Meet Our Rescues

Meet some of the rescued Potcakes we have helped to place in loving homes of wonderful families

Cayman

West Palm Beach, FL

This is my boy, Cayman. He came into my life almost 12 years ago. I decided to name him Cayman after the Cayman Islands. I thought it would be fitting since he came from the Tropical Islands.

He is 100% a momma’s boy. Almost 3yrs ago, I moved out, and whenever I would facetime my parents, he would recognize my voice and run straight to the front door anytime he heard, “Where’s your momma?”

Some of his favorite things are hide and seek, which he always sniffs me out within minutes, going on walks, treats given by my little niece and nephews every time they come to visit, chasing momma around the house, and a select few stuffed animals that he guards with his life.

Some of his least favorite things are when someone other than him play fights with me or when there’s no hint of people food in his breakfast or dinners. He won’t touch it!

His favorite place to sleep is in our hall closet and under my parent’s bed or up on the couch when no one is home, haha. We love him so much!

-Shannon

Miles

Los Angeles, CA

Miles is a true Potcake, he loves to toss himself on his back, belly exposed, and roll around. He does this while at the dog park, in the morning on the bed, in front of my parent’s Chiweenie, and just about anywhere else. “Potcakes gotta Potcake” I’ll exclaim! Miles LOVES our Saturday hike with friends. He’ll start whimpering the second he knows where we are going and by the time we get there is a ball of excitement. He’s great off-leash with recall but will bulldoze or jump over anything in his way at full speed, so he stays on a leash when other people and small pups are around. Miles isn’t a cuddler but he is very protective of me and our home. In the mornings after I wake up, he will lay curled up against my legs before moving from the bed to the sofa in the living room. I adore Miles and his companionship is everything to me. I will be forever thankful to the people who worked hard to get him to me.

-Wendy

Coco

Portland, OR

We brought Coco home in mid-February this year. She was part of the December 7th litter of thirteen. She is a wonderful dog, full of “zoom” and very smart. She has topped out at 45 pounds. She constantly receives “What a pretty dog!” compliments.

-Jayne

Cooper

Salem, OR

Cooper was originally named Laith. He was a foster home out of the Bahamas Humane Society. He was treated for Parvo as a baby, maybe why he was so much smaller than we thought he’d be. He was 12 pounds at 10 weeks. Sondra & Roy flew him to us on May 10th, 2019. Cooper’s now hovering around 80 lbs. He’s a very funny guy, away from stressful situations he’s the loveliest dog we’ve ever had. He’s very protective, especially of his Potcake sister, but can be predictably unpredictable. We found a trainer that specializes in dogs like him and made him into a wonderfully well-trained boy.

– Amy

Etta and Abby

Washougal, WA

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

Edith

Other location

Edith is the princess of the house. Whatever she wants she usually gets. She is playful and energetic. When she smiles, she shows her teeth. She likes to toss her kibble in the air and chase it. When outside her favorite things to do are run and fetch sticks. Edith is a chatty Cathy. If she feels like she isn’t getting enough attention she will “talk” to you. Edith has become an integral part of the family and we can’t imagine our lives without her

Freeda

Dallas, TX

She loves to roam our 2 acres with her Aussie sister Lola, baking in the Texas sun and absolutely LOVES swimming in the pool. She hates the car but loves to come to work with me to play with her pack. A blue pittie , a boxer ,and a German shorthair pointer. HATES fireworks and thunder. She’s a little jealous of me with the other dogs. Loves messing with her boycat Nomo (the cat likes it too honestly), chasing squirrels and bunnies, and does a good job chasing coyotes off the property .She’s super smart, mostly obedient, and just a good dog. I absolutely adore her.

