HAVANESE HISTORY
By Natalie Armitage
A LOOK TO THE PAST–A VISION OF THE FUTURE
A s is true of the history of many breeds, Havanese history is a mixture of fact and probability. The breed has existed in Cuba, the country of origin, since the 1800s. The BichonHavanese, as it is called in Cuba, is the National dog of Cuba and its only native breed. In her book Bichon Havanese, Cu- ban breed authority, Zoila Portuondo Guerra, states that Havanese descend from an earlier breed called the Blan- quito de la Habana, also known as the Havana Silk Dog. She further states that the breed goes back to Span- ish water dogs and Bichon-type lap- dogs, although other Spanish dogs of similar type may have played a role in their development. The Bichons brought to Cuba adapted to the island’s diet and climate. Even- tually, the conditions resulted in a different dog, smaller than its pre- decessors, with a completely white, silky textured coat and a very loving disposition. That dog was the Blan- quito de la Habana. During the 18th century, the Blanquito de la Habana was recognized in England as the White Cuban. In the 19th century, poodles (or Caniches) were brought to Cuba, from France, Germany and other countries. With the arrival of these poodles, the transformation of the Blanquito de la Habana began. The result of cross-breeding poodles to
the Blanquito was a slightly larger dog of various colors, but retaining the silky coat and Bichon type. That dog is the Havanese, the Cuban in- terpretation of the Bichon lapdogs fromEurope. Like the Blanquito before it, the Ha- vanese was the pet of the Cuban colo- nial aristocracy until the beginning of the 20th century. After that, the Ha- vanese became the beloved pet of the people of the island. During the Cu- ban Revolution some of the dogs were brought to this country by their own- ers whomigrated to southern Florida, while others migrated to Costa Rica and Puerto Rico with their dogs, thereby preserving the breed. The Havanese remaining in Cuba were not as fortunate, and few survived the Revolution. At that time in theUnited States, Mrs. Dorothy Goodale learned of the exis- tence of the Havanese and began to seek information on this breed of dog that she had never heard of before. She was looking for a smaller dog as an al- ternate to the larger dogs she had bred when she was younger. She decided to advertise in aMiami newspaper to try to locate some of the dogs. Through these advertisements, she located two or three families who brought their Bichons from Cuba to the Unit- ed States. Mrs. Goodale was able to acquire six Havanese, complete with pedigrees, from these families.
Cuban CH “Puppy” (1988-2002) the first Bichon Havanese Champion of Cuba was honored on this 1992 commemorative post- age stamp celebrating Cuba’s only native purebred dog.
“Portrait of a YoungWoman” painted by Vincente Escobar (1757-1854), a Cuban por- trait painter, shows a young woman holding a Blanquito de la Habana. The original paint- ing is in the archives of the Salas del Museo National de Cuba in Havana.
58 • T op N otch T oys , O ctober 2019
Powered by FlippingBook