Cuba Day 7, 8 Trinidad

August 30-31

Leaving my big bag behind at Evora’s I began my trip to Trinidad.

As suggested I arrived at the terminal one hour (07:15) before departure. There was a long line up for tickets.
The line was so long in fact that passengers bound for an earlier departing bus for Varadero were permitted to jump the queue.
Finally with ticket (27 cuc) in hand and my one bag checked it was up to the restaurant for a “espresso doble”. A word of advise .... place your order at the counter then grab a table.

The Viazul bus service is the most reliable form of intercity/provincial transport in the country. This was a typical trip with the usual midway rest stop. There are toilet facilities on the bus but if you can wait for the rest stop the facilities are clean and comfortable.
Also available at these stops you can purchase snacks and beverages.
Five hours and thirty minutes after leaving Havana I arrive in Trinidad.

Founded in 1514 the present day population is 38,000. This town is the finest example of preserved colonial architecture in Cuba. In the 1950 Batista passed a preservation law that allowed Trinidad to maintain it’s character. In 1965 the town was named a national monument and in 1988 declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

My casa was located a short walk from the bus terminal. First one must run the line of offers for accommodations as you leave the depot lot. Thirty plus people will offer you rooms in their houses. I think Trinidad must have the highest concentration of Casa Particulares in Cuba.
Casa Colonial Muñoz
is operated by Julio Muñoz and Rosa Orbea. Built in 1800 this colonial house is located in the centre of Trinidad.
Upon arrival I was met by Rosa and Julio. My room had a high ceiling with two beds, ceiling fan and air conditioning. A refrigerator was located outside of my room and my private washroom steps away.

Julio is a truly an animal lover. He sure does like them big. During my visit I met Diana,a foal that spends the evenings in the back of the Casa. Sad news Diana recently died as a result of an injury inflicted by a cow.

One of the reasons for this side trip to Trinidad was to reconnect with a Vet I met briefly a year and a half earlier. With translation help from Julio a plan is being developed which will assist locals their animals and the neighbourhood Protectora.

If you are staying in Trinidad or just visiting for the day consider dropping off a donation to help the locals. Trinidad is such a pretty town the animals should be in equally good shape.



Julio will gladly accept donated supplies for distribution to the local Vet and Protectoras.
Contact Information and Map

Cubans are known for their ability to make something out of very little.Veterinarians are no different. Here is an example... homemade cauterization device...

it's power supply is a transformer scavenged from a Soviet television.








Wish List Wednesday

Time to start a new feature .... Wish List Wednesday

For those that are heading to Cuba and would like to help those helping the dogs and cats I will provide a list of some needed items.
If you can help out email me for delivery details for the following locations in Cuba:
Havana, Guanabacoa,Trinidad, Cienfuegos ...
Coming soon Moron, Holquin

Please do not restrict yourself to the listed items. Everything is in need so look for sales in your area.
I have provided links to sources in various countries. If you come across a deal let me now and I may post it.


Australia
All Wormer


USA
Ivomec 1% Injectable



Permectrin II
Provides long-acting killing power for flies, lice, mites, ticks, fleas and mosquitoes



UK
Source for wormers

YOUR LOCAL DOLLAR or PET SHOP
6' nylon dog leashes
nylon collars
Dog and cat crates and carriers of ALL sizes

BIGGER TICKET ITEMS
Animal shaver with detachable surgical blade. ie Oster A5 Golden (110V) #40 blade

Animal marker kit ie Spaulding Electric Tattoo Animal Marker(110V)

Cuba Day 6 Havana

Sunday July 29

Cuba Day 6 Havana

This day was to be a very busy one.

I’m up and out the door at 7:00. The reason for the early start is that I’m due in Vedado at 08:30 for a mini “campaña”.Cubans, I find, are big on showing their appreciation by actions. To acknowledge the arrival of the anesthetic I brought we were going to operate three dogs and three cats.

So I’m walking up the Prado, my favourite Havana street, looking for coffee. My primary destination is the Hotel Sevilla. I’ve stayed at the Sevilla several time, it’s one of the grand old ladies from the gangster era. Though I stay at Casa Evora when I can, the Sevilla is always a stop for the internet or a drink. I arrive to a quiet lobby and order my usual “espresso doble”. I’m stunned to hear the machine is broken “es roto”. So I’m on the road again up the road to Hotel plaza. Here I wake the waiter and bartender. The Hotel Plaza is another of the old ladies. Though rated a star less than the Sevilla the Plaza is in a prime location on the edge of Parque Central. Coffee at last.
In November of ’06 I spent a week in Havana staying at the Plaza. That trip, there was a huge plasma screen TV in the bar. Now here I am in July and there is a small TV on a stand. Apparenty the plasma “es roto”.

