The Spanky Project would like to send a big thank you to the
Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association Toronto.
They kindly gave us a page in Amistad their newsletter.
The Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association promotes friendship, understanding and co-operation between the peoples of Canada and Cuba.
Please visit their site and consider becoming a member.
Here is a peek at the page.
Here is a link to
September / October 2012 is where our article appears.
How The Spanky Project Helps Cubans and Their Animals
This initiative is named in honour of my beloved dog, Spanky, who passed away
on September 5th, 2003. The original plan was to, with the help of foreign
travelers, get needed supplies to groups that were helping dogs, cats and horses in Cuba.
It was my hope that with the millions of visitors to Cuba every year, a small portion would consider this a worthwhile project and extend a helping hand... or, as we say around here,a helping paw. Travelers from around the world have purchased and delivered supplies.
Fast forward and now the Spanky Project has introduced international veterinarians to their Cuban counterparts.
In December of 2010, history was made when Drs. Michael Belovich, Michele
Travers and Linda Pallet and I were granted Cooperation Visas for a week long visit to Havana. This was for the first Cuba Canada Veterinary Co-operation week. This trip had many firsts including Canadian veterinarians being invited to lecture at the Consejo Cientifico Veterinaro de Cuba in Havana.
In September of 2011, the Spanky Project signed a “Covenio” with the Consejo Cientifico Veterinario de Cuba. This collaborative agreement allows us to work throughout Cuba.
As funding allows we will move beyond Havana to establish new programs.
With donations from individuals and donations in kind from animal health science companies we have focused our programs in and around Havana. These efforts include massive free deparasitization and sterilization campaigns. This has resulted in the reduction of Havana’s stray dog population -- most notably in Habana Vieja.
Our work in Habana Vieja comes with the full support of the Society for Heritage, Community and the Environment (SPCMA) Sociedad Patrimonio, Comunidad y Medio Ambiente an NGO operating under the Office of the Historian.
With this success, our efforts are turning to “Gatos sin Hogares” aka, Cats without Homes.
In October, the Spanky Project will be back in Havana with international animal welfare group, Animal Balance.
We will launch Cuba’s first TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) of feral cats.
Working at the community level, we will train “colony keepers” how to trap cats and monitor the colony. The health of these colonies will improve thus reducing zoonotic disease transfers.
Our goal is to sterilize 100 pet cats and 100 feral cats in our five day campaña resulting in a humane reduction of the population.
If you, too, would like to help Cubans help their animals ..
... your tax deductible donation can be sent to:
Mackenzie-Papineau Memorial Fund
Attention - Sharon Skup
56 Riverwood Terrace
Bolton, ON
L7E 1S4
please write Spanky Project on the memo line.
Your support could not be more timely. We are still in debt for supplies delivered during our February program.
Please keep up to date with us by visiting the Spanky Project blog at ...
www.spankyproject.blogspot.com
www.spankyproject.org
