then I called the people from the Shelter who came to pick her up, and after the operation they brought her back. She’s doing great. I love animals; to me an animal is just like a person, a child. The love I feel for a child, I feel for an animal too. 

Bonny the Superdog

Since 2002
In 2002 the Animal Shelter set up a fund for free sterilization. Ever since then, pet owners can have their dog or cat sterilized for free. The Shelter pays the bill. In 2004 the Shelter organized a special campaign during which foreign veterinarians sterilized Bonaire’s cats and dogs for free. In two weeks’ time about 250 animals were neutered and spayed. After those two weeks the campaign went on and the local vets took care of the sterilization.

Bonny the Superdog
However, the Animal Shelter felt things weren’t moving fast enough. The island was still overloaded with stray dogs and cats and an excessive amount of animals were being brought into the Shelter. An extra boost was needed. And so, the project of Bonny Superdog was born. The Shelter sought a lot of publicity to make pet owners aware of the Bonny Superdog campaign. All over the island posters were hung by volunteers and, thanks to WEB NV, flyers were delivered to each and every house on Bonaire. Also radio and TV commercials were broadcast and the Shelter put ads in the local papers and people could inform themselves through the website of the Shelter – www.animalshelterbonaire.com.

The Campaign Continues
So far, the campaign has been very successful. Pet owners can still have their dogs and cats sterilized for free. And… every pet owner gets a T-shirt and a bumper sticker as well. Call for more information: the veterinarians at 717-4255 or 717-3338 or the Shelter at 717-4989

Pioneer vet back

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Marlies in News | Comments Off

Six years after Canadian veterinarian Dr. Cheryl Yuill participated in the Bonaire Animal Shelter’s first free sterilization program in 2004, she returned to Bonaire.
Accompanied by Canadian veterinarian Dr. Mary Lovie who owns a house on Bonaire and who started the whole campaign up at the time, she visited the Shelter. “I’m glad to see so much has changed,”

Left to right: Dr. Mary Lovie, Dr. Cheryl Yuill, Shelter employee Kenneth Piar and Shelter manager Marlies Tiepel

Dr. Yuill says. “There are far fewer stray dogs on the street and the public awareness has become so much better. Several people have come up to me when they heard I was part of the first sterilization program to tell me very proudly that their dog was sterilized! I am also very impressed with the little house the Shelter has built outside their gate for people to put their unwanted animals or animals they’ve found. It’s nicer than the one we have at the shelter I work with in Canada. There we get about 2,500 cats and 1,000 dogs a year that people cannot take care of anymore. Many of those animals are adopted out, but it’s not a no-kill shelter; we also euthanize animals.

In Canada I own and work at the Blue Cross Animal Hospital, in Kitchener, Ontario, and it was my colleague, Dr. Mary Lovie, who took the initiative for the sterilization campaign in 2004.

“I came to Bonaire in 2000 to dive,” Dr. Mary Lovie says, “and in my spare time I looked up the Animal Shelter and I had a conversation with Jurrie, who was the manager in those days, about all the strays downtown and was anything done about them. I offered my services to Jurrie and he took me to Hans and Etty Lambeek, the  veterinarian couple who were then running the animal clinic at Kaminda Lagun. They were very interested when they heard I’d organized similar sterilization projects in other  parts of the world. So, we had several meetings in the following years and in 2004 we hit it off: the two Dutch vets, three American vets and Cheryl and me from Canada. We all brought our own instruments and all the other supplies, and Hans and Etty brought the drugs. From October 14th till October 31st we sterilized 302 animals and it continued after we left.

In conclusion: We’re very happy to see the island has picked up on our program, and it’s heartwarming to see the benefits. We’re highly impressed with the new sterilization campaign the Animal Shelter started last year in May. They’ve sterilized almost 500 animals. It’s been very good progress.  Amazing!”

Greta Kooistra, Bonaire Reporter, March 19- April 9, 2010

Gezaghebber Thodé will kick off the Bonny the Superdog project of the Animal Shelter Bonaire

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Marlies in News | Comments Off

Gezaghebber Glenn Thodé will kick off the Bonny the Superdog project Friday May 15th at the Animal Shelter Bonaire. Thodé will be joined by the shelter staff, volunteers and the press.

Bonny the Superdog is a new initiative of the Animal Shelter Bonaire targeted at reducing the growing number of unwanted and neglected dogs on Bonaire, through a sterilization project. The projects goal is to sterilize 500 more dogs and cats within a one year period, starting May 15th 2009.