Stray dogs of Puerto Rico
 

I was just curious if others have been affected by the stray dog problem in Puerto Rico, and if anyone else has personally brought dogs home? I have rescued a number of dogs over the past couple of years, and it has been an extremely rewarding experience for me and relatively easy to do.

Has anyone complained to authorities in PR and if so, what type of a response did you receive? It is baffling why so many residents not only look the other way, but continue to contribute to the problem.

The same problem exists in the Bahamas. The stray dogs there are called "Potcakes," because they lick and finish the burnt bottom of pans after Peas & Rice were prepared. I've seen them on Eleuthera, New Providence, Abaco, and Exuma. They are attractive and friendly, and have the same physical features. I wonder if they are a breed in all their own? There is an organization on Abaco and Hopetown, Bahamas, that pairs off Potcakes with those who would like to take them home; vet services, customs clearance, etc., is all laid out.Interestingly, we visited Nevis last Spring, and in one beach bar, a cute dog kept spent the whole time there begging for food from the bar patrons. I think it ate half my sandwiches whilst I wast there. Taking an American Eagle back to Puerto Rico on our return to the U.S., a man we recognized at the beach bar on Nevis had the puppy in his carry-on luggage!! Go figure. Robert

I knew someone that had 3 from some Caribbean island. They called them Caribbean short hairs. These dogs were very shy and a bit spooky. We have such a dog population problem in this country though. I'd prefer to work on our own problems. Try going to Arizona or New Mexico...and how about the growing ferral dog problems in our own cities?

Good point. Robert

We just rescued another dog from Purto Rico and have given this little puppy to my Mother and Father in law. Is anyone else taking dogs home from Puerto Rico? There are so many of them and this little girl was literally starving to death when we found her on the side of the road. Evidently people just dump puppies on the highways figuring either they will get picked up or just die out in the woods. We have found so much joy giving these little puppies a 2nd chance.

Bless you ronjrich, and I wish there were more people like you! :)

We went to the Humane Society on Grenada last month and made a donation while in port on a cruise.

Just last week, Peggy e-mailed us from the island with two pictures of the dog our money is going to help subsidize the care and adoption of.

She is just about completely hairless from some kind of skin disorder, but she has the prettiest soft, brown eyes and sweetest face.

We named her Katie, and hope she recovers and gets a new home soon.

We have found that most of the islands have a Humane Society or animal protection league, and we do try to seek them out and make a donation when on vacation.

Most islands are more than happy to adopt to vacationers, as the situation is generally not a happy one for unwanted pets - as is the case most places.

Hopefully your words will encourage more travelers to seek out helping the animals on their trips the way you have.

Good job! :D

Maybe this will give you some ideas. Maybe you could contact Project Potcake in the Bahamas. This is off their website. I know on Bimini, Bahamas, vets from the U.S. visit each year to spay and neuter dogs too. Robert.

WHAT IS PROJECT POTCAKE?

Project Potcake is a highly successful spay/neuter/return program which began on the island of Abaco, in The Bahamas, in 1999. The program’s goal -- to quickly, efficiently and humanely reduce the number and therefore the suffering of the islands free-roaming and indigenous local dogs, known in The Bahamas as Potcakes - gained community-wide support and reduced the reproductive canine population by as much as 75 percent over a four years period.

In April of 2002, at The Island Nations Conference (sponsored by The Humane Society International and The Pegasus Foundation) during the Humane Society’s Annual Expo, Project Potcake was recognized as being the springboard for an ever-growing number of grass roots programs on islands with serious companion animal over population problems throughout the world.

Ironically, Project Potcake was born from the seeds of despair shared by people on Abaco who felt overwhelmed by the number of starving, parasite-infested, cringing, cowering and dying dogs who eked out a short, sorry existence for themselves on the streets and in the bush of one of the friendliest and most idyllic islands in The Bahamas.

The concept for the program came about by asking, “What would we have to do to make this stop?”

Forming a working partnership with Abaco Animals Require Friends (AARF) and the islands veterinarians, SNIP’s founders proposed a unique program that provided absolutely free sterilization of any companion animal for whom residents agreed to assume temporary responsibility. Project Potcake canvassers went door-to-door and street-to-street, in the third largest city in The Bahamas, explaining that a simple surgical procedure would stop the constant birth cycle of free-roaming community dogs. The most common response noted in the early days of the program was incredulity that anyone would bother spend time or money on an island full of “pariah” street dogs. Canvassers assumed all responsibility for catching, transporting and returning each dog after surgery. But this wasn’t enough to secure cooperation from most residents who looked at the animals and only saw unsightly street dog covered with mange and loaded with fleas. What worked on Abaco, what made the initial difference between apathy and support, was the offer of a nominal cash incentive, paid initially for every dog enrolled in the spay/neuter/return program.

How is it possible to bring a dog back home to the U.S. without showing it has its shots? Or is that only from the U.S. to Canada?

Mack2, Puerto Rico is actually part of the US so it is quite different than transporting a dog from another country. While you can certainly get shots on PR through a local vet, we usually bring them home and take them to our local vet to get cleaned up. There is also a great organization called Save A Sato http://www.saveasato.org/ in PR which seeks out stray dogs, nurses them back to health and ships them to various US adoption sites.

There is a "rescue" program here in MA (Buddy Dog)where they bring back dogs called SATOs.. I don't have one, but a friend does.. We were just in Punta Cana at a flea market and our heart broke over a dog who obviously had puppies somewhere and could barely walk, the locals don't care.

Probably not so much of an issue of whether they care or not , perhaps they cant "afford" the luxuries we afford our pets in U.S. and Canada etc. ..... Lifestyle differences , cultural differences ....

If I remember correctly I've read that there are organizations in Mexico that are doing spaying. We ourselves just rescued a 3 1/2 year old dog and I must admit as seniors this dog is the delight of our life...and she is and was spoiled when we adopted her and continue to do so...

Faithie, I think you're right about that.

We have a few local non-kill shelters here in western MA that bring in the SATO dogs from Puerto Rico and in fact my husband and I have just started talking about adopting another dog (one of our had to be euthanized the day after Thanksgiving.) We don't have any major travels until May, so it seems like the perfect time.

Diana, we do the same thing. On every island we've visited we have either made a donation to the local animal shelter/SPCA or bought something whose proceeds benefitted same.

It is really nice to read about others who are adopting and making donations. These dogs are extremely loyal and make great companions for anyone. You are right, we are very fortunate to be able to make the choice to care for our pets in such a "luxurious" way... many others cannot make that same choice. It is heartbreaking nonetheless to witness animals suffering so badly with no hope in sight. I keep thinking about the 2 dogs we have from Puerto Rico, and what their lives would have been like had we not stumbled upon them. They are now full of so much love and affection, but when we found them they were starving, sad and terrified of molst people. The turnaround has been remarkable!

I would love to hear of other stories if people are willing to share. I understand this is a travel forum, but we now vacation in Puerto Rico each year and rescuing dogs has become part of the experience. I hope others are doing the same (or donating to local shelters).

puppyangels.com is a New England rescue group that works with aarf.ai, the local rescue group in Anguilla. They do wonderful work & have found homes for a number of island puppies.

Thanks MaryD. I will be sure to visit their website. Are there other shelters or spay programs that people know about in the Carfibean or Mexico? I would like to make donations if I can...

Here are three I am personally aware of, but almost every island has one:

Grenada - http://www.spiceisle.com/gspca/

Cozumel - http://gocozumel.com/humane.htm

Isla Mujeres - http://www.islaanimals.org

If you are visiting or have a particularly favorite island and google (for example) Tortola SPCA or Tortola Humane Society, you will likely come up with the location.

I can tell you from personal experience that visiting and supporting (no matter how small the amount) these shelters on your vacation is an incredible experience that you will never forget! :) ((@))

Being a true dog lover, owner and proponent of rescue organizations, I would like to add my "two cents". If one is truly committed to pet rescue and horrified at
the conditions in which many animals live,
there are so many worthwhile U.S. state and local organizations who are in dire need of support. Greyhound rescue particularly comes to mind - these animals are noble, kind and without help doomed to a horrifying life. Also, the American Kennal Club (on its website) maintains a list of breed specific rescue groups active in most states. Give these animals a chance. There is much good to be done close to home, too!

Boonie,

Hopefully, without being presumptuous, I am assuming that most who are interested in helping overseas and where they vacation most likely are already helping domestically and want to do more.

Both our cats are rescues, and I volunteer weekly at my local no-kill cat shelter and we donate regularly to our local shelters as well.

I think people interested in this thread may be wanting to go "over and above."

Diana,

I'm ronjrich's wife and I can tell you that you're right about wanting to be involved beyond the local level. We have three dogs from local shelters in addition to our two Puerto Rican rescues. My husband can't even drive by the local humane society without stopping by!