Happy Tails

We are happy to share with you some of the amazing journeys taken by our animals on the road to adoption. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do! If you have a happy “Tail” you’d like to share with us about your SXM Paws experience,  please feel free to contact us.

In 2009, Volunteer Sue brought Greta to the United States, along with two other dogs she brought from Sint Maarten. Greta had a rough 1-1/2 year of her life as a street dog and was not very social, so Sue had a hard time finding her a home. My wife and I came across an ad in the paper for Greta, and had to investigate. The first step was to be sure our cats approved of Greta, so Sue brought her by our house for a “test visit”. Here is a picture of my wife during that visit. Boris, our test cat looks on from the background with approval. After that visit, we agreed to foster Greta for a week to see how things would work out. Turns out it worked it really well because she never left. Greta has been with us for five years now and has fully embedded herself into our family. She will occasionally steal some food from the table if we aren’t watching and likes sneaks up on the big soft bed to take a nap. Greta goes everywhere with us. She has her own dog bed in the back seat of my truck, and her own life jacket for when she rides on the boat. One of her favorite activities is going for a ride to shore in her inflatable.

 Cooper, Domino and Marley

 

Once upon a time there were 2 puppies, dumped in a TV box on Cupecoy Beach. Clayton and Bonnie Tolman from Maine stepped up and chose to adopt them, taking them back to Maine where they named the puppies Cooper and Domino. The next year, the couple came back to Cupecoy Beach again where they found Marley, another beach dog who was always looking for food and in bad shape. Marley adored Clayton and Bonnie so they decided to take him home to Maine to join Cooper, Domino, their coonhound Bell, and they all lived happily ever after.

Blondie Pups

In April 2013, Audrey and I found 6 little pups in the bushes in Terre Basse. While we were expecting to find them, little did we realize that we would become so emotionally attached to these 6 little Blondie pups. Audrey invited them to stay in her garden as they were only about 4 weeks old, and we watched them grow week after week until they were all adopted. Mum and Dad were both spay/ neutered, and returned to the Terre Basse bushes but I continue to feed them every night, and they are a very happy couple. Three of the Blondie pups went to Canada, 2 went to the USA, and 1 stayed here in Sint Maarten. We follow their progress through Facebook, and recently we got a photo of Copper on the big screen at the Dodgers Stadium recently and Scuba with his Canadian hat on Canada Day. We love these pups!

Rudi

 

Rudi was first rescued by Elisabeth and lived at her plantation house in Mary Fancy. When I first saw him, he was going for a dip to cool off in the dirty stream nearby. He seemed restless and hot, his thick coat seemed far too hot for a dog living in the Caribbean! A few weeks later, I picked him up and brought him over to Animal Care Center, where it turns out he had an ear infection. He stayed at the center for a few weeks, until Shaheena Anene very kindly agreed to foster him alongside her two Dalmatians. He had a great time there, discovering air conditioning, regular meals, walks, and playtime. What a grand life for one who did not know any of this! Things got even better when Elaine Malec in Pittsburgh said she would like to adopt Rudi!! The timing was perfect for Professor Theresa Boyd from AUC who was travelling to Washington DC, and agreed to take Rudi with her. After sad farewell at the airport, Rudi wsa flown out in the First Class cabin with Theresa to Washington DC via Charlotte, NC. Last report received on August 29, 2014 was that Rudi got a reasonable bill of health from the vet in Pittsburgh. He has some liver issues to resolve and must have some teeth extracted, but is enjoying the company of Elaines female dogs Sammy and Noel, plus all the new smells in the garden!

Bart & Boris

 

One day, as a was feeding the stray cats in Maho, I came across a friendly pregnant cat who looked days away from delivering. After taking a photo and speaking with Dr. Theresa Boyd, who was also feeding the cats a few nights a week for me, we decided to take her in. I posted her photo on Facebook and soon enough, Margje Troost answered our call for a home for “Maho Mama” to have her kittens. The next day, I picked her up and drove her over to Margjes house where Maho Mama had her kittens that very night; 5 of them! They then spent the happy first 2 months of their lives by Marjge, who was expecting a baby of her own. Dr. Theresa adopted the first calico kitten, then 2 more flew up to Washington DC where animal lover Kelly Heefner Kasul arranged 2 homes for them. Joelle Clark arranged a transport with a friend of hers up to Washington, and Joelle carried another kitten Gabi up to Chicago with her. Tootsie and Alice went to their new homes, and Tootsie was soon joined by her Mama(who is now called Duchess). The 4th kitty stayed on Sint Maarten and was adopted by a kind family from Holland. Later in July, Margje gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Congratulations to all!

