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How do you start your day?
With Emma being vegan she comes to Cuba prepared.
Super Chunk no less

With the Spanky Project and Animal Balance veterinarians in town it was "showtime".

Months and months of planning, coordination and collaboration is put to the test.

Before our first clinic day, traps were left with colony keepers to be picked up the next day with the "patients".

Dairne was our go get gal for "pick up and delivery". She forged caring and trusting relationships with the keepers, who are very protective of their colonies

To keep Dairne happy we set her up with some fun wheels.

... and even a big red truck on occasion.

The portion of the clinic we occupied was made up of several exam rooms which we purposed. 

It was perfect for a TNR Campañna.

Check-in/Registration

This being Havana's first, we were not sure how successful we would be with trapping.
To ensure our veterinarians had a steady flow of patience we booked and additional 

20 pet cats per day.

 Anaesthesia Station.

Dr.Michael Belovich, of Yonge Street Animal Hospital in Toronto, ran this room.
Cats are weighed and then given the proper dose.

I always enjoy seeing the hand crafted carriers.

Prep Station

  Where the sedated and anaesthetized are prepped for surgery.

Depending on the veterinarian the cat is shaved for a flank spay or, as Frank is doing, a midline

Because cat’s eyes may dry out under anesthesia a lubricant is applied to keep them moist.

Surgery Station

Our surgical suite was fitted with four tables.

After surgery feral cats have an ear tipped.

Pet cats receive a tattoo.

RecoveryStation

Here cats are given post op meds and monitored.

Recovery/Discharge

 Dairne prepares to return colony cats.

 

Here some pet cats are on their way home.

Throughout the day, cats that have recovered overnight in the clinic are returned to their colony keepers.

I would like to send a big thank you to APAC-Varadero and Air Transat.

On an ongoing basis Air Transat sends, free of charge, carriers that have been collect in Canada to Varadero.

We were in need of carriers for recovery and APAC-Varadero came through for us.
Normally cats are recovered in traps.We had only 24 traps. 

To achieve our target numbers we needed more "recovery rooms"

Some colonies had cats that were friendly enough that they could be picked up and placed in carriers.
Thank you Ingrid for bringing them in from Cardenas.

Throughout the process, steps are taken to ensure the health and safety of the cats.
Here a note was placed on the trap, by one of the volunteers, for the veterinarians to 

"revisar el ojo derecho - check the right eye"

During our trips you never know who is going to drop in for a visit.

Big Bear, a good friend of Dr.Rocio and Frank, is a heavy Metal band promoter.
He has pledged to help with fundraising to support the work at the Carlos III clinic.
What do you think?
"Metal for Mutts"

Woofstock is taken.

 

At the end of each clinic day we have a little huddle.
Here, Gladys Morales, Spanky Project's Cuban representative, thanks our Cuban partners that worked with us on the day.
Some of you may recognize Slavik chief veterinarian with APAC-Varadero.

Our first two days saw us spay neuter 69 cats.

You would think that we were done for the day at this point.
NO!!

We head out to drop off traps and carriers to colony keepers.

Pobrecito Tony.
He will be in better shape when we do this again in December.

Animal Balance - TNR Report

A big thank you to Emma Clifford, Director of Animal Balance.

Emma has written up a great trip report from our October Cuba TNR.

 

Click here for the 

TRIP REPORT

Help Cubans help their animals with a donation.
Our next mass TNR will be in December 2013

Dreams Do Come True.

During the first week of our two week program we stayed at the Hotel Plaza, a Gran Caribe property, in Havana.

It is an economical hotel, in a prime location, on the edge of Parque Central.

The roof top restaurant is where the buffet breakfast is made available.

Dairne worked on her "service" skills.

You can book a stay at the Hotel Plaza, and other properties, through the Spanky Project.

A portion of your booking goes to support our work in Cuba.

Book hotel, air and car rentals with our partner Cuba Travel Network.

After breakfast it was off to work.

Susana, our Spanky Project Havana based coordinator, arranged transport for us.

Alberto, Susana's plumber, has a very nice set of wheels.

 

Each one of our visits to Cuba builds upon what has gone before.

For years, many have expressed concerns about the treatment of animals in and around resorts.

As strays increase in numbers, both dogs and cats, the resorts call "the dog catcher" to remove them.

The end is not always humane. 

Preliminary talks are now turning to action.
Humane population control programs are in the works.
We thank Cuban Hotel Group Gran Caribe for listening to our presentations.

On this morning we met with Noemi Sanchez Rodriguez-Dir. Negocios y Desarrollo, Gran Caribe.

We discussed a pilot project that has been developed in collaboration with our great friends at 

APAC - Varadero. 

