Two former 'party girls' who happen to be animal lovers, now rescuers and advocates, who stumble upon and help animals in need, while travelling the world.
** We are not a registered charity. She introduced herself, lay down beside me on the steps, and tried to sleep. She seemed very tired, lethargic and listless. She couldn’t seem to find a comfortable spot to settle into. Noisy trucks drove by w
hich scared her and disturbed her attempt at sleep. I was worried about her, as I am when I see any stray dog or cat. She was not yet jaded by Havana’s streets and it was easy to fall in love with her. The next time I saw her was at a barbecue, she recognized me and ran over to sleep under my chair. I fed her half of my steak, and once satisfied, she ran off to socialize with other people and dogs. A day later, the Captain and I went to a party at Viejo y le Mer, an abandoned hotel in the Marina complex. That night, hundreds of young kids lined the outdoor pool to rave into the night to the sounds of a hip-hop deejay. When we entered the lobby, there she was again, surrounded by party-goers and blaring music! My captain decided to name her “Party Girl” because she WAS a social animal! She found all the happening parties before we did! She was so young. Where did she sleep at night? Where did she eat during the day? I didn’t like leaving her at the hotel… what if she got locked in, but I had nowhere to take her so we left her there. I saw her later, running around outside the large hotel with the “security dog”, another homeless dog who attached himself to the security guards at the hotel. They are always trying to get someone to take him, but he actually does a great job there. so they take care of him. I hoped that she would stay with Security Dog, but given her independent gypsy streak, she would probably keep moving. Sure enough, I never saw her there again. One evening, my captain saw her playing with someone near our boat. How she got down to where we were staying seemed odd, but it turned out she hopped a ride in someone’s truck and was now hanging out at the dock office beside our boat. I fed her, she slept beside the boat under a little blanket, drawing attention from passengers driving by on the bus. A couple days later, I ran into her on the road leading from our boat to the hotel. She was having a great time chasing the guards, and according to other Party Girl pals, she had been scrounging food at the Fiesta Restaurant, and then found her way to the yacht club to fall asleep in someone’s lap. During this week and half of Party Girl sightings, I became more attached and worried about her little life at Marina Hemingway. It is tough going for a Cuban street dog. She was so cute and happy but I was concerned about how long that would last. She would likely become pregnant, and the cycle would continue. For the next few days, I did not see Party Girl, and I had pretty much given up on being able to help her in any way. By now I had talked to a lot of people about my little Party pup and asked if they would be on the lookout for her. Oddly enough, the boat next to us had a number of kennels on deck, and just in case I found her again, I asked if I could borrow one of the cages. Lori emailed me about Aniplant, an animal refuge in Havana, and I hoped that I might be able to rescue Party Girl before setting sail again. Time was running out. On the last night before setting sail, when returning from an evening out, the Cuban security guards excitedly greeted us. They had found Party Girl, and there in a borrowed kennel from the boat next door, was Party Girl waiting for me! Thankfully, I was able to take her to Aniplant before we set sail and she is now in Havana under Nora's care until I can go back to Havana to bring her to Toronto to enjoy a new forever home! Dec 2015
Postscript: Party Girl, and her friend Nia, travelled to Canada in early 2016. They are now happy in their new homes in Canada.
