PAWS WARS

About 40 dogs and 100 humans took part in yesterday's Beautify CNMI/Paws sponsored third annual Best of the Worst Boonie Dog Show, PAWS WARS Episode 3: Revenge of the Boonie.

We had a late start due to an equipment malfunction, but once we got started it was smooth sailing.

We started off by awarding the annual Beautify CNMI Champion and Beautify CNMI Steward awards. Laurie Peterka, Ken Kramer and Tan Holdings were recognized as Champions (our annual advocate award) and the Friends of the Monument were recognized as Stewards (our annual volunteer award).

With that done, I stepped off the stage and let veteran dog show host George Hasselback take over. We had six categories this year: fattest, most misbehaved, most talented, booniest, best star wars costume, and best in show.

At the beginning of each category, all of the competitors were paraded in front of the judges and then brought out one by one for judging. Dogs were scored on a 1-5 scale, with 15 being the highest possible score.

After all the competitors had been judged and scored, the winners for the round were announced and prizes given out. Before starting the next round we gave away a few raffle prizes.

I think the Star Wars category was the most popular. Brad Ruszala, as usual, kicked it up a notch and used his personal Princess Leia costume to dress his dog, Meatball. It was good enough for first place, with Snow White's rendition of Princess Leia actually tying her, but losing to Meatball in the tie-breaker.

This year we had help from some of the fighters from Trench Tech thanks to the involvement of Jason Tarkong and Cuki Alvarez. They upped the cool quotient of the hippie, tree hugger dog show at least 15 percentage points.

We also had tremendous support from the community. I put out a call for $20 donations to pay for prizes and over a dozen people donated, including Jerry Tan, Lydia Tan, Marianne Teregeyo, Marianne and Richard Pierce, Kathy Yuknavage, Susan Macario, Kyle Calabrese, Mike Tripp, Aya Matsumoto, Tyler Yoshimoto, Catie Hiney, Ed Manibusan, Joey San Nicholas, and Lina Dimaano. Pacific Trading, Seafix, Hyatt Regency Saipan, Fiesta Resort & Spa, Palms Resort, Moby Dick Restaurant, Expressions, Mike Tripp Productions, Price Costco, and Pacific Islands Club Saipan also donated support and prizes. Representative Ed Salas donated tents. I donated tables and chairs.

The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands also used the dog show as an opportunity to donate $2000. The money will be used to help find stray animals permanent homes.

When it comes down to it, the Boonie Dog Show is a perfect example of how the Beautify CNMI spirit works. People pitch in what they can and we come together to do great things.

PAWS WARS a Success

PAWS WARS Episode 3: Revenge of the Boonie was an overwhelming success. We had three animals up for adoption and they were adopted. Dogs won prizes. Spectators were entertained. A good time was had by all.

Barbie wins dog show
MONDAY, 15 JUNE 2009 00:00 BY RAQUEL BAGNOL - VARIETY NEWS STAFF

A FIVE-YEAR old Pomeranian named Barbie is this year’s winner of the Best of the Worst Dog Show at the CPA airport grounds on Saturday.

Barbie’s owner, MC Torregoza, said she also entered her dog in last year’s event.

Second place went to two-month-old Pepa, a Maltese Poodle owned by Alverick Alvarez.

Named the third place winner was Kui, owned by Ken Baer.

The three judges — Brad Ruszala, Cinta Kaipat and PO2 Jason Tarkong chose the winners in each of the six different categories.

This year’s contest drew 26 dog contestants.

PAWS president Kathleen Busenkell said the contest was a success, and they will be organizing another dog show next year.

“We would like to thank our sponsors and supporters who had been helping us come up with this show, but the main thing is we would like to emphasize the importance of taking care of our dogs and other pets,” Busenkell said.

She said they may have to hold the show a little earlier next year as most of the dog owners are off-island.

“We have few repeaters this year, but we have several newcomers, too,” she said.

Some of the dogs in the show were up for adoption, stray dogs that PAWS found and is taking care of.

At the end of the show, two of the dogs found new owners.

