Archive of News Prior to 2012

What’s new at the Education Program?
January 2012

In the month of January we organize, together with the Jaco Library, creative afternoons for children ages 7 to 14 years old. The subject is of course animals — both pets and wildlife. Angela Maria, well known by all the kids in Jaco, is working with them in our library, reading, discussing and painting, and all kids are invited to participate. Depending on how popular these afternoons will become, we are considering the possibility of continuing this project also during the school year.

In February, after the local schools organize their programs, we want to start working at two main schools in our area on a daily basis.

McKee Jaco Education Program

This great (and expensive) project will be possible thanks to the generous support of LINDA LOOK from the USA — the same person who years ago sponsored the start of our education program, and has been helping to keep it alive ever since. THANK YOU LINDA FOR MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO CONTINUE THIS GREAT AND SO VERY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR PROJECT.

NEWS FROM THE CASTRATION PROGRAM

In the second half of 2011, we were able to welcome DR. JOSE MANUEL JIMÉNEZ from Jaco to our spay/neuter program. Dr. Jiménez was originally trained by McKee, and since then he’s been helping us on our “little spay days” we’ve organized a few times a week in different locations in Jaco and Tarcoles. At these clinics we typically spay/neuter around 10-12 animals. We are using private residences, and are trying to work no more than 3 hours each day, and Leo Hogan and Doris Schluckebier have been assisting Dr. Manuel. Also in the Jaco clinic, DRA. WENDY VILLALOBOS provides low cost castrations for our rescues, as well as for pets belonging to low income families who cannot afford the regular price.

Our goal for the year 2012 is to average 70 spayed/neutered animals per month. The castrations in the month of December and the first 2 weeks of January are sponsored by: MYRA WEIGER – USA, HOTEL MAR DE LUZ – Jaco, SYLVIA VAN BAEKEL – Herradura, WISHBONE RESTAURANT – Jaco, HOTEL TORTUGA DEL MAR – Hermosa, JUDY WITT – USA, SIMONE REITANO – USA, KAREN HUSS – Herradura, LEO PLUMLEY – Jaco, LIZ from TACO BAR – Jaco. A Huge thank you to all of you! 

WE NEED MORE MANPOWER AND MORE FOSTER HOMES FOR OUR RESCUE/ADOPTION PROGRAM!

This part of our project needs not only a huge amount of funds, but also needs much more manpower than we can count on right now. We were already pointing this out in the past: we are a very small group of volunteers. This means that we are not employed by an organization called “McKee”, nor do we have employees who work for us. We need your cooperation — it’s simply not enough to report an accident or an abandoned animal, we need you to help us to actually muck in and take care of the situation. Together, we always will be able to resolve problems and find solutions, but because we are just 4 people actively working on this project, we are not able to take care of all situations by ourselves right away. Please don’t limit your actions to just reporting a problem, because when you actually help us, it’s much more likely to get resolved.

Also: we are not, nor do we have access to, anything like a shelter. This means that we cannot collect animals off the streets, as we simply have nowhere to put them. If they are sick, they need to be taken to a clinic, and after that we almost always need a foster home for them. Our foster homes are always packed with animals, and we always need more people willing to open their hearts and their homes for animals to recover in during their treatments, and after that, while waiting to be adopted. So if you want to bring an animal in, please help us to also find a foster home for it. As always, we will provide meds and (if necessary) food.

Another huge THANK YOU goes out to all sponsors of this project from December until today: STUART WELCH – USA, DR. CARLOS MORALES – San Jose, CATHI BRENNAN – USA, GHOGHA AMON – USA, PAOLA ALVARADO – Parque Nacional Carara, HOTEL LOS RANCHOS – Jaco, GUISELLE HERNANDEZ SOLANO – Heredia, TROPICAL GARDEN HOTEL – Jaco, FUNDACION MCKEE – San José, PETS Y MAS magazine – San Jose, KATIE MCMILLAN – Puntarenas, ANPA COSTA RICA – San José, KETTY RODRIGUEZ – San Jose, NOLA MACEK – USA and JEANNIE LITZ – USA.

ANOTHER STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING

Do you remember Rocky? — he’s a cute, light beige-colored miniature Greyhound-type doggie with a ready smile, who was abandoned by his owner, probably when he got sick. With terrible mange all over his body and ehrlichiosis at a stage that most animals don’t survive, our vet said that Rocky’s blood work was that of a dead dog and that his chances of survival were almost nil. Well, Rocky is a fighter, and he did in fact survive. Because of his poor condition, he changed foster homes, moving from Shirlene and Carlos in Quebrada Amarilla to Jaco with Katja and Chris, as he needed very special care. After recuperating for nearly 6 months, Rocky went to yet another foster home, where he lived with Angela Maria, Johnny and 3 doggie friends, waiting for his new (and hopefully permanent) home.

