The clinic held in Tarcoles on February 5th was the best example of how our community is changing and getting more and more actively involved in our project. I consider this clinic better than most of the big spay days we’ve organized so far. The majority of all helpers there were local people, and the food was donated by a Costa Rican member of the Tarcoles community. The pet owners who brought their pets by themselves were very interested in learning more about better animal care, asking how to prevent the most common diseases and how to treat their pets if they get sick. It was not just a spay day, it was an educational event too, and I loved how it turned out.

We were able to organize this spay day by combining the Plaza Boulevard Clinic together with a fabulous vet team from the States: Dr. Robin Stronk and her husband John, and Dr. Richard Righter and his wife Shirley – the same team of professionals who last year donated their services to us for the entire day.

32 animals, 80% of them rescued strays, the rest of the animals belonging to extremely poor families, were spayed/neutered during this clinic. This team worked non-stop for 7 hours, first “adapting” the communal salon into a provisional clinic, and then proceeding with the surgeries in these most difficult conditions. Thank you to Robin, John, Richard and Shirley for dedicating their time and skills to the poor community of Tarcoles, and to Dr. Wendy Villalobos for also being a part of this project this year. Our guests also brought many needed materials and meds, such as sutures, antibiotics and pain meds, all of which they donated to us at the end of this day.

Special thanks also goes to everybody who came to help us that day: Patri Holmer, Brenda Morales Gonzales, Marvin Olivas Gonzales, Lorie Ewel, Lizbeth Munoz Monge, Kristen Luke, Santos Montenegro Lopez, Nigel Sandi, the scout leaders Alexander Rodriguez Vargas, Marilyn Rodriguez Vargas and Marlene Gonzales Gonzales, and the scouts: Keneth Gonzales, Marco Alvarado Soto, Karen Gonzales Gonzales, Kaylin Perez Gonzales, Irene Murillo Guzman, Andres Diaz Adaniz, Alan Adaniz Umana, Mariadelmar Adaniz Dinarte, Junior Adaniz Dinarte, Ericka Melendez Campos, Keilin Vargas Chacon, who did a great job taking care of the animals after the surgery, applying both eye drops and Frontline where necessary. And thanks also to Maria and Gino Sandi from Tarcoles for the delicious lunch donated for the veterinarians and their assistants.

During the next 3 days – February 6th ,7th and 8th – our spay days took place at the Plaza Boulevard Clinic in Jaco. 29 animals were spayed/neutered during these days. Our special THANK YOU goes to Dr. Lee Wilson, who again this year came to us all the way from Alaska, offering her help with surgeries. She not only donated her time for free, but she also brought her own sutures as well as other supplies. And of course to Dr. Wendy Villalobos and the staff at the clinic, for providing us a place to work and being a part of this great project. Thanks also to Doris Schluckebier for assisting in all surgeries performed during these days, and Leo Hogan, Kristen Luke and Celina Grefenkamp for taking care of the animals after the surgery.

This time Dr. Wilson was invited by Carol Brown to stay at her beautiful house in Jaco. Dr. Wilson loved being there, and really enjoyed spending her free time in the lush tropical garden, as well as the invigorating swimming pool and the company of Carol and her two cute puppies. A huge THANK YOU to Carol for donating such a nice place for our volunteer from the USA.

Together with our little spay days in the Jaco clinic and with Dr. Jose Manuel Jimenez, this February we were able to spay/neuter 85 animals – and of course thank you to all vets and sponsors for their cooperation.

GAME AFTERNOONS AT THE LIBRARY AND NEWS FROM EDUCATION PROGRAM

In the month of January we organized, together with the Jaco Library, “creative afternoons” for children ages 7 to 14 years old. The subject was of course animals – both pets as well as wildlife.  Angela Maria, well known by all the kids in Jaco, worked with them in our library, spending time with them reading, discussing and painting. The project was a big success – each time we had over 10 kids attending. Some of them were brought by their parents, who stayed at the library for the entire two hours and enjoyed reading books. The kids were welcomed by the two “library dogs” Ninja and Boston, and all the kids loved them and were spoiling them with treats and cookies. Turns out our kids are all really talented – the paintings they made were wonderful, some of them looked like little pieces of art.

