100% HAVANESE

This story is dedicated to our unsung hero, Brian Bovenzi whose passion for saving animals is a gift of love to all he helps.

I am so grateful for this day. I got to wake up, kiss my dog, smile at the possibilities, pour a cup of coffee and sit down with my laptop to finish this story with a dedication to the man who made it possible for this very day to have a perfect beginning and that with any luck will become extraordinary. I will never tire of thanking him for his compassion and generosity that saved my dog’s life. I took this pause, because after writing this piece, I reflected on how heart breaking this ending might have been for me, instead of a celebration of my beloved dog’s life and his entertaining, quirky personality. It would have been a dedication to his memory, not my thank you to the man who saved his life. I am equally grateful to share my hero with you because the opportunity to pass the love forward should never be missed especially when it is one that can save a life.

ONE HUNDRED PER CENT HAVANESE

“I give. I live. I care. I share. Don’t tell me I’m not making a difference. I know that I am.”

#sebastianthewonderhavanese

The love of my life is a Havanese. In July, we added Havanista to his resume. and took his work global. We have been a team for ten years. Believe me, he deserves all the kudos and kisses in the world for bringing millions of smiles into my life and others by entertaining fans at my request with his amazing personality and charm. With him faithfully by my side, it’s easy to bring sunshine and happiness into the lives of others. Sebastian is never short of enthusiasm or energy, knowing he brings hope to animal friends in need. His goal every day is to pay his blessings forward and to encourage others with love to give. He empowers me to never give up. I am a better person because of him. I know our journey will be over soon, so we are making it count, while we still can, and having fun while we are doing that. Sebastian never complains about being a Supawstar because he is also a heavenly sent rescue that understands the importance of giving back.

Sebastian and I do that in an absolutely absurd manner, but one I know that anyone who dresses up their pet or just enjoys the crazy lengths pet owners go to amuse others, will understand the obsession. You may already be participating in our follies and if not, you may want to start. Dressing your dog in costumes and clothes is just wholesomely good, clean fun. If you can make it a catalyst for random acts of kindness, why not participate!

To appreciate and help Sebastian and I change the world, it’s of value to know what drives us to do so and the origins of our endeavor. One critic of mine and Sebastian, answered this question for me as a hater and I love to quote, ”This display is your utter selfishness fueled by your wicked sense of humor and penchant for quirky dorky silliness.” So true! I had a two word reply for him : “Your welcome.”

For a very long time, I have exploited my dog for the right reasons and he has enjoyed it and gotten plenty of treats to make him a willing participant. I love to see people smile, especially children. I’m sad to see a child shy away from a dog out of fear or their parent pull them away instead of letting them explore their curiosity about my tail wagging, affectionate charmer. He loves to be petted and it’s a divine experience to do so. Sebastian feels like a soft warm blanket because his luxurious coat has the consistency of raw silk fluffs, so light and airy, his “hair” dances in the wind. Sebastian also has a natural gait like no other dog that makes this long coat bounce like a Farrah Faucet Barbie jogging on the beach. Technically speaking, this cheerful springy step is an inherit Havanese trait due to their shoulders being slightly lower than their back hunches. Their feet barely touch the ground, I refer to it as Sebastian walking on sunshine.

Children are naturally drawn to Sebastian’s appearance and personality. Havanese, like other toy breeds exude joy and happiness, according to the American Kennel Club. As they should because basically that is their community obligation, otherwise they would be in a sporting or working dog category. Lap dogs are meant to love and love on you. They are equipped with sweet little expressions and temperaments and large soulful eyes that will melt your heart.

Havanese eyes are large, brown and soulful, but instead of being round or oval, they are almond shaped, turning up slightly on the outside corners. It is a characteristic that gives them the infamous Havanese expression of mischievousness which is most definitely an added element to their disposition. It also aids and abets their most notorious behavior-a reputation of being spot light stealing little clowns and performers.

You’re probably doubting my factual interpretation of these attributes being bred into these dogs. I would never exaggerate their cuteness. It is a fact: the Havanese personality is a natural, selectively bred byproduct of a rich and colorful history, and the manner in which they were treated by a specific socio class, the Cuban aristocrats. Their "cuteness" was stamped into their DNA during 400 years of developing these smart and trainable extroverts with the comic instincts of a born clown and natural trick dogs.

The national dog of Cuba and the namesake of its capital, Havana was introduced to the island by seafaring merchants shortly after Christopher Columbus laid claim to the colonization of Cuba for Spain in 1492. The little dogs were bartered as ladies’ accessories to the wealthy aristocrats of the island. These families kept the breed exclusively to themselves, and sometimes gave them to friends as tokens of love and friendship.

