Actually, he’s a dog named Trini and this is a love story.
Let’s start at the beginning. Staff and students of Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania visited our shores as part of a study tour, co-coordinated with The UWI St. Augustine’s International Office and two Drexel lecturers from the LeBow College of Business: Dana D’Angelo, Clinical Professor of General Business and Andy Macaleer, Adjunct Professor in Experiential Learning.
The International Office offers customised study tours for groups of students and faculty that are interested in Caribbean academics and culture, and is headed by Study Tour Coordinator, Afiya Francis. Out of her collaboration with Drexel, the Winter Break in Trinidad & Tobago: Commerce, Culture, Cuisine and Citizenship two-week study tour was born.
In December 2019, the Drexel group learned about the commercial aspects of Carnival by visiting Lost Tribe’s mas camp. They held fresh cocoa pods in their hands to experience the different stages of chocolate production at the Brasso Seco Cocoa Estate in Paria. Service-learning was also part of the short curriculum; Drexel students volunteered to help with adult literacy through the non- profit organisation ALTA (Adult Teachers Learning Association).
On one of their many excursions, they toured the North Coast in Grand Riviere and it was there they saw him. A dark brown dog with black accents, just your average ‘pothound,’ but his friendly demeanour made him stand out from the pack. According to D’Angelo, “There were a few dogs around, but Trini seemed to really like us. He followed us to our cabin and stayed with us all day around the resort; he even watched as we played cards at night. The next morning, he was still sleeping on our porch”.
It was a match made in foreign exchange heaven — the charming local had won over the hearts and minds of everyone around him. But this love affair had an expiry date, and it was soon approaching. Would Trini be relegated to the distant memory of just a cute dog encountered on a two- week study tour? “That morning, we made a quick decision to see if we could bring Trini back to the US. After several phone calls, we found June, Trinidadian woman who helped rescue local dogs. So we drove two hours back into Port of Spain where a veterinarian met with us and gave Trini shots.”
The happy ending, however, was yet to come, D’Angelo continues, “Sadly, because it was December 22 and we had to be on a flight in eight hours, we had to leave Trini at the vet and in June’s care.We could not get the paperwork needed in a day because agencies were closed. So Trini stayed for a week.”
June turned out to be a dog-lover’s godsend. She sent the Drexel team photos, made reservations, bought Trini a travel crate and even took him to the airport for his impending flight. The Drexel team picked him up in New York City on New Year’s Eve. Were the sparks still there? Absolutely. “He kissed us as soon as we got him. He remembered us for sure.”
Trini now lives in Philadelphia with both study tour coordinators, Prof D’Angelo and Prof Macaleer, and loves his new family. Like a true Trini, he now has devotees who encourage everyone to come to Trinidad and fall in love with its culture and people: ”We now belong to a few ‘potcake’ groups on Facebook and just love these dogs...more people should adopt them. It was easy”.
For more information on how to be a part of UWI St. Augustine’s study tours, please email the International Office at: studytour@sta.uwi.edu or afiya.francis@sta.uwi.edu.
