A potcake is a Bahamian island dog, aka “mutt.” According to local legend, they derived their name from the practice of Bahamians leaving that evening’s dinner pots with caked on food on the doorstep for the island’s packs of wild dogs to come through at night and lick clean. Through no fault of their own, there are tens of thousands of innocent juvenile potcakes destined to live out their entire existence in crowded cement and steel cages.
According to many locals we have spoken with in the Bahamas, domestic dogs are not native to the Bahamian islands. They were brought in generations ago as highly sought-after breeds that belonged to the elite class when the islands were colonized by British settlers. Due to the expansive nature of the islands, these unaltered animals were allowed to roam free by their owners, where they intermingled with other fancy breeds also brought over by neighboring colonizers. The neglect (or shortsightedness) of the breeds’ owners, and subsequent efforts to bring these populations under control, has led to an epidemic of crisis proportions for these shelters today.
Fortunately, many of the islands now have capture and spay or neuter programs, but once altered, the animals are contained, not released. Also according to locals, bringing dogs into the home is not part of the Bahamian culture. So the prospect of adopting or fostering the dogs back out once they are captured doesn’t really exist in great numbers like it does in the US or other countries. Despite this badly needed program, the stray population has not yet been brought under control, so more dogs are still coming in to the shelters than are being adopted out, meaning, without an intervention, the problem will continue to get worse before it gets better.
Please consider making a donation to support Potcake Island, adopting or fostering a Potcake, or volunteering at any of the shelters on the islands.
What Makes Potcakes So Special?
In addition to coming from some of the “best stock,” potcakes make great service dogs. We have trained our potcake, Pepper, to help a disabled family member with their needs, and she travels with us almost every where we go at very little extra hassle or cost.
Pepper also makes a great boat dog, helping us land the dinghy, alerting us to unusual activity on the boat, and not being choosy about having to relieve herself on land like some full-breed royals we hear about from time to time.
And of course, she is great at cleaning the dirty pots after a big meal, a tradition we honor! She’s smart, affectionate and protective. What’s not to love?
Our partners at Potcakes at Your Service want to help you make a match if this sounds like something you would be interested in. And our long term (hopefully sooner rather than later) vision is to buy an island in the Bahamas where we can offer a full-service retreat facility for this purpose. If you are interested in making a donation, volunteering or being a partner, please see the contact info below.
The Humane society in Nassau, where we adopted our first Potcake, Pepper, had over 500 dogs in 100 cages on a very small plot of land along a very busy city street. They do amazing work for the small budget they are given to work with (I think one clinic receives around $10,000 a year from the government). They rely mostly on volunteers and donations, but these innocent dogs deserve a better life, and the saints doing all the heavy lifting deserve our enthusiastic support. This is why I’m reaching out to the cruising community to get a different kind of conversation started.
For more information, please contact:
What does any of this have to do with The Peoples Agenda? We’re glad you asked. We are a Kentucky-based non-profit focused on restoring power and resources back to the people of the planet. Potcake Island and Potcakes at Your Service mission involves returning resources to the Bahamian people and repairing harm caused to victims of colonization and forced labor in the US and neighboring countries. As we head into this November’s election, and uncertainty looms, Potcake Island could become not only a respite, but a necessity as more displaced families look for places to take refuge. Americans are not immune to these vulnerabilities. We want to be forward looking.
In addition to acquisition of land and development for the facility, a portion of the funds raised will also go toward making sure members of our decision making council have updated passports for themselves and their family members before November, if possible.
MAKE A MATCH! Your donation will be matched 100%, up to $10,000. Make it go farther, faster. We are also buying Bitcoin. Ask us how you can get started today.