Take a Minute in Statia 003: Smokey in Wonderland

Update March 2023: We failed. Smokey made us fall in love with her hopelessly. Even though it won’t be easy as we have a tendency to move around in this beautiful world, we take the next step. Read the full story in And then along comes Smokey.

The third clip of our series „Take a Minute in Statia“ brings you up close and personal with our marvellous foster dog: Meet Smokey in Wonderland. Resting during our late afternoon walk at the Quill, she takes in the scents of her surroundings and watches the butterflies dancing in the last rays of the sun.

At the moment, these Great Southern White Butterflies (Ascia monuste) are fluttering in huge aggregations in gardens, open fields, and the national parks of St. Eustatius. The upper side of their wings is mainly white. While the female’s underbelly is white with dusky grey patterns, the underbelly of the males is yellow. Within the females, there is a rare dark variation too.

Enjoy Smokey in Wonderland in another Minute in Statia

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Let’s get to the main character in our wonderland: Smokey! First of all, Smokey is a female and simply „cutiful“ beyond belief. Not sure if her name comes from her deep cough-like bark which she is using only few and far between or from the smoke-like shine over her dark brindle fur. In any case, she doesn’t mind Yoeri’s smoking. Since she arrived in our little house on the prairie in October, Smokey brings love and joy.

After escaping multiple times from the house where she was living she got picked up by Carina, a volunteer of the St. Eustatius Animal Welfare Foundation (SEAWF), in October 2021. By that time, it was unclear if her left hind leg needed to be amputated. It was all mangled up from wire trying to keep the one-year-old dog in a place she wasn’t feeling safe or loved. Luckily, the vet cared for all the wounds and she healed, losing only one toe in the end.

Take more than a Minute in Statia

When we – Yoeri and Nicki – started volunteering at the animal shelter at the beginning of 2022, Smokey stood out. As we love dogs and cats, but can’t provide a forever home for them, volunteering is the perfect solution. This way we are connecting to our animal friends with their pure spirits and enjoy their kind and loving nature. Every once in a while, we got some of the dogs for a day out to our house or organised a trip to the sea (Animal shelter in Statia: Adopt a dog).

One Sunday, we arrived to pick up Smokey and the other three dogs from her kennel for such a play day. However, Smokey had been found with some nasty wounds the day prior and was laying in a separate night kennel to recover. She didn’t even lift her head to greet us. It was heartbreaking to see her in such a weak state of body and mind. However, when we brought the other dogs back, Smokey was standing at the gate. She had brought up all her strengths to get up and put all her love into the eyes pleading „take me home“.

Falling for Smokey in Wonderland

So, we provided the space, love, and time for her to heal. Although she is fully recovered now, we can’t send her back. It would break three hearts in one go. Close to being a foster failure, we want to find the best place possible for this lovely dog. Even though I cry just thinking about letting her go, Smokey in Wonderland deserves her very own happy ending. It’s her life. We stick around for as long as she needs us. In the end, we’ll do what is best for her, not what feels best for us.

Smokey is a gentle soul and needs human contact. The more the merrier! We’d like to say we trained her well. But in fact, she is very observant and simply wants to please in order to be a part of the family. She is trained to walk with a leash or without on a beach where she just loves to run and goof around.

All she needs is love

In general, love and affection are Smokey’s strongest driving forces – much more than food. That is also our way of training her: cuddles and praise. Our energy is rewarding enough. She is a huge fan of belly rubs. Naturally, Smokey prefers to be close to her family. If the pack is spread out, she’ll find a place somewhere in the middle to keep in contact. She is a great sleeper and seems to relive her daily adventures in her dreams.

Talking about adventures, Smokey loves to explore. While still at the shelter, longer walks seemed difficult with her injured leg. Now she runs, jumps, and zooms around as if nothing ever happened to her. With little breaks for sniffing and drinking we easily walk two hours. Together we discover new parts of the island. While we are filming and photographing she waits patiently – just like in this little clip.

Adopt, don’t shop (just not Smokey anymore)

Take a look at all the other wonderful dogs in need of a home. Transportation costs can be covered in certain circumstances for off-island adoptions. This includes travel to Europe or North America! The adoption fee of $70 includes de-worming, two vaccinations, a microchip, and spay/neuter. Some destinations require vaccination against rabies ($20). You must have a securely fenced yard. Contact: SEAWF via +599 318-1102 (phone or Whatsapp) or contact-us@seawf.com

We make more minutes

Take a Minute in Statia

With three clips we can call it a series. In this playlist, you find more inspiration and information on Statia, the beautiful Caribbean gem.

Take a Minute to Fly

For now, there is a short, but sweet selection of 1-minute-long aerials from the Netherlands and Germany. Watch the whole playlist on our YouTube channel or browse through the different clips on our designated page „Take a Minute to Fly“ on this website.

Take a Minute to Relax

For more visual meditation and marine information, watch the whole playlist on our YouTube channel or browse through the different clips on our designated page „Take a Minute“ on this website or in the blog.