Fritter

West Palm Beach, FL

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. Fritter LOVES running around the beach and soaking up the sun. Sometimes she still digs for crabs in the sand like all her pot cake 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 and Micheal

Jolene

Portland, OR

Jolene is a girl who loves nothing more than being outside. She thrives on being in nature. She loves to run in the park, swim in the river, or do a long hike in the forest or on the beach. When not showing off her speed outside you will find her laying by the fireplace or in a patch of sunlight on the patio. Unless you have treats or it’s mealtime in which case she’ll be sitting quietly, waiting to show you a trick or to get the OK that her meal is ready. Her favorite treats are apples and blueberries or a beef trachea if she needs some alone time to settle.

– Kevin

Manerva

Forest Grove, OR

She is a sweet, smart family dog. She loves to greet you with a big smile.

– Heather

Penny

McMinnville, OR

This is Penny and she is 11 months old. She is from the Tiki Pup litter. We live in McMinnville and as soon as the rains stop we would welcome a trip to the park. Penny has learned to bark, chew (everything), and she loves to take things and taunt us to try to get them back, like the apple! She is really gentle and loving and likes to sleep in our lap. Great Puppy!

-Don and Myra

Penny

West Palm Beach, FL

She has really settled into our home with the other two dogs Teddy and Ellie Mae, chickens, goats, and the cat. She’s a couch potato but loves to rough house with Teddy. She’s goofy, sweet, and the protector of the house. She was a fence jumper when she first came to us but now she knows where the food is and boy does she love food. Penny came from Andros and was found in a marina named Morgans Bluff with some three of her offspring and pregnant again with thirteen more puppies. She was still thin when she came to me but now she’s going on a diet. She loves to sit in the kitchen at dinner time looking for any type of scraps, she’s even grabbed play-doh that fell. There is nothing she has not tried to grab if it falls. She loves to go on walks and she likes to swim. She’s a great travel buddy and went all the way to Maine in the summer of 2020 from Florida. She loved Maine and the cooler weather and running through the woods. She listens most of the time. We love her to pieces and are so happy to be able to provide her with a home.

– Rachel

Scooby

Salem, OR

Scooby came the same day and same way as Cooper. Scooby is our son Lockie’s dog, or I should say – “Lockie is Scooby’s human”. She is definitely the boss. She was bigger than Cooper when we got them, but that didn’t last long – she maxed out at 33 lbs, almost 50 lbs. less than Cooper. Scooby is a hunter scavenger, she has caught birds in flight, snakes, etc. but her favorite prey are socks and empty toilet paper tubes. She doesn’t damage them, just hoards them and will defend them with her life. She’s much easier to have in public, size, and attitude so we took her on a 3-week road trip to California one summer with 3 kids. Scooby likes to burrow, sleeps in the true Potcake position (the shrimp), and loves crunchy foods (corn-nuts are her favorite). She loves he older lab sister and plays the Potcake biting/wrestling game 22 hours a day with Cooper. Her favorite toys have loud squeakers.

– Amy

Shayla

Likes – Snow
Dislikes – Swimming
Favorite food – Chicken
Favorite place – Trails
Hobbies – sunbathing, barking and meeting other dogs

– Becky

Suki & Pirate

Joseph, OR

Just another spring day in the west, with smoke blowing in from winter field fires, brown haze suspended around the mountains ready to drop as the day warms, and my raft loaded on the trailer, waiting for the river. Maybe I have clients today, maybe I’m floating with my wife and dogs. This is unclear as the haze-filled sky. Unclear as the constant dreams I’ve been having. The morning unfolds slowly, not yet 6 a.m., and the dogs have been up since four, riled by a motorcycle revving like a chainsaw. Their angst melts fifteen minutes later in a series of ever higher pitched bursts of howling from both dogs and motorcycle. As I move through the morning I am faraway. What I see is a clear blue flat stretching into the distance, alternating in depth as it bends around an atoll. A tide pulling in and out like breaths. Slender silver tails, noses tilted down, sorting through the sand and silt.

