Potcake Puppy Goes Boating!

Just got back from Abaco, and brought back 3 potcake pups with us this time. One of them, Freckles, loves to go boating! He's already been adopted, too!

An update from our Miranda Puppy, adopted on the 4th of July:

Thing are going very well. We have named her Sachi (pronounced Sah-chee), it’s Japanese for joy and she is so joyful! Sona, our other dog, lets her cuddle (see pic) at times, but also still puts her in her place if she gets too rambunctious! We were at the vet last week for the next round of shots and got the stitches out, no problems there. She had tapeworms and we got that addressed as well and also got her (and our older dog) micro chipped.

Sachi has got to be the smartest dog I’ve ever had. She figured out the doggie door in a day and can go up steps, but not down. She watches me all the time and picks up on cues. She has dinner time all figured out, I feed Sona first and then her. Sachi waits till it is her turn and then gets all excited. She does not like being confined, but has accepted her crate at night, as long as we are all sleeping. When she’s in the crate during the day and people are around she is not happy. But I think that is because she is a real people dog. We are still working on house breaking which is to be expected. She goes all night without needing to go out, so that is a relief. She had a hard time getting used to a collar and a leash and will still back away from me when I pick up the leash to take her for a walk, but she is starting to get used to it.

There is one other funny thing that she did. I discovered that we had an issue with bees in our backyard. So I called Critter Patrol to get it taken care of, but it turned out they were carpenter bees and did not sting. Well, every once in a while one of these bees will die and fall to the ground. Sachi bats around the bee’s body, playing with it like a cat toys with a mouse. At least she didn’t try to eat it. Anyway I had critter patrol spray the tree to make the bees go away and we’ve been fine ever since.

I hope her sisters are doing well and her brother too. She has been a great addition to our family. Thanks for rescuing her and letting us adopt her! ….Mary

Check out this great article in the local Dunwoody Crier newspaper:

http://www.thecrier.net/articles/2008/07/22/front/dogstory.txt

The potcake transfer has been completed! On Saturday, the pups flew into West Palm via Bahamas Air with Chris & Molly Roberts. Then Chris & Molly rented a minivan and drove to Gainesville, Florida, to spend the night at the pet-friendly LaQuinta Inn. Sunday, I jumped in our minivan and drove down to Valdosta, Georgia, where Chris & Molly drove up to meet me. We met at Exit 29 and completed the puppy transfer. I drove back with 5 pups in the van, and not one of them made a peep (or a poop). Upon arrival in Atlanta, they were "released" into my backyard for exercise and exploration. Then Al & Sandra came by to pick up the 3 brown ones that they are now fostering. I'm fostering the 2 white ones. All are doing well!!!



My friend and fellow potcake-lover, Jacq Marie, had magnetic signs made up for the minivan... Thanks to Diirga the Laughing Dragon! (a local Atlanta artist who drew them up)

Me with the sign:

Chris & Molly with the puppies:

From Taffy's new owners, with pictures of her after her eye surgery (for cherry eyes)....

Just a quick update on Taffy; she is still doing just great and fitting into our lives so well, we can't remember life without her! We discovered a hidden talent the other day...she "sings" when you do - it's really quite a show! :) Her eye surgery is scheduled for next Thursday (both eyes); this is the same vet that did both of our other cockers; I have know him since 1991 and have complete faith that it will go just fine. I will send some pics online after they have healed. She had her first grooming today since coming to live with us; that went well and she looks beautiful! I hope you are doing well and that many adoptions have taken place in the last month; I will check your site tonight!

We Are Not Alone!

The following article was published in St. Catharines Standard in Ontario Canada (1 hour south of Toronto and 15 minute north of Niagara falls):

Puppy love: Woman brings strays back from Bahamas
By DON FRASER
Posted 4/24/08
Jill Gandza took one look into the row of glistening puppy-dog eyes and was hooked. She knew there was no turning away from these helpless mutts. During the March break, she and her family travelled to the Bahamian island of Great Exuma, where she stayed at a home co-owned by her friend Donna Baer and Baer’s mother, Flora. Great Exuma is known for its stunning Caribbean beauty and mixed-breed dogs called potcakes. Many of those pooches are strays, whose lives are shortened by starvation, disease or run-ins with cars.

“When I was near our house there, I noticed this mother dog running around with all kinds of puppies,” she said. “We stopped our car, saw one run underneath an abandoned van and there were 12 little heads peeking out. Because I’m an animal lover, I was upset and started to cry. It was very disturbing,“ said Gandza, who lives with her family in west St. Catharines.
“I knew there was no life for them.”

Last week, the nurse at St. Catharines General Hospital returned to the island to bring those pups that had stolen her heart back to Niagara for adoption. To her dismay, she learned all but five had been killed by vehicles along Queen’s Highway, which runs the length of the 60-kilometres-long island.

Because of airline restrictions, only four dogs could be brought back. So Gandza decided to take the four females of the litter and leave the male pup, in an effort to help control the breeding of the island strays.

In all, she and her son Greg, 13, took about an hour and a half to round up the dogs. The pup’s mother could not be caught. The puppies were deloused and de-wormed on the island. They will be immunized and will be spayed.

On Thursday, a day after their flight from the Bahamas in two crates, the pups were seen safe in Gandza’s garage, sniffing around their temporary home. A moment later, all four — Flora, Potcake, Santana and Bahama — flopped on top of each other like a canine layer cake.

