Isolating and Donating

              Greetings All,

The last months have been very hard for the whole world.

I hope you and yours are well.  

Isolation may be a bore but physical interaction is a danger.

Be careful..

As you know the Spanky Project have been at the forefront of 

humane population control of cats and dogs in Havana, Cuba. 

With the onset of COVID 19 the pause button has been pushed.

We are still looking forward to the resumption of campañas in 

Havana and Trinidad to round out 2020. 

With this time of isolation you may find 

you have some new found savings. 

It's been 15 years since we have seen prices like this

It would be so very supportive for our work to have additional perpetual monthly donors.
Please consider if you are able to manage a monthly donation of $5 or $10 dollars.
Over a 12 months that would equate into 2 or 4 sterilizations. And the benefit is exponential having another two or four sterile cats/dogs in the community.

If you have been thinking about helping Cuba's animals and would like to become a $5 or $10 monthly sponsor, click here  and choose the "Donate Monthly" option.

In just a few minutes, you can make a difference supporting the Spanky Project

Make the donation that fits your needs.

Your scheduled monthly donations will help both you and Spanky Project plan ahead. 

If you would like to dedicate your donation,  an e-card can be sent to announce your gift.
Pay for your donation using your credit card or PayPal account.
You will receive an instant tax receipt.

Your tax receipts will also be store in your Canada Helps account for use come tax time. 

It’s great for donors like you:

Save time and protect your budget: Pick an affordable amount each month and it’s automatically donated on your behalf.

Stay in control: Create, modify, or even cancel a gift online, anytime.

Make tax time easier: Receive one tax receipt at the end of the year for all CanadaHelps donations.

Feel good: Once your donation is set, you can feel good knowing you’re making a difference every month.

And it’s even better for the Spanky Project:

Easier planning: Reliable monthly income makes it easier to plan ahead.

Better budgeting: We can easily budget for their most important programs.

Less costly: We can reduce administration costs related to payment processing and tax receipting

Increased Focus: We can worry more about the important work and less about fundraising.

Schedule a gift today and make an impact every month.

We Can't Stop Now...

Our goal for 2020 was and continues to be 1000 sterilizations.

February saw us perform 522 sterilizations in Havana.

That leaves us to complete another 478 to meet our goal of 1000.

Havana and Trinidad are planned for the next two campañas.

Right now, you are the best chance we have at making our September campaña happen! 

Please do your part to follow physical distancing measures and WASH your HANDS!

Wear a mask!

NOW is our time to stop the spread.. where ever you are.
We are confident our September and December campañas will

 be a go…

if we all take measure now to stop the spread of this virus.
... Cuba's animals still need your help!

Feliz Día del Veterinario en Cuba

Veterinary Day is a day celebrated on different dates in each country of the world, based on the most representative historical events.

Until 1853, there was no formal veterinary education in any country in the Americas. The first veterinary school in Latin America was founded in Mexico for this year (1853), the second in Guelph-Canada in 1862; and the third in Ames-Iowa in the United States of America in 1879.

On March 24, 1961, it was chosen to pay homage to the veterinarians in Cuba in remembrance of the signing of Resolution 254 of the Council of Ministers, which unified all the country's veterinary services into the Revolutionary Veterinary Services, the first state organization dedicated to the free care of breeding animals and pets.

Before this, the day of the veterinarian in Cuba was celebrated on April 10th, since 1907; due to the fact that on that date the First Free School of Veterinary Medicine was founded in Cuba, which was incorporated to the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of the University of Havana according to Decree No. 126 of January 27th, 1908.

The first attempts to include the teaching of veterinary medicine in Cuba date back to 1857, when on the recommendation of the Sociedad Económica Amigos del País, the creation of a school dedicated to the teaching of the specialty in Cuba was attempted without success, but more obstacles than contributions held back the good intentions of its promoters.

In 1937, the Veterinary School acquires the category of Faculty and months later establishes a new curriculum of four years of duration. In 1942 it opens its new building on the corner of Carlos III and Ayesterán, where it remained until 1976 when the Higher Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Havana, now the Agrarian University of Havana, was created.

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Cuba currently has five faculties of Veterinary Medicine and 14 schools of middle-level studies, in which more than seven thousand specialists dedicated to the care and protection of animal health have graduated, as well as several research centers, among which the National Center of Agricultural Health and the Institute of Animal Science stand out for their results.

Every March 24, the workers dedicated to animal health in Cuba receive a well-deserved tribute in recognition of their work.

Since 2003 the Spanky Project has come to know many Cuban veterinarians 

Help us help them......

Thank you to all the Cuban veterinarians.
Thank you to those student who aspire to join this noble work.
Thank you to all who we have come to know in our 16 years.
Thank you to those we will come to know in the future.
THANK YOU!

Help us help them.......

Helping Flipper and Fin Too!

Veterinary student Yohany joined us for many our campañas.

After graduation Dr.Yohany Afonso Pérez was posted to the

National Aquarium of Cuba

All graduates must fulfill a three year work commitment in return for their education.

Meet Aisha

She was born July 2007 in the aquarium.

A few months ago Yohany sent us a message about Aisha.

"She has a purulent secretion in the left hear. 

She also in the last days have been moving her head to the side where we see the infection" 

Enter

Dr.Michael Belovich

He is the owner and lead veterinarian at 

Yonge Street Animal Hospital in Toronto.

