Bonny the Superdog

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.

The Shelter’s Free Sterilization Program has taken off. Since the campaign began on May 15 there have been more than 60 sterilizations.

The aim of the campaign is to do 500 sterilizations per year.

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

In 2008 the Animal Shelter Bonaire took care of the sterilization of 250 dogs and cats.  This year, 2009, we’re aiming to sterilize 500 more dogs - for free - as the problems on the island involving stray dogs are becoming more and more severe.

Apart from sterilizing the animals we also want the residents of Bonaire to become more consious of the importancy of having their animals neutered, not only to prevent suffering amongst the animals but also for their own peace of mind.

Our sterilization campaign  Bonny the Superdog has been set up by our loyal volunteers; T-shirts and flyers have been designed and printed, all is pre-financed by us and May 15th 2009 we’re officialy starting the campaign.

Of course we  need money for all this, we are ready to work extra hard and make extra hours taking care of the operated animals before they go back to where they came from and… we’re counting on people like you to make this campaign a success and to help us financially to reach our goal and  make the island a better place for all creatures.

And of course we will keep you informed and updates about the campaign and it’s results as we’re moving on…