Before I went to Cuba, one thing I worried about was that I would see suffering. Particularly animals suffering. In fact, I never saw even one instance of mistreatment or neglect in the entire time we were there. The first day, walking through Old Havana as a group, I saw a loose dog. It was friendly with everyone, and yet looked as though it was by itself. I asked our guide, who had studied in the U.S. and so was fluent in English. He claimed, "Cuba's dogs belong to everyone, and everyone looks out for them." I could
not get my brain around that. I feared that he was just trying to paint a rosy picture. So, I began noting how all the dogs looked, everywhere we went. Then I began noticing all the horses, and chickens. Everybody--the creatures--were healthy, albeit certainly not fat. Well, perhaps there were even some fat dogs.
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| This little lady was hanging out at a Santeria House that we visited. She was one of many hairless dogs we spotted! |
A place where many dogs seemed to make their home was the home of Earnest Hemingway. They lounged about on the exterior patio that wrapped around the plantation-style home as though they had just eaten and were taking a siesta.
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| Dogs asleep on the steps at Earnest Hemingway's home in Havana. |
One of our last stops before leaving was the Universidad de Habana -- the University of Havana. Interestingly, we toured the engineering department and met with an engineering professor. Like the other places we visited, it was beautifully built, with grand marble buildings and imposing scale, not unlike any university here in the U.S. I noted a guard working the small quadrangle where our private bus dropped us off, and again, a dog lounging nearby. The dog appeared to be doing nothing; going no place; and not connected to anybody. Until the guard walked near. The dog softly arose and strolled close to the guard. I even pointed this out to Jeff, because it was so odd (well, we are dog people, and we wondered where the dog lived).
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| Sleeping dogs at the Universidad de Habana in the quad area in front of the Engineering Department |
As the dog approached the guard, he lifted his head, seemingly in recognition. The guard walked past the dog and appeared not to notice it. Jeff felt sure there had been a gesture or words quietly to the dog. Minutes passed, and the dog, clearly not a military or police dog, but really a local mutt, like all we had seen, approached the guard again, and again, no observable communication passed between them, but this time, the dog wagged its tail momentarily. Then I knew. This street dog had a person, and that person was the guard. Clearly, the dog was there for him, in spite of the fact that he could not allow himself to appear to be 'letting his guard down' while on duty. My heart soared.
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| The guard and the street dog. A secret liaison. |
(Continued in Part 4 ... )
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