HISTORY OF THE HAVANESE
Bichon Family of Dogs
Officially, the Havanese is one of a number of breeds that comprise the Bichon family of dogs: Bichon Maltese, Bichon Frise, Bichon Bolognese, Lowchen, Bichon Havanese, the Russian Tsvetnaya, Bolonka, and the Coton de Tulear. “Bichon” is a French word referring to any small, long-haired dog. Some believe “Bichon” may be derived from the word “barbichon,” which is related to “barbet,” a generic name for a dog with a long, curly, woolly coat. What most of these dogs have in common is that they are small, white, curly-coated, and lacking distinctive breed characteristics. Identifiable breed characteristics are achieved only through carefully planned breeding programs. The early Bichon was an ancient type of French water spaniel, derived from the Poodle, from which all Bichons are thought to have evolved. [Bichon Havanese by Zoila Portuondo]. The breed is also believed to share lineage with the Maltese, the Poodle, and a dog of the Canary Islands later known as the Bichon Frise. Some fanciers believe that the small, white, silky-coated dogs called Blanquitos de la Habana (Little White Dogs of Havana) or Perros de Seda de la Habana (Havanese Silk Dogs) were not Havanese as we know them today, but were a precursor of the breeding of the Havanese.and the Blanquito. The Blanquito eventually died off by the late 1700s, probably because of numerous breeding programs that had as their goal making the Blanquito smaller and smaller, until the dogs only averaged 3 to 6 lbs (1 to 3 kg). Breeding dogs who were too small caused a severe decline in the health of the Blanquito. At this point, the idea arose that breeding the French Poodle to the Blanquito would strengthen the breed and introduce greater color variety. This is the foundation upon which the originator of the Habanero Club de Cuba, Zoila Portuondo, bases her theory that there have been two breeds of Havanese: the first being the white-coated Blanquito, which eventually died off, and later, today’s Havanese, which evolved from subsequent crossings with other breeds and developed into the dog of many splendored colors we now know.
The Havanese is believed to be a descendant of breeds brought to Cuba from Europe and could also be related to the Tenerife, and ancestor of the entire Bichon family of dogs.
Breed Origins: From Europe to Cuba and Back
The precise development of the Havanese breed remains shrouded in mystery. After the fall of the Roman Empire (395–476 AD) and the advance of the Dark Ages, more properly known as the European Middle Ages, most of the continent suffered widespread intellectual, economic, and political stagnation. Resources were thin, and the population struggled to survive famine and plagues. Dogs were kept for utilitarian purposes. Increased overseas exploration and trading eventually stimulated a recovery, and among those items traded were small white dogs brought to Europe by sea captains on their journeys to and from other continents. The smaller of these dogs, referred to as curs, hunted and killed plague-carrying vermin on ships and docks. Although the bubonic plague still festered in Europe during this time, researchers speculate that in those places where these small dogs lived and hunted, rats were kept in check; hence, the dogs helped to stem the spread of disease. In addition to being prized for this purpose, some of these little dogs gained the favor of elites and nobility, which led to more controlled breeding and to their increased value over time. Most researchers also note that, during the Spanish Empire (1492–1848), a small, white, silky-coated dog roamed the Mediterranean coast and was variously identified as the Little Silk Dog, Melita, or Caniche. Small, raggedy, white and colored dogs, believed to be related to these Melita or Caniche dogs, were also discovered living on the Canary Islands, which included the Island of Tenerife. During the period ushering in the Renaissance, European monarchs wielded enormous power over their trading ships, dictating which ones could sail, where they would ship, and what they could carry. The Island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands discovered by Columbus, was the only island permitted shipping trade by the Kingdom of Spain. Cargo exported to and from the island included the small white dogs, later called the Tenerife Dog or Bichon Tenerife. Ancestors of the Havanese were most likely brought to Cuba aboard trade ships sailing from Tenerife. Because Cuban trade was highly restricted by the Spanish, these little dogs developed in Cuba without much