Bonny the Superdog

The Shelter’s Sterilization Program, “Bonny Superdog,” is still going full speed, but to keep up with the demand they desperately need donations to keep the program going. If you can help – any amount is more than welcome – you may do it in several ways. Cash donations are always appreciated.

Look for the dog house donation boxxes in many shops and businesses or at the Shelter. SupportBonaire provides a way for Americans to donate to their favorite causes and claim charitable deductions on their American income tax. Support Bonaire website now accepts credit card donations for the Shelter. Or you may donate via the bank: Animal Shelter Bonaire, RBTT Bank Antilles, Bonaire Branch, Account # 23.10.139. BIC: RBTTANCU SWIFT: ABNANL2A

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

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

On May 15 the Animal Shelter started a large scale campaign to reduce the amount of stray and street dogs on Bonaire.
This project is called, “Bonny, the Superdog,” and so far more than 300 dogs have been sterilized. Number 300 was the dog from the Wing Cheung Supermarket on Kaya Korona. The dog’s name is Wong – a sturdy Rottweiler look-a-like who had given birth to a fairly large amount of puppies. Wong’s owners felt it was time for Wong to retire and decided to have her sterilized. The operation went well and when Wong got home she was welcomed with a big bowl of chicken legs.
Every dog a Superdog!

So, in the meantime more than 300 dogs have been sterilized, but the goal of “Bonny, the Superdog” sterilization project is to sterilize 500 dogs. This way, the Bonaire Animal Shelter hopes to contribute to changing many dogs’ lives into Superdog lives!

For more information about this free sterilization campaign you can contact the Shelter at: Dierenasiel Bonaire, Kaminda Lagun 26, Bonaire.

On Sunday, October 4th, the Animal Shelter of Bonaire is organizing a big party at the Parke Publiko – the playground of the We Dare to Care Foundation – behind the hospital. There will be a huge book market from 2 to 6 pm and from 4 pm we’re going  to party! Everyone can bring their pet and get a free consultation from a veterinarian.

There will be a live demonstration of dog training by Bon Barking and people can visit the stands of all the organizations involved in animal care on the island.
For children there will be all kinds of games and a drawing contest, and the best drawings will be printed on a T-shirt, and Magic Ed will be there with his bouncer, cotton candy and popcorn!

Every pet owner can participate in a contest. Just bring your favorite pet and a jury will tell you why your pet is the sweetest, the best taken care of and the most beautiful pet in the whole wide world! And if you favorite pet is a horse, a pig or a mouse and you can’t bring it, show the jury a picture.
There are lots of prizes to win: A trip with the Aqua Space for two persons, an hour’s land sailing for two, a kayak tour through the mangroves for two people, lots of T-shirts, a four-hour tour with a STINAPA Ranger, a try out dive for two people at Dive Friends Bonaire, a super large pizza at Pasa Bon Pizza, an animal package and two tickets for the Butterfly Farm. Warehouse Bonaire is giving away a check worth NAƒ. 200- and Cultimara offers one minute of free shopping.

You love animals? You’re invited to the party!

• Where: Parke Publiko, behind the hospital.
• When: Sunday, October 4th.
• Time: Book market from 2 to 6 pm.
• Party from 4 to 6 pm.
• Info: Animal Shelter Bonaire, phone 717-4989 or www.animalshelterbonaire.com or animalshelter@flamingotv.net

On May 15th. the Bonaire Animal Shelter started Bonny the Superdog, a free sterilization campaign for pets. As a result, 200 dogs and 20 cats have been sterilized.

Too many dogs on Bonaire.
Bonaire’s dog population is enormous and growing.  Many dogs roam loose and females often get pregnant at an early age. As a result, new puppies are born daily and many do not have a home. They often become strays–looking for food, becoming sick and aggressive, causing trouble. Because of these problems, about 1000 dogs are put to sleep annually.  We can prevent this senseless suffering.

Already 200 dogs sterilized!
In the last 3 months, the Bonaire Animal Shelter has sterilized 200 dogs and 20 cats. Potentially, each female dog can give birth to 10 puppies a year.  If 200 female dogs are sterilized, there will be 2000 fewer puppies born. 2000 additional dogs would be extremely problematic for a small island like Bonaire. Many of these dogs would end up roaming the streets, and living a terrible life of hunger and disease.

Help needed
Bonny the Superdog is a sterilization campaign financed by the Bonaire Animal Shelter. To date, the shelter has received much support from their employees, volunteers, veterinarians and others who worked hard everyday to make this campaign successful.
But to continue the sterilization campaign, we need money. You can help by making a financial donation! Read the rest of this entry »

Caribe Rent a Car, one of the pet friendliest carrental componanies on Bonaire, let the animal shelter Bonaire use one of their pickup trucks and…. free of charge!

With this car the shelter transports cats and dogs that need to be sterilized by the vet.

Thank you very much Caribe Rent a Car.

On Bonaire lots of dogs are suffering from mange. You can see them roam around the streets. It’s terrible to see these dogs: very bad skin condition, some of them almost have no hair left. Their skin to become sore and inflamed. This is causing them great discomfort. Often their skin is very tender to the touch, extremely itchy, crusty and oozing. Dogs with mange dig and bite at themselves with great ferocity. They get oozing sores and infection may set in.Sarcoptic mange is contagious to canines and humans. If the dogs share sleeping places or if the infected dog sleeps on beds or furniture, everyone will begin scratching.

The animal shelter Bonaire is providing free treatment for badly manged dogs.
The shelter already treated more than 40 dogs!

Since the free sterilization campaign began on May 15th there have been more than 100 sterilizations.  The aim of the campaign is to do 500 sterilizations per year.
All cats and dogs will be sterilized free by the Shelter. The shelter even will pick up the animal and bring it back to the owner after the operation

Look at some pictures of some happy pet owners. All dog and cat owners who make use of  this Free Sterilization Program for their pet, receive a special Bonny the Superdog T-shirt and a sticker.

These puppies were left behind in a Polar beer box on the parking lot of the Animal Shelter.

The dog owner did not sterilize his female dog and disposed of the tiny pups in this inhumane manner.

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