The other winners in the dog show:

Fattest

First place: Lucky — Amanda Lorenz

Second place: Missy — Bruce McMillan

Third place: Pepper — Wendy Lorenz

Booniest

First place: Yoda — Andres Buitrago

Second place: Rossi — Kathleen Herman

Third place: Jake — Adam Hardwicke

Most Disobedient

First place: Chloe — Jillian Ferrer

Second place: Jake — Adam Hardwicke

Third place: Charlotte — John Blanco

Most Talented

First place: Dima — Scott Hayden

Second place: Meatball — Kathy Pagapular

Third place: Dirk — Liza Eller

Star Wars Award

First place: Meatball — Brad Ruszala

Second place: Snowhite — Edz Blanco

Third place: Yodu — Andres Buitrago

Sponsors for the show were Seafix, Hyatt Regency Saipan, HANMI, Pacific Trading, Price Costco, Palms Resort Saipan, Fiesta Resort Hotel &Spa, Pacific Islands Club, the Kikbak Band, Gus Kaipat, Trench Tech and Expressions.

Q & A Session With DOI Secretary Dirk Kempthorne

I'm cross-posting this with my personal blog (www.cnmiblog.com)since I believe that it's applicable for both. Beautify CNMI! leaders and other volunteer partners pose with Deputy Secretary David Cohen. (L-R: Gus Kaipat, Marites Castillo, Katie Busenkell, Rep. Cinta Kaipat, David Cohen, Walt Goodridge, and Joe Ayuyu, President of McDonalds Saipan.)
Rep. Cinta Kaipat presents a Beautify CNMI! t-shirt to Department of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne with Deputy Secretary David Cohen looking on.
I joked that Mr. Cohen owes me 10 cleanups for the t-shirt I'm presenting to his boss and his boss said "Make that 20!"
Back Row, L-R: Katie Busenkell, Gus Kaipat, David Cohen, Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, Walt Goodridge. Front Row, L-R: Marites Castillo, Rep. Cinta Kaipat, Joe Ayuyu, and Matt Guerrero, Youth Congress Speaker of the House.
Forefront: Mt. Carmel School students who were there with their Principal, Galvin Guerrero (who will graduate this Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Catherdral--so you all should come to that!) and new NMC Pesident Carmen Fernandez.
Among those in the background are Philippine Consul General Wilfredo Maximo, Dr. Jim Quick of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Public Auditor Mike Sablan, Secretary Kempthorne, Assistant Navy Secretary B.J. Penn, and NMC President Carmen Fernandez.
FMI President Tess Castillo and Rep. Cinta Kaipat


One of my visitors left me this message on yesterday's post, and I promised this response.

Concerned said...
so what issues did you raise at this very important gathering? i would love to hear the details on the questions that you posed and the responses that were given. having him available for direct questioning doesn't occur often.

Rep. Cinta Kaipat says:

Thanks for your question. After he went around the room meeting people, Secretary Kempthorne then addressed the room. He mentioned that although this was his first visit to Saipan, that his father fought on Saipan and Tinian during WWII. After his brief speech, he opened the floor for questioning.

I was the first to take him up on his invitation and, after welcoming him and his entourage, I launched into my Q&A and raised the following issues:

Rep. Cinta Kaipat

1) Our islands are comprised of active volcanoes that are still errupting. Our air space is busy with air traffic. The safety of air passengers, incuding our people and visitors, are very much at stake. [I say this because an ash plume can be mistaken for a cloud and if the ash gets in the airplane engines, it can be disasterous! It once caused an airliner to drop out of the skies before the pilots were able to recover it and prevent a major disaster.

2) With the military coming to Guam, this airspace is going to get even more crowded. The military will also have an interest in ensuring that the military jets are flown in safe skies.

3) We have volcano monitors sitting in a warehouse in the States awaiting shipment to the CNMI for installation. Having those monitoring equipment is critical to the safety of the skies over the CNMI and neighboring regions, and will aid in the resettlement of the Northern Islands.

4) The Troops to Teachers Program, which helps our returning military veterans earn a wage ($9 plus)while they are earning a Bachelor's Degree in Education and getting practical training as teacher's aides, is a unique program. The folks at the Pentagon are looking at this as a test pilot program that they hope to successfully replicate in other states.

5) I introduced the Joint Resolution urging the Governor to invite the U.S. Military to consider the CNMI in its plans to relocate to Guam. I said we hope this would help provide our citizens with jobs and help boost our economy.

6) And while we welcome the military and invite them to consider the CNMI as a place for some rest and relaxation, I am also concerned about the safety of our people. We're aware of the reported problems that have come out of Okinawa and Japan, and we want to highlight the fact that we share those similar concerns about protecting our citizens.