Michael is Spanky Project's Veterinary Medical Director.

In consultation a treatment plan developed

The following meds were donated by Dr.Belovich

 TrizEdta Aural 

 Simplicef  

and a 10 day treatment plan was proposed.

While the meds were awaiting delivery Aisha's trainers went to work.

They prepared her to accept the treatment 

which was on it's way to Havana.

Aisha's Trainer Anibal  prepared her 

to helped the medicine go down.

Once the meds arrive treatment was well received by Aisha.

+

A short time after delivery of the medications and the treatment Dr.Yohany sent us a message on behalf of the aquarium

"I would like to say how thankful we feel at the aquarium with Spanky people, especially you and Dr Michael for helping us to help our animal health.

Also our trainers are very grateful and thank you. Aisha is doing well now!!!"

On a recent trip to Cuba I had the opportunity to visit the National Aquarium.

The main reason to visit Aisha.

She was one happy sealion.

We are very proud of the graduating students 

who have worked with us. 

We never know where they next call for aid will come from.

We will do our best to help!

Help us help Cubans help their animals.

Giving Tuesday ...

$30 is the cost of one sterilization in our Cuban campañas

We need you to donate, a minimum, $25

CanadaHelps will at add $5

That sterilization will prevent future 

abandoned cats and dogs in Cuba.

Less need for rescues

Today we want to fund 10 sterilization.

We need you on this Giving Tuesday

GivingTuesday 2019 Extra $5 Offer valid beginning December 3, 2019 at 12:01 a.m. Newfoundland Standard Time (NST) through December 3, 2019 at 23:59 Pacific Standard Time (PST).

La Habana 500

Today, November 16, 2019, is Havana's 500th Anniversary.

The commemoration has taken place throughout 2019

The Spanky Project was part of these celebrations.

In February our goal was to provide sterilizations for 500 dogs/cats and in addition

 500 deparasitizations in separate events.

We even made up buttons to announce our goal.

Our Cuban team came from as far as far away as Guantanamo.

Veterinary students came from as far as Santi Spiritus to join us.

   Caregivers and their pets came from other provinces for the opportunity to have their pets sterilized; a service which is seldom available to them.

Our international team came from Canada, Mexico and the USA.

 Sterilization and education are what the Spanky Project is all about.

Every day at our campañas, while caregivers are waiting for their pets, we offer educational talks on animal care, health and welfare.

It is the path to humane population control and a reduction in the number of

 those abandoned in the streets.

The Spanky Project collaborates with

CEDA- cubanos en defensa de los animales

 They educate and facilitate adoption and rehoming of those rescued from the streets.

 Together we achieved our goals and more.

We blew past our target of 500 with an amazing 628 sterilizations done in 6 days.

 Much has been said in the past couple of weeks about 

Zoonosis (the dog catcher) 

collecting dogs in the streets ahead of the 500th anniversary.

Some of the comments have been sensational and less than truthful.

Zoonosis does have a purpose.

By definition Zoonosis is "a disease which can be transmitted to humans from animals."

I do not agree with the methods of collection and end of life for the street animals.

There is no guarantee these methods will change any time soon.

 Zoonosis supports our work in Habana Vieja.

They provide rabies vaccine 

 Dr.Luis, head of Zoonosis in Habana Vieja ,brings us rabies vaccine and issues the certificates.

This supports their mission, the prevention of transmissible disease.

Though the facts about Zoonosis collecting street dogs ahead of the 500th anniversary are murky, one thing is certain. 

They did not enter the tourist center of Habana Vieja where SP has been working to reduce the population of homeless dogs and cats.

The success of our sterilization campañas are proven in this fact.

STERILZATION and more STERILZATION is the path to less Zoonosis intervention.

Sterilization is what we are all about.

Our feet are on the ground and our hearts are in Cuba.

Help us help Cubans help their animals.

Be a part of our next Campaña.

 February 2020

We are aiming for 500 again.

$30 sponsors a sterilization

Help us put an end to homeless animals living lives of peril, disease and hunger.

There Is Always a Challenge!

But, this one is over for another year.
Congratulations to Little Trinity in Toronto.

They won the $10,000 grand prize in the 2019 Great Canadian Giving Challenge.

Thank you to all who gave to the Spanky Project during the Great Canadian Giving Challenge.

Special thanks to our repeat donors and ongoing supporters.
We could not do ... what we do ... without you.
Here is a recap...

Country by Country

12 Canada

2 Australia

1 Cuba (in honour)

1 Netherlands

1 New Zealand

2 UK 

1 USA

Donations during our special June 2019 appeal, compared to 2018, were up...

.... 45%.

Muchisimas gracias!

We are returning to Trinidad, Cuba.

Our goal for the September Campaña is 250 sterilizations.

We will bring supplies for 350.

This will allow for mini campañas to be conducted afterwards.

These will be done by the local veterinary team

 who would otherwise  not have the needed supplies.

We have sent our paperwork for entry approvals.

The next CHALLENGE is to FUND Trinidad.

Our veterinary medication/supply bill is...

$12,766.09

Thanks to our over achieving February campaña,

 where our goal of 500 sterilization resulted in 628...

$12,766.09

is not in our account!

Seriously... it takes a village to make these campañas a reality.

Spanky Project Team Trinidad 2018

Become part of our Trinidad Team

DONATE NOW

Your gift will make a difference.