Havanese had a very specific and important role in the Cuban household. They were bred to protect the children and be their playmates. Each child in the household had a Havanese. Competing siblings taught them tricks to entertain at family events which made them an extremely clever dog. Agility races were organized with other children of plantation owners, which made the Havanese a small but excellent athletes possessing higher than normal energy and endurance for a lap dog. The ladies of the Cuban households held a yearly promenade, a parade which highlighted the beauty of the little dogs and their obedience skills.

In the 1800’s Havana was the cultural mecca of the new World with its operas, theatres, and palacios. Wealthy European patrons brought home the Havanese that were gifts from Cuban friends. They were down right trendy and it wasn’t very long before the little silky dog of Havana was favored in the courts of Spain, France, the Court of Louis XVI, and England. Queen Anne and Queen Victoria both owned two each during their reigns. Charles Dickens wrote about his Havanese, Timmy that babysat his seven children. There was even a touring circus of Havanese that played exclusively for the courts and traveled to the Iron curtain countries.

The turn of the century marked the decline of aristocrats as the machine age changed Cuba. During the Cuban Revolution of 1959, this class left the island, hoping to return but never did. Their precious Havanese dogs were left in the care of servants. It is rumored that Castro who hated dogs had the breed actively and passively eliminated due to their association to the rich who refused to live under his rule.

Eight Havanese were smuggled to the Americas by two devoted Cuban families in 1960. In the 1970’s a third family with Havanese was found in Costa Rica. Dorothy and Bert Goodale, well-known and respected AKC dog breeders took an interest in the rare breed and purchased 11 dogs from the three families in the late 1970’s to preserve and rebuild the Havanese legacy. In 1979, Dorothy founded the Havanese Club of America and worked diligently for the next 20 years for the Havanese to join the toy group and be granted full AKC Championship privileges in 1999. From the 8 that saved the Havanese from extinction to 8000 in just 60 years, I would say the Havanese are down right trendy once more.

I cannot imagine a world without Sebastian. I didn’t know why he was such an endless source of entertainment and unconditional love. My Muppy was on death row at a boatyard for stealing a man’s lunch and biting him when the man asked for it back. I noticed him hiding under the boats, 3 hours before he was to be murdered with lethal rat poison. The workers told me he was feral and terrorized them by stealing their burritos to survive, earning him the name, Lardon, which is thief in Spanish.

He wasn't a criminal, he was hungry and brave, "I’ll take him home."

"Better hurry. When the yard closes, we have a “special” burrito for his last meal." They laughed and wished me luck.

Hell! I needed a miracle. After 3 hours of hide and seek and trying to bait him with turkey and bacon, I ran out of time. Dirty and defeated, I was sitting in my car with the door open, crying my eyes out, asking God why that poor little dog had to die when something warm and fuzzy jumped in my lap. Damn dog.

I forgave him but that didn’t stop me from dressing him up for the children at the antique shows who were too afraid to pet a dog. I brought them a clown, literally. A star was born that made us smile all day long. Sebastian’s wardrobe grew with holiday fashions and seasonal outfits. He learned several tricks that he performed at the command of the kids. He even "danced" in the middle of the aisle when we were slow-I called it Halftime at the Rose Bowl and it went like this: sit up-paw the sky-jump down-spin left-spin right- give a bow. The only trick he refused was shake, the high five kind. Go figure. But he does shake, comes in handy after a bath. I tell him, “Shimmy, shimmy SHAKE!” All the excess drops fly off in the tub, instead of the floor.

The kids had a never ending stream of questions about Sebastian. The Number One Question was, "What kind of dog is he?” For two and half years, I said, ”Muppy Mutt.” If a parent asked, my wicked humor prevailed, “Pigmy Sheep-apso-poo,” a diminutive Old English Sheep Dog with a Lhasa Apso tail and a sharp Poodle brain. Sebastian had so many outstanding qualities, I figured he was a multi-generational mutt who got the best of every breed in his bloodline. It was a mystery, until his twin brother came on the scene. His mom, trying to figure what was underneath the clown costume asked me, ”Is that a Havanese?”

I had no idea what she talking about so I said, “Hard to tell isn’t it?”

“Where did you acquire him?”

“Ocean Beach. Yours?” I’m quick when I need to be.

“East Coast. Mmm, I wasn’t aware of any registered breeders in San Diego's beach area. Does he have papers?”

"There were a lot of burrito wrappers in his camp."

I laughed and she did not. "Are you making fun of me? I have a female coming in heat, a Champion, and I have been looking for a stud. He’s gorgeous and I was hoping he had decent papers and we could do business. I guess you don’t care about the breed.”

After that shaming, I felt bad. “No, I am not. I am a comedian without a stage. I don't know what breed he is, I thought he was a shee.... a mutt. I rescued him from a Mexican lynch mob in a boat yard.” I stopped teasing her and gave the details. She finally smiled, "Give you a Million to One Odds on finding any Havanese abandoned like that."

"Why?" She explained it with a lengthy lesson on Havanese triumph and real jobs. She had me at circus act and Sebastian delighted her with his.