The four animals are not the only ones to be rescued from the island, thanks to the efforts of Donna Baer and her business partner Dale Halsey. The two co-own the Pet Valu store at the Pendale Plaza in St. Catharines. Aside from the latest animals, two dogs and five kittens have been rescued from the island in the past five years, Baer said. All now have homes.

“It started when I found a stray dog that was so skinny and eating garbage,” said Baer, who has since adopted that pooch, and named her Potcake. “Last year, I went down and found one living under a hut.” That dog’s name is Mango and she also found a home with Baer.

Baer and Gandza say people have asked them why they’re concerned about animals in a foreign country, when others in Canada need adopting. Their answers are the same.

The stray pups are in jeopardy. The women come face-to-face with them. It’s a circumstance that compels them to do something. Baer tells these questioning people, “Well, these animals cross your path, you’re there and see it and you can’t just turn your back.”

Gandza also describes a gut reaction. “I saw the puppies. The image I saw remains, and I have to go back,” she said, as her rescued babies drifted off to sleep inside their cage.

Meanwhile, Gandza said she’s trying to convince her husband, Ron, to let the family keep one of the potcakes. Their house already has four rescued animals.

The other three animals will be adopted through the Pendale Pet Valu, with a charge for each animal to cover the cost of spaying. Donations for further rescues and efforts to spay and neuter stray animals in Great Exuma will also be accepted at the store. A donation from a Pet Valu customer helped defray some of the costs of the Gandza mission.

“We’re all hoping to continue the potcake rescue missions,” Gandza said. “There is a problem on the island, so if we can help, we’ll do it.”

Caption: ST. CATHARINES, APRIL 24, 2008 -- Four puppies, Potcake mix were brought from a Bahamian Island looking for good homes. The puppies were brought over by the Gandza family and will be at the Pendale Plaza Pet Value. Front are Greg and Jill Gandza with Donna Baer and Dale Halsey. Staff photo by Bob Tymczyszyn

P.S. Jill did keep one for herself and calls her Flora!

Hi, my name is Caroline and I was one of the girls that donated the proceeds of our lemonade sale to help your foundation grow and especially to help your dogs. From left to right in the photo are Anya, Myself, Connelly, and Anna. We all are very passionate about animals and all want to do every thing in our power to help them. I was especially fascinated by the fact that you rescue a lot of these dogs from the Carribean islands because one of my dog's names is Flea. We think Flea was the runt of the family and so she couldn't get to her mom's milk and got kicked out of the litter. My mom and I were driving around Grenada, West Indies and she popped out onto the road. We took her home and washed her (she had worms, mange, fleas, ticks, etc.) and took her to the vet. After my brother and I had begged so much my parents said we could take her home, and we did. Now she's a healthy dog with her best friend our lab Sunshine. Thanks to you guys more dogs can have better lives in nice comfy homes in the U.S.

Sincerely, Caroline

Wow!!! We had an incredible group of young ladies come into Petsmart today to present us with their earnings from lemonade sales! They decided to donate their earning to help homeless pets, and we (and the pets) were the lucky recipients! It is always so great for us to see young people who care for animals, and you can see that our animals benefitted from their extra loving today! Thank you very much!!!

Fortunately for us, we were very busy, but unfortunately we did not get the names of these girls. So if you know these girls, or you are these girls, please drop us an email so we can acknowledge you personally!

Another Update!

Updates are so important to us. When we adopt our dogs out, we miss them very much and we often wonder how they are doing. Please send us a photo of your Royal Potcake baby!

Here's one from Avis (formerly known as Trixie) who we adopted out in August 2007:

Just wanted to update you a little on Avis. (Not the car rental place- we named her after a song) She is doing great! She is full of love, likes camping, playing disc golf, and hanging with her best buddy Cooper- the white fluffy thing in the last picture. She is also very good at playing by herself- throwing a ball around etc. We get left out of the game quite often!
She is very smart- knows a lot of commands and after a little training, has become great on a leash. She loves stuffed animals- some get the stuffing taken out in about 40 seconds, and others she keeps for months! Still trying to figure out what makes her choose the ones to keep.
There was an occasional shoe or cell phone charger that was eaten, but now she is almost always well behaved. She goes everywhere with us- not sure how she is going to handle being left at home more when it gets really hot out.
Well, enough of the proud mommy stuff. Thank-you for the blessing of our baby. She makes our world a better place. You couldn't possibly know how much we love her. You do a wonderful job going and getting these babys. Let us know if you want to see her sometime.

Jay wants another one. I want a bigger house! We'll call you once we have more room.
Take care!
Jay, Amanda, & Avis

Report from Treasure's Mom:

We love hearing from our adopters! Here's a report from Treasure's Mom -- Treasure was the first potcake we ever rescued!!!

Hi Judy, I took Treasure to the beach last weekend and he loved the sand, did not like the water at all, you'll see in the one photo he is actually running from the water. They were having a dog walk on the boardwalk to benefit the local shelter, so we signed him up, got a bandanna and walked with the other dogs, he loved it. And this week I'm going to start taking him to doggie day care 1 or 2 days a week, we checked out the place Friday at their "Yappy Hour" and he made so many new friends. Can we say spoiled!??!!
--Roni