Time for a taxi to Vedado. On the edge of Parque Central is always a good place to find a ride. My taxi outfit of choice is Panataxi,These trademark yellow and white Lada’s are metered and economical. I found Luis and his Lada near the Inglaterra Hotel. We rode to Vedado along the Malecon. During the drive Luis agreed to show up the following Thrusday to take me to the airport. This has happened before with other taxistas ...we’ll see.

I arrived a little early and Amparo is packing up some items for the campaña. Shortly after my arrival there was a knock at the door and entered Israel a gentleman who protect cats in his neighbourhood.
Once we were prepared we were out the door for a walk to where the campaña is to be held.




Upon arrival Amparo began to record the information for the dogs and cats that were in attendance and Ibrahim the Vet was doing pre surgical exams and calculated the needed anesthetic. Ibrahim asked if I was going to assist him to which I replied “sure”.


This day we were slated to do six spays. Here are some of the patients. Note the Cuban inventiveness with the cat carriers.















There was one piece of business we had to take care of before the surgeries began. We had to hunt for a local semi feral cat known to Israel. We were not successful but as you can see from the photo a cat carrier would be an excellent donation. The onion bag works but we can do better.










Upon our return from the cat hunt we found Ibrahim was ready to begin.

As you can see we are not in a clinical setting. These campañas are held in the homes of individuals that are helping the effort in any way possible.



Eusebio Leal Spengler, director of the Historian’s Office of the City of Havana gave approval for this pilot project to take place in Centro Habana. We hope to prove that a well run spay and neuter campaign can control the animal population to the point that wholesale dog catching is not the means of population control.

At present Zoonosis, a branch of Salud Publica, roams the streets collecting unaccompanied dogs. They are taken to the outskirts of Havana where the are held for three days.
If the animals are not claimed they are killed ... the method Strychnine poisoning.

Each week an average of 150 dogs suffer this fate.

Cuba Day 5 Havana

Cuba Day 5 Havana
Saturday July 28

The day begins with the usual 8:30 breakfast in my Casa. Evora is so wonderful, over a year ago I commented to her that I noticed a lack of the usual raw sugar. We had a discussion about it and the reasons behind it. Well with my next visit and every visit since she had raw sugar for me. It truly is my home in Havana.

After breakfast I strolled up the Prado to the Hotel Sevilla to check email. As I approached the Sevilla the street was being shut down for a Farmers Market. This was a new occurrence for me.
There was a wide selection of fruits and vegetables including pineapples, peppers and garlic.






Along with the market vendor on the street local restaurants had cafes set up on the Prado. Sorry no picture.

As usually in Havana, where there is waste food there are dogs.



Evora (bandana) and Manuel (left) asked if I would met with a young friend of theirs. Sinuhe(green shirt) is a Vet Tech in Guanabacoa and does his best to help the locals and their animals in the absence of a Vet. Sinuhe and a fellow Vet Tech are one there own since the local Vet left the country.
If you would like to help the animals of Guanabacoa I will be please to provide delivery details.

Guanabacoa founded in 1607 is a town about 4km east of the Havana harbour.
It would be worth a day trip from Havana. I plan to return and spend more time touring around.

Sinuhe and family invited us into there home for a wonderful lunch. Cuban cuisine was the fare and it came in the form of quimbobo. Soooooooooo gooooooooooood.

Also on this Saturday I ventured off for a visit to one of two pet stores in Havana.
Located at Obispo #410, Casa Langwith is a stop I always make to see what’s available. As I walked up to the window the shop was full of smoke. Upon closer inspection and reading a note on the door it was closed for fumigation.

If you travel to Havana and do not have room for aid to the animals drop by Casa Langwith after arrival and pick up some wormer, dog food, anti parasitics etc.
Should this be an option you can drop the supplies off at Aquacate #9 esq. Chacon upper floor. Stilita is your contact.
She is only a few blocks away from the pet store.
Shout up to one of the upper floor windows.
Tell her Terry sent you.
Stilita's english is excellent.


This trip was my first meet with Stilita. Evora suggested I drop by because Stilita's daughter is a Protectora.
I arrived and, as very Cuban, shouted her name up to the window. Stilita dropped the key down to me and I let myself in.
Upon leaving Stilita gave me the key and said to be sure to lock the gate. I asked what I should do with the key she said "give it to Boston", her dog. After locking the gate I gave the key to Boston and he returned it upstairs.

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