In the early sixties the success of Quinta do Índio dogs caught the eye of Vasco Bensaúde, businessman, shipowner and dog breeder who had started 30 years earlier to save the Portuguese Water Dog from extinction in his Algarbiorum kennel. Not having heirs interested in the kennel, Bensaúde bequeathed it to Conchita Cintrón in 1967. Having registered the kennel with the name Al-Gharb, Conchita, taking advantage of her extensive contacts in North American high-society publicized the breed in the US with great success.