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Havanese History

Although the Havanese is newly recognized toy breed of the AKC since only 1996, the history of the breed is a long one.

The Havanese is the National Dog of Cuba, and that country's only native breed.

The Havanese, get's it's name from it's port of origin, Havana, Cuba. Throughout history, however, the Havanese has been know as: Blanquito Cubano, Bichon Habanero, Bichon Havanais, White Cuban, Blanquito de la Habana, Bichon of Cuba, Havana Silk Dog, and the Spanish Silk Poodle. Still, it is a distinct breed originally developed in Cuba to become the favored pampered pet of the aristocratic sugar barons.

Christopher Columbus discovered Cuba in November 1492, and claimed her for Spain. Throughout the next decade, colonization began with the first settlers, the farmers arriving most likely from Tenerife, followed by the segundos or second sons of the Spanish aristocracy.

Due to severe restrictions imposed on Cuba by the Spanish, one of the few ports open to them for trade was Tenerife. Ship's logs of the early sixteenth century reveal that dogs were brought along on these early colonists' voyages. Most likely, these were the dog of Tenerife, the common ancestor to the entire Bichon family of dogs. It appears these little dogs became the pampered pets of the residing Spanish aristocracy, and developed with little outside influence. In spite of the trade restrictions, Cuba developed and prospered.

By the 18th Century, Cuba became the cultural center of the New World, with an elegance that surpassed anything the British colonies had done. The aristocracy of Europe found the city of Havana to be a great vacation spot, with its operas, theatres and palacios. On their return to Europe, they brought back the little white dog of Havana, known as the Blanquito or White Cuban.

By the 18th Century, these dogs were quite the rage in Europe. Charles Dicken's owned one, named Tim, as a playmate for his seven children. Queen Victorial owned two.

With the advent of the Cuban revolution, the class of Cubans who owned Havanese were the first to leave. A handful of the dogs them found their way to this country.

In the early 1970's, Dorothy Goodale's goal was to buy what purebreds she could find and rebuild the breed. She was able to acquire 6 pedigreed dogs from the two unrelated bloodlines of the Perez and Fantasio families. She continued advertising in Latin American newspapers, with a single response from Senior Barber in Costa Rica to purchase his five Havanese. So the Goodale's began their Havanese breeding program, with eleven dogs from three unrelated lines. In 1979 Dorothy was instrumental in the formation of the Havanese Club of America, establishing an official registry for the Havanese.

All the Havanese in the world today, save those from the iron curtain countries and those remaining in Cuba, stem from those 11 little Cuban immigrants.

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