When a little stray dog named Faline was rescued, she was so shy and weak that the sister who saved her worried she might not make it.
The Keilbach sisters dedicated over two and a half weeks to capturing her, and when they finally succeeded, Faline remained quite shy and cautious around them. Yet, the sisters persisted, and Faline soon realized she was in a safe haven.
While rescuing Faline was an accomplishment in itself, the Keilbach sisters faced a whole new challenge in finding her the ideal home. However, they worked wonders, turning this into a heartwarming success story.
Rescuing Faline
Faline was rescued on the Island of Saipan, the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is not easy to get rescue dogs adopted.
“She was extremely shy, extremely wary of us, but you could tell that she just wanted to be loved,” Grace Keilbach, from Boonie Babies Saipan, told The Dodo.
Faline is one of the many dogs on Saipan island, known as “boonie dogs.”
Boonie dogs are descendants of heroic combat dogs that were brought to the island to work during WW2. After the war ended, those dogs were either lost or left behind.
According to the rescue, Boonie Dogs are a jumbled mix of bloodhounds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Labradors, German Shepherds, and many more.
“Today, the distinct breeds in the genepool are nearly unrecognizable in these dogs as the isolation, crossbreeding, and diversity of the dog population has made Boonie Dogs their own “breed”, American Village Dogs, coming in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors,” says on the rescue’s website.
When the sisters brought Faline home, there was a moment where something just clicked for her, and she instinctively knew that they were there to help her.
“On Saipan, it’s not easy to get dogs adopted, and we were so in love with this dog that we knew she needed the best home possible,” Grace Keilbach said.
Meanwhile, back home in Colorado, their younger sister had a birthday coming up, and it struck them that there wasn’t a better person to adopt little Faline than their own family.
However, transporting Faline to the U.S. mainland was a whole other issue for the sisters.
Traveling To The New Home
It took almost six months for them to find a solution since it is extremely hard to get dogs off this island. Sadly, no one on the island wanted to adopt this sweet girl.
Finally, after months of waiting, there was a spot for Faline on a plane.
“That morning, we literally had tears in our eyes. That was a super exciting moment for us because that is the first time that we were ever able to get a dog off island. We were just so excited and couldn’t believe that it was actually happening,” Aria Keilbach told The Dodo.
When Faline finally arrived in Colorado, she was a bit timid and shy, but she quickly warmed up.
She is now a loving member of the Keilbach family, and everyone simply adores her, especially Ava, Grace, & Aria’s little sister.
“She’s just so sweet. It’s so awesome,” Ava said.
Faline spends her days going for walks, playing, enjoying plenty of treats, and soaking up all the cuddles — she couldn’t be happier.
“Other Boonie dogs are not as lucky as Faline. When we first sent her to the States, we were hoping that she would be the first of MANY, but unfortunately she was the first and last for a while,” the Keilbach sisters wrote.
Thousands of dogs are literally trapped on Saipan, waiting for their chance to find a loving family, and these two sisters are doing everything they can to make that happen.
Please support their cause and everything they fight for. Here’s how you can help Boonie Babies!