Elisabeth`s Caribbean Dump Dogs: The Journey

 

Earlier this year, the animals of St. Maarten lost a great friend: Elisabeth Reitz. Elizabeth, who had been caring for so many dogs all over the island(many on the side of he road or in the dump), passed away after a brief illness. Her old plantation home in the middle of the island, had been a refuge to over 80 dogs. She cared, medicated, and fed all of them that as such she had created a foundation called Elisabeth`s Caribbean Dump Dogs which continues on today, caring for the remaining dogs in the lovely gardens of her old home, last numbered at almost 50. During the months of April through May, we talked to representatives from the Niagara and Toronto Humane societies in Ontario, Canada, and Quebec. With alot of help from Westjet airlines, we managed to ship out over 48 of these dogs to Canada, all of which have been adopted; the last one found a home in mid August. It was a momentous feat, shipping them out 4 kennels at a time, with sometimes 3 dogs in a kennel. Vicki Maxwell from Westjet, asked her friend Dave White to fly down for each trip to escort the dogs back to Canada while Lisa Maroney and Marge Ruddy met them at the other end. They transported them to foster homes or pre-secured kennels while checking their health and temperaments sand helping to socialize a few of them so they could be adopted into loving families. This miraculous feat of cooperation even included operating on the big old Rottweileer we named Alfie, who was later adopted by his foster Mom Marge Ruddy! We so appreciate all the work everyone did to help organize these shipments. On this end, everyone at the Animal Care Center worked above and beyond, with Maureen and Dr. Eva helping me get the dogs ready to ship, Angie and Sam Sollinger driving crates full of dogs in her pick up to the airport, KC West coming during her med school breaks, Mary Meijer and Rob Wiens walking dogs and transporting pups to Toronto, Ellen and Mark Feldman who spent hours in the kennels with n 2 very fearful dogs, Leo & Lionel who helped me catch and tame 2 large pit bulls that went to Montreal, escorts Arna Berg, Jennifer Conquergood, and Brenda Garvey, a big thank you to you all! You earned a special place in the hearts of all the dogs that were lucky enough to fly out to theor forever homes. Cavan Hills Veterinary services in Peterborough Ontario sent a special request to take in 4 of the older dogs from Elisabeths who would normally be difficult to find home for. Among these 4 dogs was a deformed little girl called Diva, for her there was no future until Dr. Richard Matser and his wonderful wife Laura from Cavan Hills offered her a place in Canada. We we have received videos of her running through the green grass in Ontario looking so happy, she holds a special place in everyones’ hearts. Thank you Richard and Laura.

 

In October of 2013, Terry Struthers from the Towers at Mullet Bay called me to say there was a dog at the security shack that was starving and covered in ticks. I drove down there to find a once beautiful dog in terrible shape, I could not even begin to count the ticks on him. Fleas were jumping everywhere and every bone in his body stuck out. We went to Animal Care Center, where he was given the royal treatment, it took days to get off all the ticks. Over the next few months Scooby(who was named by Terry), filled out and started to look like the dog he should be. He was loved by everyone who met him and in February 2014 Scooby was spotted on Facebook by Ami Shahan, who responded to a friend sharing his photo with her, thanks Alli Jacheo. Scooby flew up to Connecticut with a local sign maker, Tim Salt and the rest is history. Ami & Scooby drive around the Connecticut countryside together in an RV, go camping, or just hang out at home. They make a great team!!

 Scarlet/Bella

 

Back in June, a young girl named Yomara Renjifo called me to say there was a dog wandering by her Fathers workplace and it was in bad shape. When I went to investigate, I found a picture of misery. A dog that was so skinny, and her skin so raw, I doubted she would survive. I scooped her up and we went back to Animal Care Center where Dorette, Maureen, and Dr. Eva spent the next few months getting Scarlett back on the road to recovery. Dorette suggested we call her Scarlet O Hara, because she would never be hungry again,a line from ‘Gone with the Wind’, and our goal is and was to definitively make sure of that! Scarlett was adopted to a wonderful local couple who are originally from France, and made Scarlett part of their family and renamed her Bella. A big thank you goes out to all who helped this little girl get the life she so deserves.

Audrey’s Magical Garden

 

I got a call from Audrey Andrus, who asked me to go to the dog pound on the French side. She told me about a young dog that had been found tied with wire to a tree with no food and water, and her  6 one week old pups. “Please rescue them and put them in my garden” said Audrey, and call her June”. Months before, she had let me put 6 other pups there so I knew it was the best safe haven for them. With a quiet garden with a wooden dog house, I knew that would seem like a palace after the bleak concrete floor at the dog pound. Ursula from I LOVE MY ISLAND DOG assisted me in getting June and her pups out of the shelter. When June`s eyes met mine, they said thank you. As I looked closely at her, I saw a red gash on her neck and upon closer inspection I saw the wire that was used to tie her to the the tree was still embedded in her neck, sinking in at least an inch all around her neck. The pain must have been unbearable, but all she could think of was her pups. After the vet wrestled to get the wire out we bundled all into the car and took off to the garden. June and her pups flourished there, every day June got better and the pups grew. It was not long before I received another phone call from Audrey saying “Another 6 pups have been found dumped on the roadside. Can you rescue and put them with June? I did and June being the trooper that she is nursed and looked after all 12 of the pups. One by one each pup got adopted. 1 to Texas, 4 to Connecticut,1 to NY, 6 still in Sint Maarten. Best of all, June was adopted by a loving family in Michigan who already had Spot who grew up in the same Garden. During that year, 21 pups started their lives in Audreys magical garden. SXM PAWS thanks her so much for giving them this great start in life.