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

La Habana

Hola Todos.

I'm in Havana where the temperature at 8:00pm was 88F.

I have my first meeting with Amparo set for tomorrow morning.

The arrival at Jose Marti Airport was smooth as can be with the Letter of Introduction supplied by the Consejo Veterinario de Cuba.

With 50 plus pounds of supplies including anesthetic for 100 spay procedures the letter was a blessing.
I was also over weight with my baggage but caught a break.

To be continued...

I Feel Good!!!!!!!!

Skeeter had a visit to the Vet on Friday. The purpose was to take some blood and test for liver and kidney function among other things. She amazed me by walking willingly into the office and sniffing around. The previous visits seemed to not have left an impression upon her. Well the lightbulb did go on an she headed for the door where she curled up into a tight ball. The Vet was unable to coax her into walking so Skeeter was picked up and taken to a exam room.

While I was in the waiting room I picked up a brochure about a program called Pet Safe.
As the brochure states “Established in 2003 by the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) it assists women leaving abusive partners by providing temporary housing for their pets.”

Skeeter spent a few minutes in the back and then came that sound. You know the one, claws attempting to dig in and get traction on a tiled floor. The Vet reported that Skeeter was a little trooper, as usual, and that we should have the results later that afternoon.

Well the news was all good. The final step will be an antigen test in three months to see if there is any evidence of heartworms.

Many thanks to all at the Loyalsit Veterinary Hospital and Skeeter's primary Dr. Lara Sylvester. The caring and compassion of the team at Loyalist is second to none.

Thank you.

Helping Hand From Ireland

photo by T.Shewchuk

Thanks go out to Annette and Gary of Dublin, Ireland. Recently I received a report from Annette of their visit with Amparo in Havana. Amparo is the head of the Dulce Maria Loynaz group in Cuba.
It is very nice to hear feedback from those that care and take the time to help with the work in Havana.

Her is an excerpt from Annette’s email -
"Well, we purchased some tablets  and brought them to Amparo’s apartment. She seems like a wonderful woman, and she made us feel very welcome, inviting us to join her on her balcony where she explained all about the project and the current situation.  
It was a very worthwhile experience and we are very glad to have made a tiny contribution – we were a bit disheartened by the dogs we saw in the street.
We hope to return to Cuba next year and will contact you again beforehand. We have also passed on the message to a friend who is travelling in September."
 
I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Many thanks

La Habana in July!!

photo by:T. Shewchuk

It has been a busy time around the homestead.

Skeeter is doing great except for woofing her cookies at 3:00AM this morning. As a matter of fact she is doing so well that I have booked my next trip to Cuba for July 24 - August 2.
As per normal I will spend the majority of my time in Havana.This trip I will however be traveling to Trinidad Cuba for two nights. My side trip will allow me the opportunity to reconnect with a local Vet I met with briefly in 2006. He is greatly respected amongst the towns people. Treating cats, dogs, horses and cattle, Vets in these small towns are relied on sometimes for peoples livelihoods.

Seeing that the Vet does not have email access, I have been communicating with him through the Casa owner where I will be staying. Julio Muñoz runs a Casa Particulare in Trinidad, Cuba. He is a photographer and runs a highly recommended hostal.

Sad news regarding Julio, he lost one of his horses recently to colic. I will be making sure that I deliver some supplies for the equines in town.

Last Shot

It took about seven hours, yesterday, for Skeeter to get to a reasonable comfort level. That is a level perceived by a worried parent to be comfortable. She did huff and puff and pant but there was no whimpering.
The Vet did place a call to us last night, making sure everything was fine.

Today was Skeeter’s third and final shot. She was a little trooper according to the Vets attending to her. Upon leaving we were given a dose of tramadol 50mg in case of severe pain.

Today was much more like the first injection when it come to visible discomfort. Whimpering heavy panting and painful walking were the order of the day. At one point Skeeter dug a little hole in the garden under the lilac bushes and laid in it.

Relief was seen about five hours after the injection. She’s now sleeping and we’ve yet to use the tramadol.

In 30 days Skeeter is due for a return visit for a “Wellness Test” which will check for liver and kidney function among other things. After three doses of arsenic based treatment it’s best to make sure everything is working well.

I sure hope the heartworm has been taken care of for good. This is not an experience a friend should go through.

Second Shot

We took Skeeter to the Vet today for her latest heartworm treatment. It was another shot in the hind quarter.
It’s been four hours since the shot and she has the same discomfort as with the shot last month. Hopefully within the next couple of hours she’ll be resting comfortably.

Tomorrow we return to the Vet for the final shot.

With Skeeter’s curtailed activity level I’m surprised she has only gained one tenth of a pound. We did cut back on her food but her steady weight is surprising.