FREEPORT, Grand Bahama -- Under the organization and leadership of volunteer Beverley Dobinson, the HSGB is pleased to announce our one week summer camp to be held from 4th July -8th July from 9am - 1pm daily.

The camp will feature arts and crafts, visits to Rand Nature Center, Garden of the Groves, Junkanoo Beach Club, and more, including some time at the shelter learning to care for animals humanely.  For more information contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Other upcoming events include Paddle for Potcakes, to be held July 2nd.  This fun event will feature a "pre-Basra" warm up race (sanctioned by the Bahamas Swim Federation) and family fun day.  Look for more information coming soon but mark your calendars for a fabulous day of fun, sun, sea and sand!

Click here to download the registration form.

(Photos are from Potcake Pals 2009)

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama -- The Humane Society of Grand Bahama will be holding another Dog & Car Wash on Saturday, May 28th at the shelter location on Coral Road from 12 noon – 4PM.

Come out and get your dog and/or car sparkling clean while supporting the Humane Society of Grand Bahama.  
$12.00- CARS
$17.00- TRUCKS & SUV’S
$10.00- DOGS
$18.00-CAR & DOG SPECIAL
$22.00-TRUCK/SUV & DOG SPECIAL

See poster below or click HERE.

Further to last week’s article that mentioned dog breeding on Grand Bahama, it seemed like a good time to visit the issue of Purebred dogs - what they are and how you know.

What exactly IS a Purebred Dog?

A dog is a purebred when IT is registered with the registry body in the country where it was born – for example, in England that would be The Kennel Club, in the USA it would be the American Kennel Club, in Canada, the Canadian Kennel Club, so on. The dog ITSELF must be registered and hold a Certificate of Registration, not just one of it's parents, or even both of them, or some of the dogs in it’s past. There is no such thing as “Purebred-No-Papers.”  If the dog is not registered and that certificate is not provided, you do not own a purebred dog and it should not be represented as such.

How do I know if my dog is Purebred?

Because your dog’s breeder will have provided you with the original Certificate of Registration from that registry body.

Additionally, most reputable breeders will also provide a copy of the dog’s pedigree, which is a visual representation of the dog’s “family tree” or ancestry, traceable for generation upon generation. Most reputable breeders will also provide you with copies of all health clearances of your dog’s parents and require you to sign a sales contract in which both you and the breeder make many promises to ensure the health and safety of your dog.

As reported by the Freeport News and The Tribune several weeks ago, Grand Bahama is experiencing a higher than normal number of canine parvovirus cases.  Dr. Owen Hanna explained the virus and its prevention quite clearly in that article and the Humane Society hopes that readers would have taken heed.

What concerns us is the rampant negligent breeding of dogs on Grand Bahama, and the subsequent illnesses spread through the community. It is not just the stray dogs causing the problem! There are a horrifyingly large number of owned dogs that are not cared for properly, and bred both accidentally and intentionally.

In the past weeks, numerous puppies were brought into our shelter clinic that tested positive for parvo. Several were too sick, and did not survive. Two puppies from one litter of pit bull puppies that were sold locally had parvo. One German Shepherd that was imported from Nassau was positive for parvo.

All the purchasers of these puppies said that the "breeder" they purchased their puppy from told them the puppies "had their shots." They received no verification of this; in fact one eight week old pup's buyer was told the puppy had had three shots already.

Impossible when a puppy's first shot is given at six weeks of age and the shots should be given every two to three weeks!

The Humane Society of Grand Bahama is happy to report that ONE HUNDRED puppies and dogs left Freeport Monday morning as part of our ongoing Operation Puppylift program.

6 adult dogs, 25 adolescent puppies, and 69 young puppies went to rescues in Florida, Atlanta, Indiana, and Denver.  One lucky longtime shelter dog went to his new home in Virginia.  His new mom had visited the shelter in January and fallen in love with him.

The generosity of those who donated to make this puppylift possible is truly heartwarming and the HSGB thanks them all, too numerous to mention here.

The HSGB would just remind the public there are far too many puppies being born on Grand Bahama.  Support for our ongoing spay/neuter and education efforts is so important.  As of Wednesday, 5 dogs, 9 puppies, 1 cat and 3 kittens have already entered the shelter since Monday!

In other shelter news, we'd like to let the public know we now carry a full line of Heartguard, Frontline Plus, and K9 Advantix.  And we still have some gorgeous pets needing homes, please consider adoption when acquiring your next four legged family member!

In addition to the Basset Hounds, you'll find a heartwarming video at the end of this article.

Knowing this is a breed with certain needs, predisposed conditions and idiosyncracies, wecontacted a friend of a friend in Florida, who runs a Basset rescue, for advice and possible rescue if we can't find a suitable home(s) locally.