This pilot project will launch at Hotel Villa Trópico and the environs of Playa Jibacoa.
A "Carta de Intención"(an official letter of intention) is being drafted and we will have more details shortly.

APAC - Varadero have been saviours and advocates for the animals of

 Cardenas, Matanzas and Varadero.

In collaboration with APAC's; Ingrid, Hanoi, Slavik and others we know this program will be a success and a model for the rest of Cuba's resort areas.

Together, and with your help, we will create a harmonious relationship between the:

 local community, 

vacationers, 

animals,

and 

the environment.

Special thanks go to Emma Clifford, of Animal Balance, for her advice and support of our ongoing program development.

Emma - Noemi - Terry

Ahead of the veterinarians arrival we dropped off our supplies. 

Much to our delight, we found Dra. Rocio and Vet Tech Frank in the middle of a clinic makeover.

Rocio and Frank were placed with us by 

Carlos III's Director Miguel Angel .
Their above and beyond the call of duty effort boded well for our future collaboration.

 As final touches were put on the reception area we had a planning session with Rocio and Frank.

 Many came together to make this happen and I thank you all.

 Flashback (Feb, 2012 trip)

"If I wish really hard ...

... maybe a campaña at Carlos III could be a reality." 

 The dream did come true.

Seamos realistas y hagamos lo imposible -Che

In preparation for the arrival of our veterinarians and first day of surgery 

Dairne and Alberto delivered traps.

Tony stayed behind at the clinic doing the overnight firewatch.

Others were not so comfortable and spent the night in Parque Central.

Gearing Up!

It was "hurricane season".

Weather would prove to dampen our efforts during this visit.

But this "callejero", or dog street, found a new water bowl.

Our sponsoring Cuban NGO SPCMA provided a great space for our
orientation of Habana Vieja colony keepers.

With the success of sterilization campañas of dogs in Old Havana, feral cats have thrived.

SPCMA, an NGO under the Office of the Historian, supported our proposal for 

Cuba's first mass TNR for cats.

During each trip we meet wonderful and fascinating Cubans.
This visit did not disappoint.

After our orientation meeting we were invited to the gallery of Amelia and Angel.

Terracota 4 Galería-Estudio

Calle Mercaderes 156 Calles Obrapía y Lamparilla

Studio and gallery for Amelia and Angel.

Amelia Carballo    Angel Nornielle

This was to be designated as the HQ (headquarters) for our work in Habana Vieja.

Should you come across their gallery during your strolling in Old Havana

stick your head in the door and say hello from Terry and the Spanky Project.
They may put a pot of coffee on for you.

From Amelia and Angel's local we walked to Plaza de Armas to visit book vendor Marta.

Daily, Marta feeds a colony of near thirty cats.

 

They have made themselves at home in a building slated for renovations.

It was pointed out to us that sites designated for "repurposeing"have become homes to colonies.
We are working with the Office of the Historian to target these sites and to incorporate them in our TNR program.

Here is some video.

After these cats are trapped and sterilized we tip one of their ears.

If you see cats in Habana Vieja with a tipped ear you will see our work.

After our visit with Marta we dropped into our clinic.

Welcome to the home of our Havana TNR.

This was our first look this trip. Check in later to see the makeover.

Yes, we work hard but we also take some time to enjoy some of what Havana has to offer.

On Saturday's, there is a wonderful art walk on "the Prado".

Which, by the way, is my favourite street in the whole world.

Dairne and Emma visit with an artist Emma had come to know on a previous trip.
He makes unique art pieces out of found objects.

OK, back to the cats.

One thing that struck me was cat colonies that have keepers seem to have one dog.

Toby is the lone dog in a house of eleven cats.

Some may find our typical day exhaustion.

Tony managed to have the occasional "cat nap" through out our busy days.

Our final orientation was held in  Luyanó  district of the municipio Diez de Octubre.

Our first contact with Municipal IMV Director Dr. Harry Stamatopolos Mpountos was in February 2012.

This is the "consultorio" where he and his veterinary crew work.

We began our meeting outdoors. 

Soon after commencing we had a surprise visit from a good friend.

Dr.Pavel Herrera (in orange) arrived much to everyone's delight.
Dr.Harry (in white) was equally pleased.

Pavel is the Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine - Universidad Agraria de La Habana.
He took some time to reminisce with former students.

No digital projectors and screens here. 

We all huddled around a laptop.

After our meeting it was back to works for the veterinary staff.
The morning appointments had begun to gather.

It is an honour to collaborate with the Cuban veterinary community.

It is heartening to see the love and care many give their pets.

Some are not as fortunate as they sleep in the streets or in this case the welcome mat of the

Hotel Parque Central.

The implementation of humane population control programs are the cornerstones of a 

brighter future.

Help us help Cubans help their animals.