myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Hello All,
Did anyone see the article about the Tobago hound, Gilpin, adopted and flown home to the UK. It was a 2 page article in the Daily Mail today (30/12/06)
Anyone wanting more info about the plight of the dogs in Tobago should visit the TTSPCA Animal shelter website at http://www.ttspca.com
or email [email protected]
Please note it only costs £30 to neuter a dog and help stop their terrible suffering. Who could visit Tobago and not notice the many mangy and starving dogs on the island? I appeal to those who remember and who want to help...

Hi Anna
I would be very interested to read that article.
I would also like to hear from anyone who has brought a dog back to the UK from Tobago to discuss any problems they encountered and how the dog adjusted to life in the UK.
I visited the shelter, on my last day in Tobago, and was extremely moved by all those lovely dogs needing good homes. While I realise that there are many dogs in the UK which also need rehoming, the situation in Tobago would appear to be extremely desperate because the island is small and only a minority of the population would be sympathetic to their plight. The dogs have a very slim chance of getting rehomed.
I am currently exploring the costs involved in bringing some of the dogs back to the UK to rehome - they are such loving, friendly dogs and would make a superb companion. Additionaly, I am going to speak to my local Vets to see if I can drum up their interest to go out and do some voluntary speying and castrating which is essential to alleviate the problem.
Would love to hear from anyone who is interested and could join with me to make a difference to this situation. Where there is a will there is a way!

Hi Anna & Manda

I was just about to update my posting "Carib home in England....at last" and picked up your two recent postings. If you read my story you will see that getting Carib home to England was not easy or cheap !! I would say that we probably spent in the region of £2,800. However Tobago is now a rabies free country so the dog could stay in Tobago for six months having tests and jabs and could then come to England without quarantine at this end. Andrea and Mrs Phillips from the TTSPCA in Tobago could explain further, they were so very helpful.

Anyway Carib came home to our house on New Years Eve and he is just lovely ! He is a typical boisterous ten month puppy which our ten year old lab doesnt appreciate very much.She tells him off when she has had enough playing, although she can be just as bad as him sometimes.

Its funny watching Carib with things he's never seen. Like barking at the telly and today he was wary of walking past a billboard with a large dog on it!

Three days into having him home we have no regrets at all. He is a really lovely dog although I dont think he'd fit under a sunlounger anymore. Hopefully Steve will post some updated photos of Carib when I send them to him.

Regards Sandra
p.s Happy New Year

Hello Manda and Sandra,
Manda, i would be happy to post you the newspaper article or you may be able to view it on the Daily Mail website in a back issue 30/12/06.
I would be very keen to join forces with you to help the Tobago dogs. I have the will, like you! I believe neutering is the key to solving the problem. Good luck with the vets.It is my ambition to one day bring a dog home....and i will offer any help i can to anyone else who wants to rehome a Tobago hound. I am going to Tobago on 22/3/07 for 2 weeks and i will be visiting the TTSPCA shelter if anyone needs a go between as Sandra did.
Sandra, your story was great! Carib must be a great start to the New Year.I also stayed at the Rex and befriended the dogs but i believed they were be poisoned too. I have great repsect for you for not just walking away from that puppy but persevering with it and bringing him home..
Very well done.

Hi again Anna

My husband & I must have spent an hour looking for the report on the dog from Tobago in the Mail website without any luck! We would love a copy too please as it would make a really interesting read. Is there any chance you could post a link or email it to me direct ?

Regards Sandra

Hi Sandra,
Yes of course! I need your address though!!Perhaps Steve could email it to me if you don't want to post your address on this public website?
Anna

Hi Anna & Sandra

Yes, I will happily pass on any addresses, etc. Just click on the Email button below, Sandra, and it will open an email to me. I will then pass your address onto Anna at the address she registered for forum membership.

Hi Everyone
I too searched the Daily Mail website but to no avail, but I have managed to track someone down with a back copy which they are sending to me. Might be worth seeing if the Mail would do a follow up article about Carib - and maybe the extra publicity could drum up some more support for TSPCA!
We should definitely all get together. Perhaps we could start up the Kent and Home Counties branch of the TSPCA ? It would be great to provide a UK rehoming service and do the leg work for interested tourists who could possibly fund a dog's flight to the UK. I have heard that some flights to Germany allow the dog onto the plane with the passenger. Not sure how true that is - but worth investigating.
Steve, please could you include me in the loop for exchanging contact details ?
Many thanks
Manda

As promised, here are a couple of photographs from Sandra showing Carib (and new friend).

Manda - I'm not quite sure by what you mean about being "in the loop". I am always happy to pass on addresses for people, but can I please ask readers who don't mind others emailing them to make their email address public by selecting the option in their Profile (click the Profile link at the top of the page). Then, others will be able to click on the Email button beneath any of your posts to contact you. Thanks!

Thanks Steve, I have now done that. Also thanks for a great website - without which we would not have discovered Elaine and Orchid Villas - we had a superb holiday there. All the info on your website proved very accurate and an invaluable holiday guide. : It is ashame you can't clone yourself - every holiday destination could do with a Steve Wooler Guide !

