Our Paw Prints Are All Over This

Early June found us back in Havana.

But not for a campaña.

This was something very special.

Something historic!

The Spanky Project, a Canadian Not For Profit, is the first international group to enter into a collective agreement with the Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad de La Habana(OHCH), for the benefit of animal welfare and humane population control.

This Convenio de Colaboración is an agreement between OHCH, Sociedad Civil Patrimonio, Comunidad y Medio Ambiente (SCPCMA) and the Spanky Project.

This document acknowledges our individual interests and how these can be brought together for the benefit of animals, people and the communities in which they live.

Martha O. Pérez Cortés - Terry Shewchuk - Perla Rosa Rosales Aguirreurreta

                                      SCPCMA                           Spanky Project                 OHCH

Here is an outline of each party

OHCH develops actions aimed at the historical-cultural, environmental and community rehabilitation of the province of Havana especially in its Historical Center and is supported by several planning documents.  In these documents the problem of the inadequate management of the domestic and wild fauna and their impact on the environmental health in their territory is acknowledged.

SCPCMA is a Cuban non-profit that coordinates and executes international cooperation projects and manages donations aimed at developing socio-cultural work in the Historical Center and supporting the OHCH's planning and management mechanisms.

The Spanky Project is a Canadian initiative that has among its objectives the development of international cooperation programs and that among its activities are the promotion of animal welfare and humane control of the animal population through sterilization. Also the continuing education of veterinary professionals on the welfare of animals.
The Spanky Project Organization shows total willingness to extend its collaboration regarding the management, control and care of domestic and street animals and other fields of collaboration that are necessary to support the Program for Management and Control of Urban Animals proposed by the SCPCMA.

The signing of this agreement leads to increased collaborations like the Program for Management and Control of Urban Animals 
The Spanky Project has had a very big role in the development of this program and in ensuring that the humane treatment and welfare of Cuba's animals is first and foremost.

Through our collaborations we bring a "world" of experience to Cuba.

With this Convenio our reach is only limited by the funding we receive.

You can help us extend our reach.

Look to the sidebar for donation links

It was such a honour to be surrounded by long time Spanky Project team members 

and our fabulous Cuban partners.

Also, a pleasure to invite to this momentous occasion a new team member. 

                             

At this time we are pleased to announce a new addition to our Spanky Project team.

Please welcome Dr. Zeynep Guleryuzlu

Zeynep is a former Research Assistant in the Department of Surgery at
Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

She is from Ankara, Turkey.

Zeynep brings great passion and a wealth of knowledge and experience to our work in Cuba.

We are grateful she has joined us on this path.

We began in 2003.

It has been a long and often bumpy road.

We have been blessed with wonderful people joining us on the journey.

If you want to go fast... go alone.

If you want to go far ... go together.

Let's Give Them Something To Talk About!

When you hear about people talking behind your back.......

Sometimes you find out that people have been talking about you behind your back and it's been going on for a while.  It's only natural to wonder how these rumors got started or who said what.

We only recently found out about someone who was doing some sleuthing on the Spanky Project.  Turns out that Shelly Haines was planning a trip to Cuba with her friend Kim Lue.  Shelly is one of us - a lover of animals - and began researching the situation of homeless animals in Cuba.  One of her first contacts was to Cuba Libro, a book store in Havana, who mentioned the Spanky Project. 

Staff from the bookstore volunteered with us during our World Spay Day 2017 Campaña.

 Liz and Alberto working registration

 From there, the accolades kept coming in - from locals to Humane Society International.  Even her local vet in Austin TX had heard about our work.

Shelly was drawn to the Spanky Project because she understands that the solution to the stray situation in Cuba, or anywhere for that matter, is to get to the root of the problem by reducing the number of homeless animals via humane population control.  This is the driving force of our work at the Spanky Project.

Shelly is headed to Cuba in July and has created a blog so that her friends and family can follow along.  She's also sharing information and doing creative fundraising on our behalf.  

She has posted a list of needed supplies that we provided.... and ended up with questions like "why do they need duct tape and Sharpies?", "what's with the ziploc bags?" and "why do you want so many collars?".  Turns out the answers aren't as obvious as they are to ongoing Spanky Project volunteers.

Check out her wonderful blog here:

https://shellyrhaines.wixsite.com/pawcompadres

Oh and have you heard anyone talking about SPANKY PROJECT USA
The big announcement has not been made yet ... can you keep a secret?
In the USA, our 501(c)3 status is in place... you are only a click away from helping Cubans help their animals.