Cuba Day 4 Havana

Friday July 27

As you will see from the group shot this meeting was well attended. Not only were three veterinarians in attendance we also had a lawyer, professors and a representative of another animal rescue group working in Havana.

Attention was focused on organizing a spay/neuter campaign with quantifiable results. To this end a sector by sector approach was adopted. Centro Havana will be divide using the Malecon and major streets as boundaries. In these areas a census of the animals in the area will be conducted with the help of local committees. In order to more accurately measure the number of animals in the sector it will be requested that Zoonosis (aka dog catcher) not pick up animals in the sector where campaigns are being conducted.

Zoonosis is a branch of the government called Salud Publica. Zoonosis collects dogs in the streets and takes them to a location on the edge of Havana. If a dog is not claimed within three days it is “sacrificed”, there term for euthanized. Approximately 150 dogs are “sacrificed” each week. The method used to end the lives of these creatures is poisoning by strychnine. Not a humane way to end a life.
With a population control campaign based on a spay and neuter program it is the the groups goal that the number of animals collected and “sacrificed" by Zoonosis will decline. Also a more humane method of euthanasia will be put forward.




What a happy threesome.
On the left Amparo, head of the Dulce Maria Loynaz group, is holding 500ml of IVOMEC generously donated by Merial Canada.
In the middle Elvira inspects a bottle of PYRAQUANTAL , an allwormer. Elvira is a profesora at the Universidad de La Habana and she supports the efforts of the university garage workers to protect resident dogs. Have a look at a visit to the garage on my Flickr
site.
Finally we have Juliet she is the groups Informatics person. She is putting together the database to track dogs and cats and campaign statistics.

A mini campaign is to be held on Sunday.

Cuba Day 3 Havana

Thursday July 26
This was a day off so to speak, National Rebellion Day. This national holiday commemorates the day, July 26, 1953, on which Castro and about 200 young Cuban rebels attacked the Moncada army barracks at Santiago, Cuba.


The “mainstage” celebration this year was in Camaquey. This nationally televised event was a mix of political speeches and musical entertainment. Fidel was a no show and Raul Castro took part with some speech making.


Special thanks go out to Merial Canada for a generous donation of Ivomec. These shots were taken from the terrace of my home away from home in Havana.

Cuba Day 2 Havana

Wednesday July 25

While visiting with Amparo three kids showed up with an injured bird.


This trip to Cuba was my busiest from a Spanky Project point of view. Many days it was too late to post to this Blog. My venue for internet access shut down at 10:00pm.

What I will do here is do a day to day recap...........

Wednesday July 25th
It was another hot day in Havana. Being from the Great White North aka Canada these temperatures are most appreciated in January and February. Oh well one must do what must be done when it’s needed. It can think of worse place to be in the heat.

On this day I met with Amparo, the head of the Dulce Maria Loynaz group. This meeting was to prepare for further discussion with a larger group. We discussed the goals of the sterilization campaign in Centro Habana along with budget items. Administrative and operational supply needs were also discussed.

Needed Items:
-Portable tattoo outfit for marking ID’s in the ear of dogs and cats.
-Shaver with a blade close cutting for the pre surgery shave.
-Laptop computers (older unloved models)- to maintain a data base of animals with tattoo ID’s.
-Laser printer - to aid in the distribution of educational and promotional materials.
-Dog training and care material in Spanish.
-Children’s books about animals in Spanish
--Flea and tick control.
-Wormers

La Habana

Hola Todos.

I'm in Havana where the temperature at 8:00pm was 88F.

I have my first meeting with Amparo set for tomorrow morning.

The arrival at Jose Marti Airport was smooth as can be with the Letter of Introduction supplied by the Consejo Veterinario de Cuba.

With 50 plus pounds of supplies including anesthetic for 100 spay procedures the letter was a blessing.
I was also over weight with my baggage but caught a break.

To be continued...

I Feel Good!!!!!!!!

Skeeter had a visit to the Vet on Friday. The purpose was to take some blood and test for liver and kidney function among other things. She amazed me by walking willingly into the office and sniffing around. The previous visits seemed to not have left an impression upon her. Well the lightbulb did go on an she headed for the door where she curled up into a tight ball. The Vet was unable to coax her into walking so Skeeter was picked up and taken to a exam room.

While I was in the waiting room I picked up a brochure about a program called Pet Safe.
As the brochure states “Established in 2003 by the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) it assists women leaving abusive partners by providing temporary housing for their pets.”

Skeeter spent a few minutes in the back and then came that sound. You know the one, claws attempting to dig in and get traction on a tiled floor. The Vet reported that Skeeter was a little trooper, as usual, and that we should have the results later that afternoon.

Well the news was all good. The final step will be an antigen test in three months to see if there is any evidence of heartworms.

Many thanks to all at the Loyalsit Veterinary Hospital and Skeeter's primary Dr. Lara Sylvester. The caring and compassion of the team at Loyalist is second to none.

Thank you.

Helping Hand From Ireland

photo by T.Shewchuk

Thanks go out to Annette and Gary of Dublin, Ireland. Recently I received a report from Annette of their visit with Amparo in Havana. Amparo is the head of the Dulce Maria Loynaz group in Cuba.
It is very nice to hear feedback from those that care and take the time to help with the work in Havana.

Her is an excerpt from Annette’s email -
"Well, we purchased some tablets  and brought them to Amparo’s apartment. She seems like a wonderful woman, and she made us feel very welcome, inviting us to join her on her balcony where she explained all about the project and the current situation.  
It was a very worthwhile experience and we are very glad to have made a tiny contribution – we were a bit disheartened by the dogs we saw in the street.
We hope to return to Cuba next year and will contact you again beforehand. We have also passed on the message to a friend who is travelling in September."
 
I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Many thanks

La Habana in July!!

photo by:T. Shewchuk

It has been a busy time around the homestead.

Skeeter is doing great except for woofing her cookies at 3:00AM this morning. As a matter of fact she is doing so well that I have booked my next trip to Cuba for July 24 - August 2.
As per normal I will spend the majority of my time in Havana.This trip I will however be traveling to Trinidad Cuba for two nights. My side trip will allow me the opportunity to reconnect with a local Vet I met with briefly in 2006. He is greatly respected amongst the towns people. Treating cats, dogs, horses and cattle, Vets in these small towns are relied on sometimes for peoples livelihoods.

Seeing that the Vet does not have email access, I have been communicating with him through the Casa owner where I will be staying. Julio Muñoz runs a Casa Particulare in Trinidad, Cuba. He is a photographer and runs a highly recommended hostal.

Sad news regarding Julio, he lost one of his horses recently to colic. I will be making sure that I deliver some supplies for the equines in town.