article_snippet: In Cuba's socialist wonderland even the stray dogs are issued with identification cards and provided with state sponsored accommodation and health care.
article_snippet: Security Guards Dary Valdes, left, and Margarita Garcia, right, enjoy looking after their unusual colleagues .
article_snippet: Ordinarily, all animals are banned from workplaces in Cuba with the exemption of guard dogs.
article_snippet: Nora Garcia, President of the Cuban Association for the Protection of Plants and Animals said her dogs were afforded her dogs special status after a guard was awoken one night by a barking dog who noticed some people were looking to steal an air conditioning unit.
article_snippet: her dogs are afforded special protection from Havana's dog catcher because of her dogs security role .
article_snippet: Some security guards adopt the dogs to alleviate the boredom of protecting buildings in a city with little crime.
article_snippet: The animal protection society maintains a list of 21 dogs living in state institutions, including a Communist Party gas station, offices of the Cuban Journalists' Union and a mechanical workshop of the Ministry of Public Health.
article_snippet: Each of the dogs is provided with free healthcare and accommodation by the state institutions invovled .
article_snippet: Other dogs haven't been so lucky, including a group snatched by the dogcatcher from Havana's University of Arts while their student protectors were home on vacation, Dalia Garcia said. 'their're official for their
article_snippet: Similarly sad fates await street dogs who aren't chosen for special treatment by state workers, including some of the dogs who wander, matted and skinny, through groups of quasi-official dogs on the streets of Old Havana. '
highlights_snippet: Dozens of state institutions in Cuba have decided to adopt a stray dog .
  