What my neighbors see is a middle-aged man feeding two forty-poundish dogs, standing in a pair of boxers on the side of his house, shivering as the sunrise casts a deep orange glow on skin the color of a bleached deer skull. Bearded. Balding. Bespectacled. Slightly bellied and love-handled. The aches in the tendons of my elbows and fingers, knees, ankles, back, require whiskey and salve. My lifestyle of seasonal guiding and teaching has somehow managed to survive marriage and middle age, most recently Covid-19, and as travel-restrictions continue to stretch into a second spring, I find myself more and more immersed in saltwater daydreams. That is, until the wagging of silver tails transforms from bonefish to dogs, and Suki begins to lick my palm, asking for more breakfast.

Suki, a Potcake (breed of Bahamian island dog named for a pea and rice mixture fed to them from the crust of empty cooking pots), is a bronze haired temptress with smokey-eyed accents. She has a penchant for being quick to love and even quicker to nip at bigger dogs, tuck tail, and run. She has a vertical jump like MJ, and streaks like a greyhound over the landscape. She also has no interest in fishing, except for eating large amounts of dead things that can be found near rivers. In this way, she is a much better dog for foraging wild mushrooms and huckleberries, where it matters much less if she comes running straight downstream with an elk bone dragging from her mouth. Her father is most likely Cuda, a local ruffian that often finds his way to Andros South Lodge for scraps of food and scratches behind the ears. Suki was delivered to the lodge managers’ front door by her mother, Midnight, after getting her head stuck in a mayonnaise jar.

Her sister, Pirate, a stockier, blockier, shorter-tailed, brick and mortar white and black spotted beauty, looks a little like a Dalmatian, and came in the bargain. I don’t know who Pirate’s dad was, though did have an aggressive Pirate-look-alike chase myself and a client down the road as we were riding in the back of a pick-up on South Andros. Shyer than Suki but more curious, Pirate gets along with almost every dog she meets and often wanders off after other people, thinking they might make for a better home. When fishing, she stays a pace behind, ready to spring after hooked trout. She is smart and standoffish, communicates by staring into your eyes and grunting and growling in different ways, and although she doesn’t like to curl up on the lazy-boys like Suki, Pirate is often my favorite. Both dogs have widely developed culinary pallets that include yellow jackets, toads, kale, worms, raspberries, and dandelions. We have to cut their nails often, which would otherwise look similar to an ant eater’s. Where I would see South Andros Potcakes scrounging the beaches and chewing on various plastic and organic bits of detritus for sustenance, I now see Suki and Pirate unafraid to pretty much eat anything inland that grows.

And so it is with the dogs as a constant reminder, I have been dreaming of salt. Specifically the home of Suki and Pirate: South Andros. The island reaches out through them in its love and wildness. Ocean swells crashing against hard coral shores, deeply cut estuaries where it becomes debatable who the apex predator is, endless flats winding all around the unsettled western coast. Moments of uncertainty. Moments where I become a wave breaking on the shoulders of a great storm. Two-thousand people connected by the Queen’s Highway, three people per square mile of land mass, and one hundred twenty square miles of flats. The only place I have ever truly felt comfortable being guided by another guide. In the guides I recognize the people of small towns I have grown up with, in their stories, in their silences, in each guide’s reasons they are living where and how they are. Vast edges of boredom, sharper perspectives of coral built landscape. When I fish on South Andros I feel the vastness of potential in each cast. Each morning is continually fresh, as is my desire to stay outside from dawn until dusk.

And there are South Andros’s dogs, also carrying the wildness and love of the island. Suki and Pirate nudge at my elbows, paw at my legs as I write, suspended in the daydream. When the snow falls this winter, their coats will thicken again as they leap for snowballs. The daydream will also thicken, knowing Andros South Lodge has a new set of flats boats waiting for clients, that the lodge managers, Liz and Max, will be back to their antics of caring for the local Potcakes and making clients happy, and that my favorite guides will be back at it, polling deep into the wilderness of Andros’s west side. The runt that grew stocky and rolls dogs twice her size onto their backs. The eye-shadowed temptress that sprints fast as a greyhound after deer, nipping at their shanks. The barracuda shooting from the back of the boat’s wake, cartwheeling through the air. The bonefish pulling line into the backing. This is the center of the dream. South Andros and it’s forty pound love-sponges who scour the world with their tongues and teeth.

