AT 61 years old, I’m in love again. It’s alright, though. You can tell my wife, Lynette. Actually, she already knows all about it ... and she’s even more smitten than I am (if such a thing is possible).

The object of our affection?
Cade – the wonderful little boonie dog (well ... not so little anymore) who joined our family a few months ago.

And what’s not to love? The gentle eyes? The playful grin? The way he greets you at the door every time you come home as if it was the greatest thing that ever happened in the history of the world? Or how about the way he’s made himself so at home in the midst of our four rescue cats and willful beagle we brought with us from Japan?

Part shepherd and part who knows what, Cade is a very handsome boy now; but when Lynette first saw him back in February, he was a scruffy little thing with a skin rash and (we soon learned) a bad case of worms. He, along with six of his brothers and sisters, had been suddenly left at a free animal care clinic in our neighborhood after they had been living in the jungle next to their mother’s house.

Always ready to help an animal in need, Lynette offered to foster one of the pups until a “forever home” could be found.

“Yeah, right,” I thought. And sure enough, within a day or two, both of us were hopelessly in love with the little guy.

And now, looking at him gently playing with our oldest cat, Zeke, or seeing the pure joy in his eyes when he gets out of the car at the beach, we’re so glad he joined our family.

But we’re also heartbroken when we think about all the other equally wonderful dogs who aren’t so lucky.

Along with many other boonie pups, two of Cade’s littermates died from parvo, a deadly disease that is epidemic on Guam, but is largely preventable with proper vaccinations and care from an early age.

Cade gets to sleep in our (thankfully large) bed with the rest of the brood, but so many others have to stay out in the heat and rain 24/7 in a tiny cage. He can run around our house and play and gets two nice walks a day, but so many others are kept on short chains, day and night.

Cade has lots of good food and toys, but so many others have nothing.
Cade will have a good life.
But so many others will die ... or be killed.
Does it have to be this way?
No.

Around the world, the “no-kill” animal population control movement is becoming the norm, with more and more examples of how this is not only possible in communities of every sort, but actually more effective (to say nothing of humane) when the proven methodology is followed.

Many animal lovers on Guam hope we will become a no-kill island someday.

But why not now?

The evidence is there that this is possible – if we have the will ... and the willingness to use creative thinking. Some of the key elements are high-volume, low-cost spaying and neutering, comprehensive adoption sponsoring and fostering programs, community education and support, keeping pets with their owners in economic hard times

There isn’t space in today’s column to go into all the details of how this works, but I strongly encourage anyone who is concerned about this issue to visit the websites of the Best Friends Animal Society, and the No Kill Advocacy Center.

Spend a little time there looking at what has been accomplished, and you might become a believer too.