EXETER, N.H. — During their annual vacations to the French side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, Jacqueline Stahle and her husband noticed a four-legged problem.

“We were horrified by how many dogs there were wandering the streets,” said Stahle, an Exeter resident. “They were sick; they had a version of dog AIDS. We would go down there year after year and be sad. You’re there to have a great time and there are these dogs that are emaciated and sick. We wanted to do something.”

From their love of both dogs and Saint Martin grew Friends of Island Dog, an organization established to bring homeless dogs from the island to the United States and place them in loving homes. Working directly with the I Love My Island Dog Shelter on the island, Stahle started a website in 2015 to solicit funds to send to the shelter. Now, she oversees the travel routes of dogs to the United States and matches them with owners.

“(Saint Martin’s) version of a shelter is much different than ours,” Stahle said. “It’s a fenced-in yard with a big grassy area. They have running water but no electricity. That was it. We’re used to coming to the SPCA here where the dogs have their own stalls, air conditioning and playrooms. We decided that was where we wanted to focus our energy.”

Stahle said many island residents don’t spay and neuter their dogs, so the four-legged population on the island is constantly increasing. Many of them are roamers.

Since May 2015, Stahle has placed 15 dogs in local homes. She and her husband have three island dogs themselves: Poco, Pop and Zeb.

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“When I’m down there, all of the dogs are special,” she said. “It’s really hard to pick which one is the best one.”

The dogs fly to the United States in the plane’s cabin, not as cargo. The dog and its carrier have to weigh 20 pounds or less, so the dog must be a puppy or on the small side.

Stahle lines up the homes before she gets the dogs. “My goal is to make sure the dog is in the right home,” she said. “There has to be a home first before a dog.”

If Stahle and her husband aren’t scheduled to make a trip to the island, they arrange escorts through the shelter’s Facebook page. Stahle said people who are flying back to New England volunteer to transport the dog. The Facebook page has over 200 members so if someone is flying to Boston, Stahle asks if they would mind bringing a dog with them.

Stahle doesn’t charge any fees for her efforts. The adopter pays $100 to the shelter and $100 for the airline fee, but nothing to Stahle.

“I don’t make anything,” she said. “I don’t sell dogs; I don’t make a dime. This is what I do to give back and help the shelter. We’re just looking to get the dogs off the island and into a good home.”

Stahle has placed coconut retrievers and Belgian Malinois, but many dogs from Saint Martin are mixes.

For Stahle, she said it’s about the “happy ending” for the dogs.

“Every shelter dog has a sad story and working in rescue, my job is to turn their life around,” Stahle said. “To give them a happy life and a happy ending. That’s why I do it. I’m loyal to I Love My Island Dog because they have the same passion for animals as I do and they need help. They have nothing. All the help that I do really makes a difference. Saint Martin is our second home and that shelter needs our help so much. For me it’s personal.”


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