Back to Saipan: Lauren's Vet School Quest

Hi, my name is Dr. Shannon VanDyke, I'm a general practice and emergency vet in Austin, TX. I'm SO excited to share the story of Lauren Cabrera, a fellow toddler and pet mom, and now vet student, committed to bringing veterinary medicine to the island of Saipan. Please consider helping her!

Saipan is arguably the most remote veterinary desert in the United States. Part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, this island is located about 3 hours from Japan and the Philippines - and a whopping 24 hours (or more) by plane to the mainland U.S.! Saipan became part of the U.S. during WWII, and dogs were introduced largely by U.S. military. With no infrastructure to manage these dogs, the populations grew.. and grew..

Today on Saipan there are about 45,000 people and 21,000 dogs.

Saipan had a private veterinarian for some years, but he retired in 2016. Since then, there has been no consistent veterinary care on the island. Lauren Cabrera, originally from New Hampshire, moved to Saipan on a whim in 2012 to work in human healthcare as a nurse. She moved back to the mainland, but found herself drawn to the islands and found herself back in that part of the world - first Guam, then full circle back to Saipan again.

While on maternity leave, Lauren started fostering dogs and realized - there is nobody here who wants these dogs. What to do? The options were to keep the dogs forever, offload them at the shelter for euthanasia, or… think outside the box. She started Boonie Flight Project and has since helped transport +700 island dogs to homes and rescues across the mainland U.S.

From there, everything snowballed. Lauren started Saipan Humane Society, a non-profit intended to provide spay/neuter services and support the municipal shelter. However, things quickly changed - and there was a line out the door for everything ranging from preventive care to horrific injuries, sick pets, and more. Partnerships were formed and veterinarians brought out to assist, or help from afar virtually. In 2024 alone, Saipan Humane saw over 6,000 pets!

Now, Lauren is leaving her clinic - and family - behind to pursue veterinary school. She is receiving in-state tuition through WICHE, which requires her to return to work on the island for 8 years after graduation. But, Lauren plans to stay far longer than that given her deep family roots and love of the island.

The challenge? Veterinary school is EXPENSIVE.

Saipan cannot afford a veterinarian - so Lauren will be saddled with debt and struggle to repay it.

Want to help? Consider making a donation to Lauren’s veterinary school. All donations will go directly towards the cost of tuition & living expenses at Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/back-to-saipan-laurens-vet-school-quest?lang=en_US&utm_campaign=man_ss_icons&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&attribution_id=sl%3A357a8ff7-e180-48a0-b8a1-b39a830b3aee