outside influence, eventually finding their way into the homes of Cuban aristocracy and becoming the national dog and its only native breed. As colonial Cuba developed, so did the popularity of the “Havanese Silk Dog,” which became trendy in Europe by the mid-eighteenth century. The growing popularity of these little white toy dogs among English nobility increased trade in them exponentially, leading to their eventual desirability all over Europe. By the nineteenth century, the Bichon Havanese began to emerge as a distinct breed in its own right. Preferred not only as the family pet of Cuba’s colonial aristocracy, this toy dog was also quite sought after by European monarchs, such as Queen Victoria, who owned two, and celebrities, like author Charles Dickens, who obtained one for his children. So treasured were the pets of the English royal family that a line item credit for them of 100,000 gold crowns became part of the annual budget. Later, Havanese began to appear in traveling circuses, showing off their trainability in the amount of tricks they performed, and furthering their reputation and desirability among the general population. At the Paris Dog Show of 1863, 850 to 900 dogs were exhibited. It is thought that this was the first dog show in which the Havanese took its place among other dogs identified as members of the Bichon family. After World War II (WWII), these small white dogs decreased in popularity as their aristocratic owners died off and/or migrated to Europe and the United States in the wake of the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
Havanese first arrived in the United States in the 1970s, brought by expatriated Cubans who fled the political upheaval in their homeland. The breed was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1996.
Havanese in the United States
When Cubans fled to the United States to avoid the political upheaval of the 1959 Revolution, most were not able to take their Havanese with them. The few individuals who did escape with their dogs soon introduced American breeders to this rare and charming breed. Dorothy and Burt Goodale, breeders and exhibitors of Afghan Hounds and Irish Setters, had long heard rumors about the “little white Cuban dog,” and they began tracking down Havanese between 1975 and 1979. They were able to buy 11 dogs from the Fantasio and Perez families, who had emigrated to Costa Rica. Later, in a search for more Havanese, Dorothy put an ad in several Florida newspapers. She received one reply from Senor Ezekiel Barba, who was on his way to Arizona to live with his daughter and could not take his six dogs with him. These seventeen Goodale Havanese became the core foundation of the breed in the United States. Dorothy and Burt worked with friends to establish solid breeding programs. Foundation Havanese kennels included not only Dorothy’s Havana Doll House, but also Arlene Gaglione’s Ti-Ara Havanese, Mary Money’s SRR, Sadie Stromberg’s Mendoza Havanese, Mark Kolbe’s Hallmark Havanese, Kathleen Schmidt’s Katrina Havanese, Elizabeth Vargo’s Destiny Havanese, and Eugene Malcolm’s Setacane Havanese. In 1979, Dorothy Goodale, along with this nucleus of passionate breeders, formed the Havanese Club of America, which was recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) as the parent club of the breed.
Meanwhile, Europe began to rediscover the little Cuban dog as well, and exports from the United States began as early as 1981. Pillowtalk Kennel, owned by Monika and Al Moser of Germany, was the first to acquire dogs. Then Anja van Haarlem of A Maiden Effort Kennel in The Netherlands saw a photo of SSR’s Mr. Sandman in a Dutch dog magazine and learned that the dog was imported from the United States by Monika Moser. Seeking her own Havanese, Anja obtained Pillowtalk Kennel’s Chicita, who produced a large number of progeny and has left an admirable legacy. About this time, another champion dog, Mucho Bravo’s Wild Willy, of Mucho Bravo Kennel in Germany, owned by Rene and Mirabell Woudman, would become one of the top-placing Havanese in Europe. Mucho Bravo Kennel, and its champion stud Wild Willy, also did well at reaching across the Atlantic to work with American Havanese breeders to improve the lines. By the mid-1980s, the original smattering of Havanese breeding kennels in the United States, among which were Elizabeth Vargo of Destiny Havanese and Marsha Peterson of the original Elfin Havanese, increased in number. With dedicated breeding and the acquisition of dogs from other countries, the Havanese eventually became one of the fastest growing dog breeds in the AKC.