Puppies take to skies for new homes

The Cayman Islands Humane Society sent 12 shelter puppies off to an animal shelter in Broward County, Florida, recently. Although these transfers used to take place quite often in the past, the society had not been able to send puppies over for the past several months due to intakes from other Caribbean islands, according to Shelter Liaison Twila Escalante. 

The puppies were accompanied by longtime volunteers Lindsey Gordon and Lesley Walker, both of whom have been appointed as directors of the Humane Society. 

“We were assured that the young dogs were likely to be adopted into forever homes within a matter of days,” said Ms Gordon. 

“We were greeted by Lacey Freeman, foster care and clinic administrative assistant and her team, who quickly took charge of the new arrivals, giving them a medical and wellness check up.” 

According to Ms Gordon, the Broward shelter has an arrangement with three local branches of Petco, a nationwide chain of pet supply stores, whereby the youngest kittens and puppies are sent there for adoption. These outlets are manned by shelter personnel who look after the animals and handle adoption inquiries, resulting in increased chances of a quick adoption into a new home for the Cayman pups.  

“Additionally adopters can be satisfied that the puppies they have taken into their homes are not originating from puppy mills,” Ms Gordon said. 

With an excellent adoption rate for puppies and older dogs, the lucky Cayman puppies should have a very good chance of finding a happy home. 

The puppies were not the only ones to make their way off island in the last couple of weeks, with three other shelter dogs making their way to New York. 

Tricia Conolly had adopted a dog from the shelter five years ago and recently contacted the shelter about adopting another dog. 

“We sent photos and profiles but they could not decide which dog to choose and eventually ended up visiting here for a vacation in October. They visited the shelter and walked the dogs and after much deliberation decided to adopt not just one dog but two,” Ms Escalante said. 

However, as they could not finalise the flight arrangements for the dogs, Billy Jean and Flynn (who has since been renamed Seamus) the Humane Society made arrangements for the dogs to make the trip to New York to meet their new family, who made the seven hour drive from their hometown to pick the dogs up at the airport. 

The other dog, Jupiter, went to Dawn DeSantis and her husband in Connecticut. They adopted a dog, Nelson, here while on their honeymoon but undertook to see whether they could help other shelter dogs find a home there as well and Jupiter has benefitted from their generosity. According to Ms Gordon, the Humane Society relies heavily on the help of the community to send puppies overseas. 

“The Cayman Islands Humane Society depends on the kindness of their supporters in donating unneeded Cayman Airways air miles which enable us, with the cooperation of Cayman Airways, to do these transfers at minimal cost. If you have any air miles to spare please donate them to this very worthy cause,” she said. 

However, Ms Gordon said that although the puppy transfer helps with the number of animals housed at the shelter, it did not present a solution. 

“While it is great to be able to transport puppies overseas, it would be better if we could reduce the numbers of puppies being surrendered to our shelter in Cayman. We encourage all pet owners to spay and neuter their pets in order to avoid unwanted pups and kittens,” she said. 

The shelter runs a programme offering assistance with the costs of spay and neuter and anyone who would like to take advantage of this service should call the Humane Society on 949-1461.