– Cameron

Odie

Portland, OR

Odie is almost a year old and we couldn’t be happier with him! He loves going to the dog park for socialization and absolutely loves to run! I’m pretty sure mealtime is his favorite part of the day, and loves a car ride with us as well. He is a great travel companion and has been all over the PNW with us.

Odie has a few dislikes, water being the biggest. Bathtime is his least favorite activity, and will swim only with the help of other dogs around. He’s not a fan of his harness, even though it means he gets to go somewhere fun.

Overall Odie is a very smart, energetic puppy! He had potty training down from the get-go, and has done very well with crate training. He’s highly food motivated which has helped with training quite a bit. Our favorite part about Odie is the love we get from him and his never-ending puppy expressions when he discovers something new. Oh, and the compliments we always receive on what a good looking dog he is.

We love our potcake!!

-Alex & Justin

Bimini

Bradenton, FL

The story of how Bimini and Fritter were rescued and came into our lives is one of my favorite stories to tell. We had been staying at the Marina named Morgan’s Bluff in Nicholls Town for nearly 5 days when we found two puppies abandoned on an old shipping vessel. No food, no water, and very very scared! My friend Ashley, Fritter’s adopted pet mom, and I knew right away that we were meant to find them and they were meant to find us. After they began to feel safe with us, it was just love from that point on. We ended up bringing them back home with us to Florida. I remember calling my soon to be husband and saying, “Babe, so I brought home something, well…. more than something. It’s a puppy, and I named her Bimini!”. He also was weeks away from adopting our other dog Chipper here in Florida. So before we knew it, we were mom and dad to two puppies, who quickly became best friends. Bimini and Chipper are now living spoiled and comfortable lives with my husband and me and our 3 kids. Bimini is quirky and sometimes shy, but she’s an excellent pet. She rarely acts up, but when she does, I jokingly remind her that she’s living the good life now as an American and could otherwise be foraging for crabs and trash off the beaches. Haha, I think she loves her life with us and we love her.”

– Ariel

Sandy

Dundee, OR

After losing our dog in 2018 we weren’t sure about adding another pup to our family. We still had our other dog that we adopted and just wanted our hearts to heal. In February of 2020, I received a call from a friend, she told me all about these puppies that they just rescued from the Bahamas. Being familiar with the Potcake rescue, I loved the idea of rescuing a pup. Our family talked it over and we decided to do it! Sandy joined our family on February 24, 2020, she was the perfect addition. She is full of energy, loves to eat EVERYTHING, likes walks, and loves to snuggle with our Notcake, Colt.  Sandy is very lovable, she loves to run on the property with her buddy and loves to sunbathe on our back deck.

We are so glad that we received that phone call that day, Sandy has filled our hearts and we are blessed that she is part of the Wenks family!

Grass Valley CA

Marley

Los Angeles CA

Miles

Nanaimo BC Canada

Stormie
Maddie

Victoria BC Canada

Honey

West Palm Beach FL

Fritter
Momma Penny

Bradenton FL

Bimini

Dundee OR

Sandy

Forest Grove OR

Manerva

Joseph OR

Suki
Pirate

McMinnville OR

Rizzo
Penny
Luna
Annie
Jack
Sullivan
Billy

Newberg OR

Zoey
Niki

Portland OR

Ike
Rocko
Oadie
Scout
Jolene

Salem OR

Scooby
Cooper

Troutdale OR

Lucky

Dallas TX

Freeda

Washougal WA

Ms. Etta J.
Abby

Potcakes In Other Places

Stella
Cayman
Pumpkin
...Many many others!

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