"That's my muppy mutt!"

She disagreed, "That's no mutt, that’s 100% Havanese.”

Not that I didn’t believe her, I just wanted to google that shit and see for myself if I had a one in million. Of course, I already felt that way about him, but it was eye opening how every quirk of his matched up to the breed. I even cried when I read about his 8 grandparents and thanked God for their families. I tend to get over emotional when I’m tired after working 14 hours.

Since then, when asked what his personality is like, the short answer is ”100% Havanese.” But I prefer the long answer that you just read. I hope it made you smile.

The end

Afterword

Those were really good times, but nothing lasts forever. As the pandemic shut down my venues and business, I was hospitalized for a genetic heart condition and an accident that separated Sebastian and I intermittently for two and a half heart breaking years. Without my health and income, I lost everything. Then I lost the only thing I couldn't live without, Sebastian. A relative arranged for his foster care while I was in the hospital. The woman lost her phone and didn't keep the same phone number. My relative couldn't remember exactly where she dropped him off.

I wallowed in self pity for a month and then decided this cannot be the end of our Havanese story, I plastered 100's of flyers through out downtown. I found them. Life was going to be ok.

I didn’t expect any more heartache or loss. And I will say this, God didn't want me to be O.K. HE WANTED ME TO BE GREAT. All I had to do was go through Hell and back twice in four months.

It wasn't me that got sick. I would have preferred that. No. God said, "You passed that test, here's the one that you need to pass to make the rest of your life worth living."

Sebastian was robust and healthy when he turned 12ish on his unofficial birthday in January. Mid April, he wasn’t eating, didn’t want to go for walks, just wanted to lay close to me. I took him to my vet of 30 years. The diagnosis was grim, rotting back teeth were infected. Emergency surgery extractions and $900 would stop the life threatening infection from spreading to his brain. "If you can’t afford it, put him out of his misery." The last three years had caught up to us.

"You can't bill me and let me make payments?"

"Sorry."

"Me too. Nice knowing you until now." I was not going to lose him forever.

Got a list of organizations with grant money to help low income or disabled with veterinarian bills. Wasted two days fulfilling multiple approval requirements to see one of their approved vets for a $75 diagnosis I already had. Filled out lengthy applications, got denied for pet credit as proof of financial hardship. Set up a GoFundMe account. My fundraiser got a few donations but it was clear, it would be several days of feeding Sebastian slop, aspirins, and anti-biotics until help or enough money arrived.

My daughter called, saved the day by finding a rescue that would do the surgery the next day. We Saved A Puppy.

“Who?, I thought I called them all. How much do I have to pay up front?"

“Since you are disabled, you don't have to worry about it, just be on time. I'll pick you up at 11:30."

The next afternoon the guy in charge was late. A stray Pitbull was left in the street with a broken leg after a hit and run. C.E.O., Brian Bovenzi makes animals his priority. I liked that attitude. He explained to a group of us that all medical care was video taped live on Instagram-our pets' intake, surgery, and transport home. I had never used Instagram, “Be a good time to do so,” he said. Gave out his number then. "Call me when you see I'm on the way back." Sebastian was brought to my doorstep with medication. It was Hell being without him all day. It was a blessing that he was alive and well.

That was first time We Saved A Puppy saved my muppy. Four months later they did it again when his bowels' obstructed. Brian called in a specialist because the surgery's mortality rate was 20%. A dog, Sebastian's age, had a 2 in 10 chance of surviving. We Saved A Puppy covered the $8000 cost. Brian never suggested euthanization as an option. He made me no promises, just told me to pray. Sebastian is 100% Havanese again.

The only thing Brian ever asked of me was to share his posts on Instagram. We stepped it up a notch by building our account to reach as many people as possible. You can see Sebastian's silly costumes on Instagram #sebastianthewonderhavanese. It's fun sharing my dog's life with you.

It makes my worth living to share my hero and his amazing death defying rescues in action on Instagram #wesavedapuppy. Besides the affordable discounted medical care for pets, no strings attached, you'll find adorable pups and kittens for adoption and in need of fostering.

We Saved A Puppy does so much for so many. They are one n a million. Brian is a visionary who is as generous as he is passionate about saving animals' lives. It not about the dollars pet owners have saved, it's about having choices when faced with hard decisions, being able to afford medical care instead of paying for euthanization.

Please take a look. If you are reading this and you need help :

This will help you : 877-787-7728.

I got approval from Vocal to the share the number. Feel free to share it yourself. Remember that Sharing and Liking #wesavedapuppy Instagram posts will save more lives, get more animals adopted, make the world a better place, as Brian says, "One puppy, One kitten at a time makes a difference." Pass it forward. I know it will make you smile, because love makes life worth living. It makes life GREAT.

"Running into the fire didn't make me a hero, It was rising from its ashes and refusing to give up as I walked through its flames and gave to others the Hope that kept me alive."