I laid all this out, one issue after another, without giving him time to answer. He was very gracious and listened patiently before he offered the following responses:

Secretary Kempthorne

1) On the volcano monitoring equipment, he pointed out that Dr. Jim Quick of the USGS, which is under the Department of Interior, was in the room and that he is working on this issue.

Dr. Jim Quick

Dr. Jim Quick was invited to briefly address the crowd. What he pointed out was that there was a funding request to set up a volcano observatory on Saipan. Actually, I know about this because I introduced the Joint Resolution urging Senators Stephens and Akaka to support the funding request that was attached to the Katrina and Iraq budget. Well, the budget wasn't passed and we became victims of a continuing resolution that does not have this funding request for our volcano observatory and monitors for all the Northern Islands.

Secretary Kemphorne's response was, "Well, the continuing resolution is over" and, much to MY delight, he turned to Depty Secretary David Cohen and instructed him to work on getting the monitors here and installed. WOW! THANK YOU! At least we know it'll happen.

2) On the issue of the military presence in the CNMI and some intended and unintended consequences, he agreed that the issues are important and pointed out that Assistant Navy Secretary B.J. Penn was there to address those concerns. Secretary Penn assured us that this is a matter that they take seriously also. GOOD!

At the end of this, Secretary Kempthorne walked over and put a green Hawaiian Lei around my neck (one of the leis he was given at the Southern High School Graduation he attended earlier in which he was the keynote speaker) and told me I deserved it. It got a laugh.

Katie Busenkell

The next speaker was Katie Busenkell, who chairs Beautify CNMI!'s Animal Welfare Committee. Katie brought up the problem we're having with getting an Anti-Cruelty Legislation passed (it's currently stuck in the Senate). We have a lot of strays who tip over garbage cans which create an eyesore and more work for Beautify CNMI! volunteers. Of course, aside from the aesthetics part, there's also the health hazards that dead carcases and stray animals in general pose. We need a spaying and neutering clinic (which we're working on to bring off island vets who will volunteer to do a mass spaying and neutering clinic in January). We have many challenges, including not having a kennel and $$$!

Secretary Kemphorne

He said the issue is close to his heart and he relayed the story of his own beloved family dog whom he rescued from a pound and kept for many years. He named him Truman, because it was Harry Truman who said "In politics, if you want a bestfriend, get a dog." He said that when he was Governor of Idaho, one local town was going to have a grand opening to open this kennel. Much to his chagrin, an invitiation came not for him, the Governor, to attend but for Truman, the first dog, to attend the grand opening. That story was cute and played well with the audience.

Secretary Kempthorne then gave Katie some suggestions as to who to network with back in the U.S. on the stray animal issue and offered to write a letter of supporting affirming that the CNMI is very much a part of the U.S. for those who don't think we are and may withhold certain services. Once again, David Cohen's workload expanded as he was asked to prepare the letter. Following her inquiry, Secretary Kempthorne went over and put one of his Hawaiian leis on Katie's neck.

Walt Goodridge

Walt is the Guru who helped get Beautify CNMI!'s We Love Saipan network of bloggers launched with Angelo. Walt asked a simple question, which I will paraphrase: "How do we obtain the letter?" At this point, David Cohen went over to him and handed him a business card.

Dr. Norma Ada

Dr. Norma Ada posed the next question, which is heavily summarized here. Dr. Ada said that since the military is moving here, would there be opportunities for the military to either help treat patients in the CNMI and throughout Micronesia and help transport them as needed.

Secretary Kempthorne & Secretary Penn's Responses

In a nutshell, their responses appeared to be positive. They were glad that this issue was brought up and they promised to take it under advisement. Secretary Penn then went over and put his Hawaiian lei around Dr. Ada's neck.

And that, my friends, about sums it all up!

By the way, here's a Saipan Tribune Article concerning the reception. Click here.

Animal Welfare Committee at Flame Tree Arts Festival

Below are pictures of Beautify CNMI!'s Animal Welfare Committee (BC's AWC) at the recently concluded Flame Tree Arts Festival. I know, I know. I'm behind in my posts, but, as they say, better late than never!

Reaching out to the kids

Last week I helped PAWS and the Animal Welfare Committee by giving two presentations on pet care to elementary school kids.

The kids in this picture are from Mr. David Steinberg's 4th grade class at Saipan International School. We showed the kids a short video on dogs and then we had them to a couple of worksheets.

