It is no secret that we have a dog issue on the island, with thousands of unwanted animals born because of a local lackadaisical attitude towards spaying/neutering.
However over the last year, we have noticed a proliferation of stray cats, as well. The cat situation is not obvious because they are nocturnal animals and we hardly see them in day light, but my vet tells me that when we finally wake up to deal with cat spaying/neutering, we will be in felines up to our noses.
Last week I attended a small lunch meeting at La Cabana Beach Resort & Casino. Three of the resort executives, Frank Sabago, Environment and Safety Manager, Maureen Kelly, Staff Accountant, and Johnny Kock, Loss Prevention Manager, sat down with Yessy Arends, a Vet Tech at Animal Health Veterinary Hospital Aruba, to agree on a protocol how to handle cats, adopting the resort, and its guests, as its own.
With the blessing of General Manager Joe Najjar, who dropped in for introductions, the resort will now dedicate a set monthly amount to the spaying/neutering of cats and dogs, wandering into its boundaries. The money will be administered by Yessy, and used at all vet clinics, and once the animals are spayed/neutered and vaccinated they will be returned to the resort grounds to live a five-star beach life, as resident pets, and occasional mouse catchers.
During lunch Yessy announced her upcoming #PAM, Please Adopt Me, initiative. Having visited the vet’s office and being issued a clean bill of health, spayed/neutered cats and dogs will also receive a small tag engraved #PAM, which will become the key to their future, indicating they are available for adoption and that Yessy could be located via the hash tag, to take care of export arrangements.
It’s worth noting that while dogs are being rescued by a number of local organizations Yessy’s focus is on cats, and she is the only one, so far, zealously protecting their right to live happily, on One Happy Island.
At the end of the meeting I agreed with Yessy that as soon as her collaboration with La Cabana’s staffers and guests is cemented, we will approach all other resorts, to identify a to-go-to person, and set up a direct line of communication between guests, management and veterinary services.
In La Cabana’s case Frank Sebago who has been the diligent environmental steward at the resort for over two decades is the contact man, we couldn’t have asked for a better person.
