Potcake of the Month Contest

My family has been going to the Bahamas since I was a little girl ( Ábacos ) and now my husband and I go with our boys who are grown. We love the Bahamas and I fell in love with Potcakes that I would feed on the beaches back in the day. I always said I would rescue one … fast forward in July of 2021 I received a call from my good friend Fina who lives in Exuma. She found a litter in a ditch on the other side of the island. Fina fostered the puppies while we made a plan to bring them to Miami. Mi flew to Nassau to meet with Fina and the pups which all had homes to fly to … and I got my Georgie !!!! She is the best dog I’ve ever had. Loyal, Protective and yes peculiar. She is scared of everything but little by little and lots of love .. she is coming out of her shell.

• Susie

My wife and I lost our dog in March of 2021. It was the middle of the pandemic and we decided that we needed to get away and took a vacation to the Bahamas. We had never even talked about another dog until we got out of our car and the two sweetest dogs ran up to us. We learned about Potcakes that day and there was no other dog for us. When we were back stateside, we reached out to Potcake Puppy Palace and after a few months we got a call that there was a puppy available. The pictures of Logan as a puppy melted our hearts and we met him at the airport the week before Thanksgiving. Since then, he has been an absolute joy to have. He is intelligent, smart, extremely well behaved, and very friendly. After the move from Philadelphia to Oregon, Logan is now loving life in his new home.

• Masamba

Coco came from a large litter, born on December 7th of 2019. We picked her because of her distinctive “face paint”, black on one side and white on the other. She is a bit of a shy creature, but protects the property vocally, until convinced that it is bad manners and not necessary. You’d think, coming from an island, she wouldn’t mind the water, but the only type she likes is a hot shower. While she starts out timid with new people, she warms up pretty quickly. Lastly she is the fastest dog in any open space, loving to run and to be chased.

• Jayne

I rescued Gus in 2017 when he was a small pup. I flew to Florida to meet him for the first time
and take him home. As soon as I got to hold the little guy, I immediately fell in love and knew the
rest of the family was going to be happy about our new addition. Gus is a very happy boy who
loves meeting new people. He loves getting the chance to ride in the car to get a pup cup from
Diary Queen and always looks forward to daily walks. We are so happy to have rescued a
Potcake and would do so again!

• Jackie

Ike was rescued in the winter of 2011 along with his sister Stella.  They lived with their foster mom in Denver who after finding a home for Stella decided Ike was too special to part with.  She went on to start a collar business after she couldn’t find a collar she liked for him, and named it “Ike & Stella”.  Just before Ike’s first birthday they moved to LA where his mom got a job running a dog daycare and he enjoyed his days playing with pups, going for hikes and to the beach.  Now in his golden years he lives in Oregon with his Potcake brother Rocco and notcake brother Bubba.  The sweetest boy with nothing but a smile for everyone he meets, he is the love of his mom’s life and to this day the best decision she ever made.

Goombay is a Potcake from Nassau Bahamas! My family has been vacationing to Nassau ever since I was 3 years old (I am 33 now!), it’s our second home! I took my fiance down with us for the first time in April 2022. I have a friend from highschool that helps out with Potcake Puppy Palace and connected me with the caretakers there. My mom and I went to visit when we were down there and helped out with all the puppies. We also brought with us a bunch of carriers, food etc. from what people donated through Amazon. Since it’s hard to get Amazon packages down there we were able to help bring them resources they needed. During our time there, I had organized with the Palace to be a flight angel for two really cute potcake brother and sister! A few days later, we met at the airport and we flew home with these two loves. Although we only fostered for a couple weeks, I was so sad to let them go. They were adopted to lovely homes so that made me feel better, but it confirmed I needed a pup. Nearly a month later, my friend from high school sent me a photo of a pup that was coming to Boston but his foster fell through…I took one look and was like this is my puppy…We picked him up mid May and the rest was history…My husband and I were getting married that July so it was a lot to figure out, but he helped calm my anxiety and depression I struggle with. He was so calm and imprinted on me the moment I brought him home. I named him Goombay because of my love and history with Nassau. He is mixed with 19 different breeds and filled with SO MUCH personality. We recently connected with his sister, Destiny that still lives in The Bahamas and we What’s App daily (Goombay and Destiny are TWINS!) Hoping one day they can meet! Goombay is the light of our lives and he is a Boston Boy now. Although, he may miss the Caribbean beaches, we have a beach right down the street and it’s his favorite place to go! His fave toy are sticks and will dissect any stuffed animal you give him. He loves his best doggy friends and loves people even more. He loves his big brother (adopted black lab who is 13!) and loves chasing squirrels and bunnies! Goombay Smash D’Amico saved me emotionally every since May 2022 and without going and taking those two angels home in April, I would have never received that text in May asking to help out with Gooms (formally know as Mai Tai haha) Anyways, please see some cute cute pics of Goomies <3 Potcakes for life

-Ariana D’Amico

Reef is our Prince. He is very smart. He was born in Turks & Caicos in November 2013. We adopted him at 12 weeks old in February 2014. He loves exploring the High Desert of Central Oregon as well as running on the beach at the Oregon Coast. We are so lucky he is part of our family.

