For the love of dogs
Abandoned dogs from Cuba welcomed into Valley homes
Dog lover Cheryl Ponee is used to seeing her two dogs bounding through the door to play in the snow. However, two K9 houseguests were recently less enthusiastic about a romp in the winter wonderland in Ponee’s yard.
“The first time I took them outside, they were like, ‘Yeah … no.’ They ran right back to the door,” Ponee said, describing the reaction of San and Blanqui when walking on snow for the first time.
The two are rescue dogs she brought back to her Valley home from the streets of Cuba just days before.
“But after a couple of days when they saw me pull out their jackets, they followed my dogs.”
Ponee, a veteran constable with the Annapolis RCMP, makes several trips a year to Cuba, where she also works for resorts as a fitness instructor. Over four years, she has worked with a team of Cuban animal lovers she calls “protectors.” On most trips, Ponee brought four empty animal crates full of supplies such as medications, dog food, leashes and collars. Dog food and other supplies are rare in Cuba.
Ponee has also rescued 11 dogs, ferrying them to new adoptive homes in Nova Scotia, many in the Valley.
“My whole life I have loved animals, especially dogs,” Ponee said, adding she became concerned after seeing firsthand the dire conditions stray dogs faced in Cuba.
“I reached out to a couple of people in Cuba I saw on Facebook that help with the animals. And I became addicted,” Ponee said.
She said people who see the work she and her network of protectors do in Cuba have asked why she just doesn’t volunteer for shelters or help dogs here.
“In Cuba they have nothing. Little to no access to vet meds, no adequate shelters and no animal protection law so people can abandon or abuse animals. We have laws here, shelters and access to medications,” Ponee said. “My help in Cuba is more needed there especially during the past two years with Covid shutting down the resorts and Cubans being out of work, meaning no money. And the cost of food has risen.”
Ponee has donated a portion of membership fees each month to the rescue effort from her online fitness business called NRG2GO. She has negotiated with airlines to bring crates of supplies to Cuba and has put a lot of time, effort and money into navigating the journey back to Nova Scotia, which often includes a connecting flight in Toronto.
She said landing the three dogs on the recent trip cost upwards of $500, including customs fees, vet fees and ground and air transportation.
“I have since been getting a lot of messages of people wanting a Cuba rescue which is great. But there is cost and effort involved,” Ponee said.
She cared for the three new furry friends in her home for nearly five days before they went off to their new homes.
“It takes work as the dogs are not trained and can be very food driven. So, time and patience is required,” Ponee said.
Four-month-old Ember joined San and Blanqui on the trip from Cuba to the Valley after her mother was found dead in the street by a protector. The puppy fits in quite well and has plenty of company at the East Tremont home of Angela Strang, her family and their 15 dogs, cats and bunnies, plus chickens, ducks and a pig.
“We have a little bit of a farm here,” Strang said, tongue in cheek, noting several of the animals are rescues.
Ember is the second rescue dog from Cuba the Strang family took into their home.
“It isn’t for the faint of heart. Any rescue dog is going to take work. You have to put in the effort,” Strang said. “You have to really want it and be really invested and want the well-being of this animal.
“I think she is going to be just fine,” Strang said of how Ember is adjusting to her new life in the Valley. “She is a very muchloved member of the family. She is a very smart little puppy …
She is spoiled.”
Ponee has planned three more trips this winter to bring supplies to the protectors in Cuba.
“What these women and men do is incredible. They go with little themselves to be able to go out daily and feed the strays on the street and hold sterilization clinics to get the strays sterilized to prevent more animals running the streets. This is all volunteer,” Ponee said.
“Anyone wanting to donate meds or monetary donations, can contact me via Facebook. … Anything is always greatly appreciated.”