Basic HTML Version
110
Escarpment Magaz ine Winter
2012
escarpment
FOUR LEGGED FRIENDS
The Plight of the Potcake
By DR. JACQUIE PANKATZ
We
are fortunate to have wonderful animal rescue organizations including Furry Friends of Collingwood and
the Georgian Triangle Humane Society who dedicate their time and resources to providing care and shelter to
the hurt and homeless pets in our region. Please consider these charitable organizations this Winter as efforts
need to be ongoing to keep these organizations up and running. As this popular quotation states:
“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the ways its animals are treated.”
~Mahandas Gandhi
This appears to be a universal belief and it is always interesting to see how animal rescue efforts operate in other
parts of the world. I am very fortunate to be a part of a wonderful organization called the Turks and Caicos Vet-
erinary Associates, a group of veterinarians mostly from the US and Canada, but some from Europe, who vol-
unteer their time for two weeks approximately every 1-2 years to provide veterinary services to the local pets on
the Turks and Caicos Islands. First invited to the country by a few Grand Turk residents in the early 1980’s, TCI
Veterinary Associates was the first, and now only one of two veterinary hospitals in the country. I recently returned
from a two week “tour”, as we call it, on Providenciales. Being the only veterinarian “on-call” for an entire
country was a little intimidating at times but the experience has been very rewarding, but most of all, it has given
me the opportunity to work with and learn about the local island dogs known as the “Potcakes”.
Potcake is the Bahamian term for the thick, leftover food that remains in the bottom of the pot of peas and rice
after several reheatings. Traditionally, Bahamians fed potcake to the indigenous dogs that freely populated the
Bahamas. The Potcakes that now live on the Turks and Caicos Islands are descended from these dogs which
travelled here with their Bahamian families. Very similar to the feral cat overpopulation problem seen in our
local region, Potcakes also live and breed on the islands often living in packs and scavenging for food in the
bushes and the garbage left behind by the human population. Many succumb to very preventable infectious
diseases present on the island including parvo virus, distemper, heartworm disease and tick-borne illnesses, or
are hit by cars. It is not uncommon to see their remains on the side of the road on a daily basis, something that
we are just not use to seeing back home. Thankfully, rabies is not a disease that currently exists on the islands but
it would be tragic and present considerable health risks to the human population should it ever appear.
Potcakes come in many different colours and sizes but tend to have a lean body physique and wonderful floppy
ears. Many islanders have Potcakes as pets and also use them as guard dogs as they are intensely faithful and
protective should strangers come around. Unfortunately home break-ins are not uncommon on some parts of
the islands and Potcakes play an important protective role for many residents. It is not uncommon for people to
have two or three Potcakes that take up residence at their homes. Our hospital Potcake, named “Jack” was a
gentle and intelligent soul who spent much of his time lounging on the outdoor lawn furniture or sleeping in his
comfy dog bed but should a strange noise or strange dog come around, he would become immediately alert
and make sure that everyone was aware of his presence.
Diagnosing heartworm disease, tick-borne disease and parvo virus was a common everyday occurrence for me
in Turks and Caicos. One of the major reasons why we do not see a lot of these diseases in our area is that most
pet owners are well educated and have their pets vaccinated and placed on parasite prevention products. These
medications are also available in Turks and Caicos however many islanders are unaware of routine preventative
veterinary care and it has been a huge undertaking to set out and try to educate the population.