It was pretty basic stuff, like don't pull a dog's tail and don't bother a dog that is eating or tied up. The kids seemed to enjoy it.

I saw some of the kids from the classrooms at the Pet Show on Saturday. We'll change this island one kid at a time if we have too!

Animal Welfare Committee Meeting

Beautify CNMI!'s Animal Welfare Committee met on April 12, 2007, to discuss Saipan's on-going challenges in dealing with our stray animals, as well as finding an effective way to dispose of dead animals. The Committee also discussed an upcoming Pet Show "in which we get to make fun of ourselves and the animals that we love", in the words of Katie Busenkell, BC's Animal Welfare Committee Chair. That, my friends, is going to be a good one. For more information, please contact Katie at busenkell@gmail.com or 256-0243.

Seated, l-r: Moon Smith, Rep. Cinta Kaipat, Katie Busenkell; Standing, l-r: Ron Smith, Angelo Villagomez, Gus Kaipat.

Let's all work together to encourage responsible pet ownership throughout the CNMI!

Healthy!Unhealthy!

Beautify CNMI!'s Animal Welfare Committee Meeting

Beautify CNMI!'s Animal Welfare Committee met at the Cafe at the Park last March 28, 2007. Katie Busenkell, chair of the Committee, will be posting the minutes later. Anyone is welcomed to join this Committee. Let's work together to promote responsible pet ownership and eradicate our islands of stray animals that are affecting the quality of life of our people of the CNMI! Come on, CNMI! We can do it!!!

Animal Welfare Committee Kick-Off Meeting

Hello, Friends!

I'd like to introduce you all to Katie Busenkell, the chair of the Animal Welfare Committee -- Beautify CNMI!'s newest committee, which held its first meeting last Thursday, February 22. Katie will be posting notes from the meeting later on. Folks, we've got a good group of friends who are part of this Animal Welfare Committee. Anyone else who wants to join this Committee is welcome!Meanwhile, here are some pictures. By the way, although he does not appear in any of these photos, Dr. Ike Dela Cruz was also at the meeting and his participation was much, much appreciated! Thanks for being a member of this Committee, Doc!


Awww....!

Save the Puppies

Beautify CNMI has been trying to come up with a plan to solve the dead dog and stray dog problem on Saipan since our inception. This turned out to be a larger task than we expected, so we decided that it would be in our best interests to create a committee dedicated to this issue.

It is our hope that after solving the dead dog and stray dog issue that this committee will turn its attention to invasive species, biodiversity, and other issues related to animals.

The creation of the Animal Welfare committee was announced in today's Saipan Tribune:

Saipan Tribune, Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Beautify CNMI! adds animal welfare panel
By Marconi Calindas
Reporter

Beautify CNMI! is adding a new facet to its environmental advocacy, this time by championing the responsible ownership of pets.

Rep. Cinta Kaipat, who is an officer of the group, told Saipan Tribune yesterday that they have created a new committee that would focus solely on animal welfare, with the tentative name of Animal Welfare Committee.

Despite disagreements among some members over the concept of incorporating animal welfare within the group, Kaipat said the majority accepted the idea of adding the committee.

The new panel joins the Restoration Committee, Recycling Committee, Public Information Committee, and Junk Cars Committee, among many others.

Kaipat said she is glad to have the expertise and voluntarism of PAWS officer Katie Busenkell to lead the newly formed committee. Under Busenkell's leadership, the committee will meet to outline its direction within the Beautify CNMI! concept.

“What I'd like to see is that the committee would work on responsible pet ownership and encourage the community to deal with animals more responsibly,” she said, expressing hope that roadkill on the islands' streets would be minimized.

Kaipat said the campaign group would be working closely with the Saipan Mayor's Office on this matter.

She said she has also spoken with the Tinian Mayor's Office, which already implemented its stray dog policies in November 2006. She discussed with Dr. Thomas Arkle Jr. a possible collaboration with the group due to the successful implementation of the program on Tinian.

Tinian's dog control regulations took effect after being published in the Commonwealth register in October 2006 and posting of the required public notices. A colorful tri-fold brochure is available at many island locations describing the basic features of the program.

The program is now being implemented in stages, according to the Tinian Mayor’s Office, with the first stage involving the licensing of privately owned dogs. All residents were required to register their dogs and purchase the required license tags at the Tinian Mayor’s Office.