Living in a third world county is not only hard for people, but for the animals too. When I decided to travel to Cuba, I really thought about how I could help, but I was clueless. I believed things don't have to be the way they are so I'm constantly trying to make a difference. Whenever in doubt about my efforts, I always remember the Starfish story. I applaud the folks at the Spanky Project because this was a small effort that is growing over the years.
Their lead volunteers have worked tirelessly for years to get the initiative where it is today and it's expanding. A lot of hard work for years has gone into this project and I was impressed with their education component. Every initiative for change has to start somewhere! They've also been able to send street dogs Cuba (Satos) to forever homes and work with locals when they need help with their pets.
Even though, Cuba suffers from economic hardship and severely limited resources, we can still educate. That is free and why we can always rely on education to lead change. Bringing vets in from around the world to teach vet students small animal medicine (like spay/neuter) is changing the way the culture views pet overpopulation and adding animal welfare to their agenda.
I am happy to have been a part of the Spanky Project and will continue to do so!
