Bahama Potcakes

This lucky dog just got back from a vacation in The Bahamas! It may be paradise, but there are still lots of homeless dogs there. I spent one morning with two of my human friends doing a little volunteering at the Grand Bahama Humane Society. The workers were sure happy to have the help--they have over 300 dogs to take care of! They have 112 kennels to clean and 200 adult dogs to walk every day--and they go through 100 pounds of food a day. The shelter was overcrowded, with 2-3 dogs per indoor kennel, and half of them in semi-covered outdoor kennels. They spend $1,500/ month just on cleaning supplies, and run 25 loads of laundry a day. You can learn more about their challenges and hard work in this youtube video. Most of the dogs there were from the street, so they were not used to being around humans, let alone on leashes, but were still friendly and grateful for the attention. They all looked like mutts, but down there they call them "potcakes," which I love!

Between the three of us, we walked 15 dogs that morning. Of course, we set aside a little time to play with the puppies--who were in need of some human socialization. It was a lot of fun, and felt great to help out, even just a little. After we got off of our sailboat later in the day and came across an very skinny injured stray on the beach, I found comfort in knowing I was able to help out other dogs that came from that kind of tough life. Think about looking up the local animal shelter next time you travel, a little more volun-tourism can go a long way in communities struggling to help their homeless dogs. Here a few pics from the day: