KAILUA-KONA — Debbie Cravatta, president and founder of the nonprofit Kohala Animal Relocation and Education Service, was working with the veterinarian of the Molokai Humane Society, and the only veterinarian on that island, to sterilize a total of 30 animals Wednesday in Ocean View when conversation turned to a separate ongoing effort to rescue dozens of dogs from another property in the area and how her group could help.
“He said ‘Let’s do it,’” Cravatta said on Friday. “‘Let’s fix them all in one day.’”
The rescue effort Cravatta was referring to is currently ongoing at an Ocean View property where the Hawaii Island Humane Society is working to rescue dozens of dogs and place them in foster homes while more permanent homes are found.
The Humane Society said every dog would be examined by a veterinarian, vaccinated, microchipped and spayed or neutered.
On Friday, Cravatta said KARES is offering to sterilize any dogs that still need to be spayed or neutered “totally, completely at no cost to the Humane Society.”
“We’ll pay for everything and we’ll facilitate everything,” she said.
The Humane Society, when asked Friday whether they had any interest or plans to work with KARES, said they have the “on-staff capacity to spay and neuter this large collection of dogs.”
In the past seven years, Cravatta said, KARES has sterilized almost 4,500 animals. That’s despite the fact that KARES has no central facility. The group is located pretty much wherever it needs to be.
“We have no facility,” she said. “We’re foster-based.”
Instead of having one central facility, Cravatta said the organization focuses on leveraging its network of volunteers and partnerships with other businesses and groups on-island, nationally and internationally to home dogs, cats and other animals, as well as spay and neuter them.
One such effort, for example, includes their regular pet adoption events at Petco, where families are encouraged to take home a dog on a Saturday even if to bring it back the next day.
“There’s no pressure on keeping it,” she said. “Just keep it safe until we can find a forever home.”
Doing that, she said, allows them to save the animals and keep their commitment to being a no-kill group. That philosophy is a cornerstone of KARES, Cravatta said.
“We’re so hard-core no-kill,” she said. “We are the epitome of no-kill.”
The nonprofit also offers free spay and neutering services and, because they’re mobile, has the ability to travel to meet animal owners where they are.
Cravatta said that’s a big help for pet owners in Ocean View who would otherwise have a 50-mile drive one-way to get to Kailua-Kona. And it’s not uncommon that spaying and neutering pets isn’t always available to those with fewer resources.
“What we do is 100-percent free to people,” she said.
And while animals are under their care, she said, the organization is also able to perform general wellness checks.
Cravatta said they haven’t reached out directly to the Humane Society or the owner of the dogs in this case, but said they’d be willing to help and get the spay-and-neuter effort done quickly.
“We will sterilize all of the animals in a day,” she said.
Cravatta explained that they could set up a clinic at an Ocean View church where the Molokai Humane Society’s veterinarian, Eric Jayne, could attend to the dogs.
Sterilizing all of the animals in one day, she said, has the advantage of ensuring that none of the dogs can become pregnant as rescue efforts move forward.
And again, she said, it would be at no cost.
“This isn’t about money to (the veterinarian),” she said. “This is about saving the animals’ lives and stopping production.”
After the spaying and neutering takes place, Cravatta said, they could return the animals to the property to let rescue efforts move forward.
“All we want to do is get them medically ready for adoption,” she said.
They also offered to make round-the-clock medical care available for the dogs for the evening after they are spayed or neutered.
Alfred Cababag, the owner of the dogs, said on Friday he’d be open to working with the group but would defer decision-making to the Hawaii Island Humane Society, with which he’s been coordinating to manage the rescue effort. He added that he’d also be willing to work with KARES to spay and neuter any dogs he ends up keeping after rescue efforts finish.
Cababag said there are still about 40 dogs at the property, down from about 60 last week.
Humane Society executive director Donna Whitaker said they have the capacity to spay and neuter all of the dogs, explaining that they are bringing in the dogs in manageable groups before sterilizing them and putting them up for adoption or with a foster home.
“We have elected to work this out with small groups of dogs as minimizing disruption is in their best interest and that of the dog owner,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker also said the organization continues to drop off food and water for the remaining dogs and their owner when they pick up a group of dogs. She also noted that they will continue to need foster families over the coming weeks.