–  Debbie Manies

Mello was my first Potcake and I got him when I worked on a US Navy project on Andros Island Bahamas. One of my friends, Suzy, asked me if I wanted a dog and I told her yes. Then she said there are 3 and you have to take them all. I wasn’t going to be able to take all of them so I spoke to some other friends and we each took one of the pups. Mello knew and loved everybody he met on Andros and his favorite thing was to go down to the beach. This photo is from when he was old and we had moved to Virginia. We lost him a number of years ago when he was 23 years old but we had a great life together and I have had potcakes since.

– Mike Parker

Fritter loves going anywhere as long as she’s with Mom and Dad. She loves all food but will especially eat her veggies (asparagus is her favorite veggie) Fritter LOVES running around the beach and soaking up the sun. Sometimes she still digs for crabs in the sand like all her potcake crew back in the day! Fritter was diagnosed with Addison’s Disease at age 3 and is well taken care of with daily steroids and monthly injections- she’s high maintenance. Because of this she gets scared easily and needs extra cuddles and love. Anyone she knows she absolutely adores. She is truly a blessing to our lives and our favorite adventure buddy. We love our little Fritter.

-Ashley & Michael

Otis was rescued after Category 5 Hurricane Matthew in 2016.  Our caretaker saved him, his sister, and his brother in Lowe Sound on North Andros, Bahamas, just before the hurricane blew through, destroying most homes. We were in Oregon watching the Category 5 hurricane on the weather channel as it made landfall on our island. When the storm passed, we loaded our plane, picked up another girl in Texas who wanted to help, and headed to Florida for supplies. When we arrived, we gave food and medical attention to these three tiny puppies. After making several trips back and forth with chainsaws, tarps, supplies, and food to help aid the locals, we headed back to Oregon. Otis wasn’t doing so well. He was one pound and so sick that he could not eat. He had to receive an IV daily, be force-fed, and have him sleep in our bed at night. He slept on Roy’s neck every night for the first week. After careful nurturing, Otis, his sister named Rizzo, and his brother named Rocco were finally healthy. When I asked my husband if we could keep Otis, he said, “I would not be allowed to foster anymore if I couldn’t give him up.” Well, guess who ended up wanting to keep him? And he still sleeps in our bed! 

We are so happy to have Otis a part of the pack. He is a great help when we foster other puppies, taking them under his wing and teaching them new things. However, we love him even more for his expressive qualities. At times, he shares his opinions through amusing snorts, huffs, and sneezes. He is full of personality, and we adore him for it!

• Sondra and Roy

Etta and Abby came into our lives on the island of Andros. Unfortunately, they had it ‘ruff’ before their rescue! They were small enough to sit on one of my size twelve sandals. They had bloated bellies when we first met, but thanks to the good care they received on Andros and upon our return to the Pacific Northwest, they are both thriving. From our very first meeting, both pups were very eager to please, and they fit into our lives seamlessly. What a delight it was to see them bouncing and fumbling around as puppies while their worlds expanded.

Etta is a wonderful companion. She is always up for new experiences and meeting new people. What a smart dog she is! She recognizes family friends (and other animals) even when it has been years since their last meeting. I couldn’t ask for a more loyal, kind, and protective pal. While she is protective and alert, she is also easygoing and trusting. What a treat it is to take Etta into the city and let her sit on my lap over brunch at an outdoor table in Portland.

Abby loves to cuddle more than anything! She is the fastest runner in town and towers over her sister Etta by a few inches. It’s hard to believe she was so fragile and the runt of the litter, but with TLC, Abby quickly became incredibly healthy and strong. A point of curiosity; her nails grow so much faster than her sister’s nails…that’s because she was born to run! She must have had an incredibly fast Mother or Father?

These pups are survivors. We often wonder who the Potcakes’ parents were. Perhaps they even had different Fathers?

What a blessing these two dogs have been to our family. They are both so smart and loyal. They are clearly as grateful for their human family as we are to have them.

-Jon and Jan

Gus was our first Potcake, initially named Angus. We owned a Shiba Inu named Jackson in our beginning trips to the Bahamas, who usually didn’t like other dogs but became a great friend to Gus. After being homeless for four years, we decided to have Gus become a part of our family.

Gus learned to survive all of those years by wandering the neighborhood for handouts and scavenging the bushes for food. He became a great family dog that quickly learned how to perform tricks for treats and was particularly good at playing dead. Gus loved to fish. It didn’t matter whether he was on a boat, standing in the water, or floating on a raft. He was always searching for the little minnows. We had to be careful with our bait because Gus would snatch them from the bait box when we weren’t looking. Gus was a great traveler and loved cars, planes, and our RV bus. Several times we caught him jumping into other people’s cars or trunks.

Rather than having a bridesmaid and best man, Gus and Jackson walked us down the dock at Kamalame Cay in the Bahamas, where we got married in 2010. Gus moved to Oregon with us in 2014 and lived a good 16 years of life.

-Sondra