Back in 2009 - a month before we decided to adopt a dog - we had the luxury of visiting Providenciales, Turks & Caicos. I say we had the luxury because as I've mentioned earlier - I won the trip in a radio contest. No strings attached. I'm going to digress for a moment, but I have to brag for a minute.
I knew I was going to win this contest. I tried for two weeks, unsuccessfully, and on the last day, I woke up early (on my day off from work) snapped on the radio, and DECLARED that I was winning that damn trip! As luck would have it, I was caller number 9 and alas, we were off to the Beaches Resort in beautiful Providenciales!
Everything was paid for. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G!! Our airfare, our transfers, our "Governor's one bedroom luxury suite," all our food, all of our beverages - adult and otherwise, all our activities, etc. Truly a wonderful experience. Beaches Resorts, in case you aren't familiar, are part of the Sandals empire. Hence, they are all inclusive, but unlike Sandals, they are family oriented. Having said all that - we still had a nice, romantic time - unlike some people, I love children, and I had absolutely no problem with them being there.
Side note - I also won a big bottle of Rum while on our trip because I am freaking amazing at ring toss....... but back to the Potcakes.
They're adoreable dogs, that oftentimes are left neglected and uncared for. There is a group in Turks & Caicos - specifically Providenciales - that tries to rescue and adopt them - Potcake Place. They're free - the only thing you need to pay for is their airport transfer - $100 on most airlines/$200 on Delta. Of course, donations are always welcome and very much needed.
Here's another pretty amazing thing I only wish I had known before we went. They look for volunteers to fly these dogs to the U.S. You don't necessarily have to adopt them. As long as you are willing to lend a hand, and you are flying from Providenciales, you can contact them with your information, and if they are able to set up an adoption in your general area, they will meet you at the airport with a puppy, in a special bag, that you essentially escort to your final destination. I am sure if you have a long flight, you are responsible for walking the dog and making sure the dog does his or her business, but airports are set up to accomodate this (as I found out when I was waiting for my dad to pick me up outside baggage claim after our failed California trip, but I don't want to go there!) Then when you get to your desination airport, somebody will meet you in a predetermined area and take the dog.
How amazing would it be to know that you helped a dog survive and find a new life with a family that will feed it real food and not just potcake? If I had known about this, we definitely would have signed up for it..... hell, we probably would have left our trip with 2 new puppies! Our flight to and from Provo was about an hour long - how easy it would have been!!!! But at the time, we weren't yet thinking about getting a dog, and we didn't know about this organization. I had, however, heard of Potcakes through my pre-vacation research (i.e. Tripadvisor - seriously a great website!)
I should note, I am in no way affiliated with this organization, nor do I personally benefit from advertising their services. I am, ultimately, an animal lover and I truly think this is an amazing thing these people are doing. These people do not get paid for doing this, and they don't even require a mandatory donation to perform these services, yet they do it because they love these dogs and want to see them happy, healthy, and thriving in an environment where they are loved and adored as all dogs deserve.
Just look at this little face..... how could you NOT want to help!
If we ever travel back to Provo - which I sincerely hope we do, Potcake Place will definitely be getting a phone call from me - either to adopt or to be a "courrier." My dad is supposed to be traveling to Grand Turk for some work, and since he has to travel through Provo to get to and from Grand Turk, I warned him that I am going to be on him like white on rice to lend a hand!
And because I loved my trip to Turks & Caicos so much, I wanted to share a few pictures of this wonderful vacation - just because!
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