He is sooo cute -(Carib that is!) He looks the picture of health and certainly very happy in his new surroundings. He is one of the extremely lucky ones - I wish there could be more happy endings for the Tobago Pot Hounds.
Anna & Sandra, I would love to talk with you both at greater length about the dogs and what we can do. If you are willing to chat, please e-mail me directly with your telephone numbers etc. I would especially welcome any information from Sandra about which carrier transported Carib back to the UK. Also anyone else out there who has seen the dogs, first hand and would like to do something to help from the UK, please e-mail me direct.
Thanks, Manda

Hello Sandra and anybody else who has brought a dog back to the UK from Tobago,
Please can you tell me what approved flight route you used to get your dog home? According to DEFRA, a dog has to travel on an approved flight route and there don't appear to be any from Tobago to the UK.
Thanks.
Anna

Hi Anna

Mrs Phillips at TTSPCA arranged the flight for us in the end because the jobsworth at BWIA kept sending us around Tobago to fetch document after document.

When we had to come home Mrs Phillips sorted the final plans and Carib flew with BWIA to Trinidad and then onto England.

The whole process was so stressful I wouldn't like to get involved in trying to get other dogs in Tobago re-homed here in England, it really was a nightmare!!

Regards Sandra

Hi Sandra

Great to see Carib out of quarantine - he looks very well and will hopefully start to enjoy his walks and not startle at every strange object. I have now moved to Trinidad from Tobago with my 2 dogs and they had a difficult time adapting to seeing people with push chairs and cars whizzing by. They now bark at the postman too!
The TTSPCA in Port of Spain is another world as far as accommodation goes compared to Tobago as there are obviously alot more people about with plenty of money. It is a pity the 2 kennels share the same title as that seems to be all they share.
In December Mrs Phillips sent 6 dogs to Port of Spain to try and have them re- housed but as yet there have been no takers and this branch have a 3 months policy where the dogs are destroyed if no home is found. They destroyed about 3-4,000 dogs last year and re-homed about 600. (My figures are a bit vague so check the website at http://www.TTSPCA.net for all the correct info)
Our AGM is in March and I will have to resign as secretary but I hope to stay in close touch with the 'happenings'at the shelter.
I have asked Mrs Phillips for costs and proceedures involved in sending dogs to UK.
It is true that it seems easier to get dogs to Germany and if you accompany the dog it costs about US$150. We had 6 dogs go to Germany in September/October. The lady who took 4 dogs came with her husband and they left with 2 dogs each on seperate flights! Also, they had come over 6 months prior to pick the dogs and have them micro-chipped then they were looked after at the shelter till the 6months were up. I also have a feeling the 6months rule may not apply but would have to check on this.
The key to solving all our problems is education!

Love to Carib from Chico & Hazel

Happy New Year to All
Andrea

Hi Andrea

Lovely to hear from you again. I can't believe how many dogs were destroyed I knew the figure was high but when you see it written down its quite frightening.

I have spoken to the vet where we live and have booked Carib in for castration on Tuesday next week poor thing !! I was going to leave it a while as he has been through so much this year but the vet seemed to think the sooner the better.

I hope that you are happy in your new home and that Chico and Hazel get used to the postman soon.

Happy New Year

Sandra

Hi Sandra
I'm sure Carib will be fine after his 'op'. My 2 scamps were spayed in September and they recover soooo fast!
Best Wishes
Andrea

Hi Andrea

That seems a very high number of dogs to be destroyed - how very sad. Although I have no idea how many dogs are actually destroyed by shelters in the UK to form any comparison. It is quite tragic that the dogs sent over to Trinidad, by Mrs Phillips, for a better chance of rehoming are almost living on death row now. Fingers crossed for them.

I am very interested in the German route and would love more information regarding the carrier etc. Would it be possible to put me in touch with the German couple who took the dogs? They could prove an invaluable source of information. It may be possible to then drive the passported dogs back to the UK from Germany, as long as the dogs will be allowed over the borders without too much red tape. I suppose it depends on how widely accepted the dog passport is.

I have e-mailed both Virgin and Thomsonfly to try and get the details of their dog carriage from Barbados to the UK but have heard nothing from either yet. Any information you can give me regarding air transport, or contact info for the German couple (obviously with their prior permission) would be gratefully accepted.
Thanks
Manda

Sandra,
Lovely to see how Carib has developed since we saw this little puppy in the Vets. Our own Sunday is very similar to Carib facially, although more ginger. Funily enough he also barks at animals on the television and most definitely at the postmen

Mummy and Sunday are the most wonderful pets. Our other dogs adore them both, particularly Sunday. He, although the smallest, seems to rule the roost!

It was nice to see them being referred to as Tobago Pot Hounds, which we do. That and Tobagonian Terriers !

I can only reiterate to all what wonderful companions these dogs make and that Mrs Phillips is by far the best contact for anyone considering bringing a dog home

I would be more than happy to assist in answering any questions
regards
James

I am happy to assi

We have successfully sent a dog to the UK recently.
We have also sent another dog to Canada.
One of our members sent some dogs to Germany.
All have adapted to their new environment and bring a lot of
joy to their owners.
We shall post our latest newsletter on our website soon to keep
you up to date with how we are trying to solve the problem of
stray dogs on the Island.
Thank you all for caring.
Mary Soodeen
Secretary
TTSPCA Tobago Branch