A huge thank you to Liana Robinson from the Library is in order, for providing a place for this activity and for being a part of this project. And another big thank you goes to Libreria Jaco for donating some materials and to Licorera Jaco, Café del Mar, Caliche’s Wishbone and Soda La Farra de Fuego for donating delicious drinks and snacks for the kids.

Angela Maria has already had meetings with the school principals and teachers here, and we are planning to start our program very soon. We will be working with the 2 main schools in our area, and in addition to them we decided to also approach the smaller schools for regular presentations – the chronograms are ready and just need to be accepted by the principals.

This great project is sponsored by LINDA LOOK from the USA – thank you Linda for giving us the opportunity to continue it this year.

THE GOLDEN PAW AWARD FOR ALFONSO GUZMÁN CHAVES FROM SAN JOSE

THE “GOLDEN PAW AWARD”  is presented twice a year by both OUR ORGANIZATION and the magazine “PETS Y MAS”. Its purpose is to honor local people in our communities for their compassion and service toward animals. InJanuary this year, the award was presented to Alfonso Guzmán Chaves from San Jose, who lives with his wife, 3 kids, 3 dogs, one cat and one rabbit in a humble little house where they all live in harmony, love and respect for each other. Alfonso never leaves an animal in need on its own – he brings it home and takes care of it until it is healthy, spayed/neutered and ready for its new life. His little house is always full of animals who are recuperating from their tough lives on the streets of San Jose.

THANK YOU ALFONSO FOR ALL THE TIME AND LOVE YOU GIVE TO THOSE FURRY LITTLE FRIENDS WHO NEED OUR HELP.

 THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS THIS MONTH

Big Thank you to all our sponsors in the month of February – Linda Look, Stuart Welch, Liz from Taco Bar, Leo Plumley, Hotel Mar de Luz, Cathi Brennan, Wishbone Restaurant, Paola Alvarado, Hotel Los Ranchos, and Gabriela Contreras Cordero for their regular monthly support, as well as to  Licorera Jaco, Café del Mar,  Caliche’s Wishbone, Carol Brown, Mimi Arandjelovic, Taffy Tucker, Silvina Rodgers Goren, Nuria Valverde Barqueo, Shannon Clarke, Bruce Ertmann, Bubba’s Memorial, Victor Quesada, Economedica Internacional, Soda La Farra de Fuego, Dr. Robin & John Stronk, Dr. Richard & Shirley Righter,  Dr. Lee Wilson, Noel Harverson, Ronald Meltzer, Rachael Rudd, Crysral Curry, Cathy and Greg Siroishka, Mark & Kathy Scobie, Holly Call, Catherine McRae, Ana Pana, Silvina Rodgers Goren, Sybille Dockhorn, Kevin Cummings from Kevin’s Transfers, David F. Sagel, Lorena Araujo, Linda Weiner, Teresa Tennant and Patricia Vega for all other donations to our project this month. And a very special thank you to Cathy and Greg Siroishka from Canada for donating to us medical instruments and many different so very needed meds.

WORLD PET TRAVEL AND HOW THEY BRING OWNERS TOGETHER WITH THEIR PETS

Many times tourists who have passed through our area have fallen in love with one of our homeless dogs or cats. Sometimes they are able to organize everything and take their new family member with them, but mostly there is not enough time for shots and paperwork, and this is when World Pet Travel steps in. This company has been bringing loved ones together for over 10 years.  Transporting pets into and out of Costa Rica to their new homes safely and stress-free for both the owners and their pets is their specialty. Contact Angela at 1-859-402-2240 or 8832-2450, or email them at meow@worldpettravel.com for more information.

Thank you for your time and support
Katja Bader