McKee Jaco kicked off 2013 with one of its most important, ongoing activities: Spaying and neutering of rescued animals and pets belonging to low-income families. Year-to-date, we have managed to spay and neuter 63 animals.  A HUGE thank you goes out to the people who went out of their way to facilitate the spaying and neutering program:Dr. Jose Manuel Jimenez, Carolina Campos, Doris Schluckebier, Silvina Goren, Leo Hogan and Laleña Bennett as well as to all our sponsors – see below.

PROJECT “I BRAKE FOR ANIMALS” – SPONSOR A SIGN!

Great news: Our hard work and persistence is starting to pay off! We’ve managed to have 12 road signs placed in Jaco and Herradura! We’ve already received a lot of positive feedback from visitors and people who live in the area.

Thanks to the fantastic design of American artist CRYSTAL MCLAUGHLIN from Myrtle Beach, who also donated the designs of the stickers, T-Shirts, and business cards, the road signs are clearly visible and easy to recognize. We are also grateful to LINDA LOOK for sponsoring this entire project and to JACO MUNICIPALITY for granting us the permission to place the signs.

As mentioned before, we’ve calculated that 70% of all animal accidents could be prevented, if only the drivers would use their breaks.

We are certain, that it will make a huge difference once more and more people are made aware of the fact that, with very little effort, they can help reduce the number of injured or killed animals on our roads. All it takes to prevent an animal (and your car) from getting hurt on the road IS HITTING THE BRAKES!

The next important step is to place a big road sign on one of the most notorious spots that we know of in this area: next to the CARARA NATIONAL PARK, just off the Costanera Highway. As we mentioned before, this “death trap” claims the lives of wild animals almost daily and, therefore, we need to take action very soon. In order for the sign to be easily noticeable, it should be 2 meters high and 1 meter wide.The sign will be made using reflective materials so it will be clearly visible day and night. The price of each sign is USD 250. If you’re interested in connecting your business with this wonderful cause, don’t miss out on this perfect opportunity and contact us for more information about how to sponsor a sign!

In the meantime, our mission to have our sticker “Yo freno por los animales” (“I brake for animals”) on each car in Costa Rica is ongoing!If you are an animal lover and don’t have a sticker yet, please order one now and join us in achieving our goal to create more awareness and reduce the number of injured and killed animals on the roads. The attractive, fun design of the sticker also looks great on any other moving vehicle, so make sure to pass it on to non-car owners too! They cost only 500 colones and are available in black and yellow. Contact us and place your order!

Last but not least, we have started offering taxi drivers who want to be a part of the project a starter kit. Each kit includes 2 free “I brake for animals T-Shirts”, 100 free business cards with our slogan and the contact details of the driver printed on them. The responses so far have been very positive and we’ll be sure to recommend the participating taxi drivers to locals and visitors to Jaco area. If you wish to be mentioned on our “pet friendly taxi driver” list, or would like to recommend anyone, please do not hesitate to contact us.

As mentioned previously, the t-shirts can also be ordered by non-taxi drivers and make a fun gift for any animal lover! They cost $16 per piece and can be ordered by contacting us.

Once again, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to our friend and supporter of this project LINDA LOOK from the US, who also is sponsoring our education program.

EDUCATION NEVER STOPS!

Despite the limited availability of resources, our education project turned out to be a huge success. In cooperation with the Jaco Library, we organised bi-weekly events during January and February filled with quality animal information and lots of fun stuff to do and learn. The program included learning everything about animal rights, arts projects and story time. It was our goal to reach as many children in our community as possible. To ensure this, all the activities took place in the middle of the community, making it very easy for the kids to reach us independently. We were delighted to see that, besides the kids, their brothers, sisters and even their moms attended! We finished the program with a beautiful mural in the kids park in INVU. The kids worked really hard on creating this masterpiece and we’ll be adding the names of all of them involved and some messages soon. A huge thank you goes out to ANGELA MARIA and her husband JOHNNY fromART SCHOOL MIREVEA for volunteering as “art directors” and making it possible to have a unique and ever-lasting reminder of this fantastic project.

Unfortunately, education is a costly (yet vital) element of our organization. As a result of the lack of available funds, our education program needs to be adjusted and our activities will be limited to one school only this year. It goes without saying that we’ll continue to help alleviate animal suffering by raising public consciousness. Education is key in helping low-income families become more aware and ensuring that animals receive the respect they so need and deserve. Should you wish to donate to this project, or know of any funding opportunities that could help keep it alive, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Thank you again, SUE BARTHOLOMEW for sponsoring these activities during the vacation time and LINDA LOOK for supporting this highly important project from the start!

NOMINATIONS FOR THE NEXT GOLDEN PAW AWARD

The nominations for the next Golden Paw Award are due by May 15. If you know someone who makes our community a truly better place through the work they do with animals, please fill out the form on our website http://www.mckee-jaco.com/mailcode193/patadeoro_form.phpor email us at info@mckee-jaco.com

Nominations may come from any community member. Please read the nomination guidelines before filling out the form.

GOOD BYE TO CAROL BROWN

We are deeply saddened by the passing away of our beloved friend Carol Brown. Carol was a big-time animal lover and dedicated volunteer. She was always there when we needed her and even shared her home with one of our vet volunteers from the States who came to Costa Rica to give free castrations.
Her endless support to our group has been invaluable and we are eternally grateful to her.
She will be greatly missed by all of us. Her family, aware of Carol’s love for our project, has decided that memorial donations can be sent to our organization en lieu of flowers. We received donations in memory of Carol Brown from: Kent and Nancy Brockman, Robin Creech, Friends at Environmental Products Inc. Paul Viox Jeff Viox Jimbo Weiler Yvonne Billings, staff at American Metal Fibers, Inc., Richard Hammer, Frenzelit North America – Stephen McFadden, David W Cunningham, Larry Smoot, Dr. Gaye W. Cronin, Mary E Brown and Catherine Smoak, Alpha high performance fabrics, Bonn Industrial Equipment, Melvin & Jo Wright, Warren Environment Inc, Raemon G. Davis, Todd O’Malley – Cher O’Malley, John Callen and Frances Callen, Power Supplies and Services, William Beringer Jr.

CAROL WILL FOREVER BE IN OUR HEARTS AND THOUGHTS.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS OF FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2013

And like always, our huge Thank You goes out again to the sponsors of all three programs: Linda Look, Stuart Welch, Leo Plumley, Hotel Mar de Luz, Wishbone Restaurant, Paola Alvarado and Hotel Los Ranchos, for their regular monthly support,as well as to: Dr. Marco Rodriguez, Pikotravel.com, SASY Costa Rica, Shannon Clarke, Anna Bramani, John Robinson, Yami Gutierrez, Roberto Cambronero, Deborah Crane, Myra Weiger, Stuart Welch, Taffy Tucker, Brook Rochester, Piko Travel, Crystal Curry, Jill Seagren, Gaston – Bijagual, Tina Wallace, Dennis Ward – capt “Never say Never”, Cheryl Mead, Kristen Luke, Norma & Ken Kahn, Tammy Rodriguez, Jane & Lee Swidler, Leo Plumley, Bruce & Shana Matzki, Denise & John Gilbride, Anonymous – @ the fundraiser, Sean Milligan @ GeckoTech, PikoTravel, Nancy Fernández Fedullo, Ray & Suzanna Krueger Koplin, Lilli & Till @ Tortuga del Mar, Adriana Rodriguez Coto, Philipp Edwards @ Club del Mar, Titus Harris, Joe Catalano, Guests at Hotel Club del Mar, Sylvia van Baekel, Dennis Ward, Mary Stompe, Lee Wilson, Stuart Welch, Sarah Reyes Perez for your support in these last 2 months.

And to all our sponsors of the fundraiser: Beach Club BLU – hosting and welcome drink, CHUPACABRAS – Music, Koko Muruture – Music, Sergio Cordero “CHECHO” – tables, chairs, Icon graphics – Printing, Johnny from copy shop – Printing as well as: Discovery Horseback Tours, Costa Rica Coffee Experience, The Tico Pod Gift Shop, Teatro Jaco, Blackbeard’s Restaurant – Morgan’s Cove Resort, Herradura Divers, Chuck’s W.O.W. Surf Shop, Never Better Salon, Pura Vida Pantry, The Green Room Café, Elliott Easton Surf Lessons, Shoetopia, Marea Brava Hotel Hermosa, Veterinaria YAN Herradura, La Puesta del Sol Restaurante Herradura, Big Bamboo Pizzeria, Sweet Cakes by Kenia, Jimmy T Provisions, Sunrise Breakfast, Lattitude Restaurant – Hotel Cocal, The Patio Bar, Sandra’s Coffee Shop, Children’s Casual Wear Shop, Papas & Burgers, Burro Burritos, Jaco Taco, Lemon Zest, Premier Dental Care, The Backyard Hermosa, Surf Dogs, Taco Bar, Vista Los Suenos Canopy Tour, Kathy Lynn Jewelry, Los Almendros Restaurant, Michal Marchevsky-Acupuncture, Crystal Dental Care, Intuitive Soul – Jeanie Baker, Pacific Tour Travels, Siddharta Mejia, Parrilla Argentina Steak House, Hotel Poseidon for donating to us great prizes for the raffle.

As most of you know by now, we are constantly looking for unique ways to bring attention to animals in desperate need of a home or a sponsor. If you have any suggestions, or wish to be a part of ANY of our projects, please feel free to contact us!

And last but not least: Many thanks to ALL OF YOU out there in the world that care!

“YOU CAN NEVER DO A KINDNESS TOO SOON, BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW HOW SOON IT WILL BE TOO LATE.”

Nadzyra Calonius
Asociación Pro Bienestar Animal (McKee Jaco)