History

The history of the Havanese is not exact but most believe that they originated in the Mediterranean area.  The breed has been traced back centuries ago to be found in southern parts of France, Italy and Spain.  Dorthy Goodale, through her research believes that all members of the Bichon group as we know them today were one type of small white dog from that area.  She suggests that they were more like the Bolognese of today.  She describes other authors theories - an Italian Bolognese crossed with a small South American Poodle or another possibility - descended from the Maltese.

At any rate, it is believed  that the Italian sea captains  brought these little dogs to Cuba through the Havana port and so this is likely where they got their name.

In Cuba these dogs were considered status symbols and owned only by the Cuban elite.  To this they credit their near extinction as a breed.  During the Great Exodus when many families, thinking they would be returning shortly back to their country, left their Havanese with their housekeepers and servants not knowing they would not return.  Also it was very difficult for the families to smuggle them out due to the shortage of space on the ships they left on.

Two families that were able to bring their little dogs with them were the Perez family and the Fantasio family and these were the first Havanese recorded in the USA.  These two families through combined efforts helped to save the breed.

As you can see, the Havanese has a very colorful history but has only been recognized by the AKA since 1995 and the CKC since 1999.    I've read that there are only approximately 4000 purebred Havanese in the USA and probably quite a few less in Canada.