Konawaena loves its pets:
Konawaena loves its pets:
From shelter dogs to rescue kittens and farm animals
From shelter dogs to rescue kittens and farm animals
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Student Juliana Leon rescued a kitten she named Melquiades from the road near Konawaena High School. COURTESY PHOTO
By Leslie Machorro Ruiz
Staff Writer - 2023-24
Published May 1, 2024
Konawaena students and staff say they love their animals for many reasons: from caring for abandoned and special needs dogs to rescuing and adopting a cat in danger, and using farm animals to teach students how to care for other living things.
Ms. Summer Whitmore
Ms. Summer Whitmore, a math teacher at Konawaena, is a hardworking person who puts in 100 to 120 hours a week: apart from being a teacher she also runs a dog sanctuary where she cares for abandoned, disabled, and special needs dogs.
Whitmore said she has always worked with dogs, in different capacities. When she moved to the Big Island a few years ago, she immediately saw the issue with the large number of stray dogs, so she decided to take some in and start a sanctuary.
Before Whitmore moved to the Big Island, she lived in New Hampshire where she ran a bakery called “The Barkery” (as in "ruff ruff!") to help fund hospice care for senior dogs.
One of the first dogs Whitmore fostered on the Big Island is named Bob. Bob came to Whitmore with three broken bones, a very bad lung infection that left half of his lungs compromised, and a bullet in his chest. “His owner had left him chained up to die a long-suffering death,” she said.
Whitmore took Bob to the vet and the change in him inspired her: “he went from being the saddest dog I’ve ever met to the happiest dog I've ever met,” Whitmore said.
“He's like one of my soul dogs. So I think that was kind of my start on this island where I was like ‘I’m gonna do this and I’m going to do it right and give these dogs the life that they deserve.”
Whitmore has been working with Big Island dogs for more than 3 ½ years. Her sanctuary "Dog Days of Summer" in Ocean View has been an official nonprofit for more than a year. She handles most of the dog care, but also has volunteers who help with cleaning and holds weekend open houses for people to meet the dogs.
Whitmore keeps around 20 to 30 dogs in the sanctuary at all times, placing groups of dogs that get along with each other in separate housing. Currently, Whitmore has 24 dogs. Not all of them are up for adoption: the senior and special needs dogs will most likely live their life out in the sanctuary.
Whitmore’s day usually starts at 4 am on school days. She works with the dogs until 5:45 am, then at 6:15 am she catches the bus for work. She returns at around 4:30 to 5:00 pm and starts training, rehabilitation, administering medication and other chores until 9 pm when she finally goes to bed. The next day, she does the same routine.
When asked about how it feels like to work with many dogs every day, Whitmore said “taking care of so many dogs feels like taking care of so many students. ... It’s very exhausting, but very rewarding.
“It’s great to work with a dog for a long time then get them into a house that's good for them. Seeing that transformation and that change in their life makes it all worthwhile for me,” she said.
Something interesting about Whitmore’s sanctuary is that most if not all dogs from her sanctuary are from Ka’u, and she sometimes flies them to the mainland for adoption. As Whitmore said, “The district of Kau’u is very underserved. There's probably two main rescues on the island or three … That takes care of Kona and the coast. But in the Ocean View (area of Ka'u) there's really nothing, and I think we probably have the worst problem with dogs on the island. So I focus only on picking up those dogs, the stray dogs that no one else will pick up.”
Juliana Leon
Juliana "Julie" Leon is a sophomore student at Konawaena. She is an animal lover like Ms. Whitmore who has also cared for abandoned animals. In her freshman year at Konawaena, Leon rescued and adopted an injured kitten on the road right below Konawaena High School.
On Aug.19, 2022, Leon was riding home from school with her family when she noticed a kitten running in the road among a bunch of cars. She stopped grabbed the kitten and brought it into her truck. The kitten was very scared and was bleeding from its nose, so she decided to wrap it in a blanket and try to comfort the frightened feline until they got home.
Leon bathed the kitten and wrapped her in a warm, cozy blanket. She brought the kitty into her room so the young cat would feel safe and comfortable. Her attempt seemed to work as when she returned to her room she found the kitten peacefully sleeping.
At first, Leon’s kitten was very shy and would often hide in the corners of her room. Leon had another cat named Toby and when they were introduced she just sat looking at him. Later, the new cat got the confidence to start sniffing him. Eventually, she even started "making biscuits" kneading her paws into a pillow and being more playful.
After a while, Leon had to decide if she would keep the cat or not: “I love cats and I don’t like seeing them hurt you know,” she said.
It was an easy decision, she recalled. All she had to do was convince her parents. Luckily, they agreed, since they saw how much love and dedication she had towards her cat she named Melquiades.
Melquiades is a cat with lots of personality, Leon said: crazy, noisy, and annoying at times, but also calm and peaceful. Melquiades appears to love her new life as a house cat: she has gotten so used to it that she does not like leaving home.
“I feel that I’m lucky to have her. I’m lucky to have another cat,” Leon said.
Ms. Alcain
Tina Alcain is an agriculture teacher at Konawaena who takes care of a variety of animals, such as chickens, ducks, cats, fish, geese, sheep, and even a mini horse named Star who’s been at Konawaena since the '90s! “We have more animals on the farm than we can count, LOL,” she said, in an email exchange. Alcain said she uses these farm animals to teach her students responsibility, animal husbandry, and proper care for other living beings.
Alcain has been working at Konawaena since 2015 after she took over from Mr. Kawamoto as an agriculture teacher. Alcain decided she wanted chickens on the farm, so coops were built. The farm is like a sanctuary since they take in animals that were dropped off. This is how some of the other farm animals found their way into the farm.
The number of animals that get dropped off can sometimes be overwhelming for Alcain but, “I don't want to just kill the animals that get dumped here, so we end up taking care of them and raising them, even if it is for food,” she said.
Many, if not all, of the school chickens were either bought and raised or hatched at Konawaena. One of the purposes of the chickens at the farm is their eggs, which are sold to teachers or used in culinary class lessons. The chickens are among Alcain's favorite animals on the farm. “I have some favorite chickens that we have lost over the years, and the cats are always easy to snuggle. I wanted Floofy the goose to be my buddy but he doesn't like people anymore,” Alcain said.
To take care of the animals on the farm, Alcain uses the help of her students. When there are no students, Alcain comes on the weekends to make sure the animals stay alive. To feed the animals, Alcain fundraises but also uses Konawaena funds, fruits and vegetables obtained from the food basket, and leafy greens from the farm.
Alcain said it can be a bit hard to find a balance between how many animals they can take care of with the amount of available resources. That’s why she got rid of most chickens by giving them away to a friend with a bigger coop. “I want to make sure my animals are well taken care of if I decide to rehome them,” she said.
Although it seems like Alcain does a lot to help care for the animals, Alcain feels like the animals also do a lot to help care for her. “The animals are a large responsibility, but they are fun to take care of and watch them interact with each other. I think doing chores on the farm is very therapeutic and helps to relieve stress from our everyday lives. The animals help me be happy all the time and not let things bother me,” she said.
Although animals can be fun to be around and bring joy, Alcain stresses the importance of having the time to make sure they are well taken care of, and getting your animals fixed, since both are serious issues on the island.
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