Although Rocky is a cute, loving and loyal dog, nobody was very interested in adopting him. Finally, one of our friends — MARY STOMPE from California — decided to change Rocky’s life. Since way back in March 2011, when Mary first met Rocky on the beach in Jaco, she’d been trying to find this little guy a home in the States, and by the end of October, Mary finally found a new family for Rocky. While checking out the logistics of sending Rocky to California, we found out that the cost to send him would be around $700 – way too much for us. This is when Mary decides that she would come down to Costa Rica and pick Rocky up herself, considerably reducing his travelling costs. Our friend, supporter and big time animal lover STUART WELCH offered his beautiful beachfront condo to Mary free of charge, so that her trip might also include a little vacation. Mary stayed with us for a short 4 days, but she thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful apartment, as well as the fact that she could have Rocky there with her.

Rocky the Gringo

Rocky loved Mary from the first moment, and after a mere 5 hour flight our Tico puppy became a Gringo!

He lives now with Mary’s mother MAGGIE NEESE in San Francisco, close enough to Mary’s place that she can visit him and take him for long walks together with her own dogs almost every day. In California Rocky went to an obedience school called FITNFURRY, where he was spending 8 hours a day learning basic obedience and playing with other doggie-friends. He finished the training with a Diploma, and now he is not only well educated, but he also “speaks English”!

Thank you Mary for going through all the trouble and changing Rocky’s life — after what he went through as a puppy and a young dog, he deserves the best and you and your family gave it to him!

PLACE TO STAY NEEDED FOR A VOLUNTEER VETERINARIAN FROM THE USA

WE NEED A PLACE TO STAY for Dr. Lee Wilson, who every year comes to Jaco all the way from Alaska offering her help with our spay/neuter program.

Dr. Wilson arrives in Jaco on Sunday, February 5th in the afternoon, and leaves on Thursday morning, February 9th — if somebody would like to help us with this project, please let us know. Thank you!

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


McKee-Jacó Fundraising Event
November 2011

Many thanks go out to ALL OF THOSE THAT PARTICIPATED in the fundraising event that was held at the AMAPOLA on November 11th. Many people were involved in making it such a grand success, and our heartfelt thanks goes to each and every one of you. A BIG THANK YOU goes also to LOS CHUPACABRAS — the band who kept us company for this special event.

McKee-Jaco Fundraiser 2011

The fundraiser was a big success, with over 200 people coming out to support this community event.

McKee Jaco Fundraiser 2011

We were able to raise $6,560.00 from both the sale of tickets and the silent auction with raffle. After paying the Amapola $2,160 for the 180 dinners they served, we are left with a grand total of $4,400. This amount will be used to cover our outstanding bills with the University clinic in Heredia for the following dogs: Rusty, Jaco, Bolero, Lola del Precario, Arthur, Maya, Frieda, Whisky, Puffy, Buddy, Cookie and Maya — all being the patients treated at UNA since April of this year. UNA will be presenting us with a bill for these animals in the next few days.

If there is any money left over after paying this debt, it will be used in both our castration and adoption programs. A special thanks also goes out to all the sponsors of this event, (we will publish the list on our website and in Facebook) and of course, to all 200 of you who joined us at this event – THANKS!

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


The Golden Paw Award for Brenda Morales from Tárcoles
June 2011

THE “GOLDEN PAW AWARD” is presented twice a year by both OUR ORGANIZATION and by the magazine “PETS Y MAS”, and its purpose is to honor local people in our communities for their compassion and service toward animals. On June 22nd, 2011 this award was presented to Brenda Morales Gonzales. Brenda came to Costa Rica by way of Nicaragua some 18 years ago, and it is here that she learned to love animals, soon making the decision to dedicate her life to dogs. And this is where she continues to learn so much about them, and where her affection for them grows so much.

Golden Paw Award June 2011

About 5 years ago Brenda was living with her husband Juan and son Marvin on a farm in Quebrada Ganado, and there wasn’t a week that went by that she didn’t end up bringing home some injured or abandoned animal which needed help. Because of her big heart, very soon the family was surrounded by 12 dogs, which became too much for the owner of the farm, who soon asks Brenda and Juan to either get rid of the animals or leave.

Now Brenda and her family are heartbroken and don’t know what to do, but it seems that 2006 is to be Brenda’s lucky year, as she meets Patricia Holmer, a Canadian lady who just happens to live up the road apiece in Tarcoles, together with her husband Tonny and over 10 dogs and cats, most of which have been rescued from the streets. Patricia, a big- time animal lover herself, offers Brenda and her family a place that she and her husband are taking care of, a short 200 meters from where she lives, and she gives her permission to bring all 12 dogs she was taking care of on the farm. This is the start of a great relationship between these two extraordinary ladies.

Brenda Morales

Today, between 20 and 30 animals live full-time on Brenda’s property, all rescued from a miserable life with irresponsible owners or from the streets, and she and her family not only take care of them, they also make sure that the animals get both the necessary medical care as well as spayed/neutered, in order to find good homes. Brenda’s son Marvin is (besides Brenda) the main caretaker – he’s learned how to inject animals and give them their treatments so that they don’t need to be brought to the clinic every day. Every free minute of each day Brenda and Marvin spend taking care of these animals, and they both have part-time jobs in addition to all this hard work they do at home! Their animals live in good conditions on a large fenced piece of property, and there is always enough food and fresh water for them. But the most important thing they have is the love and attention they get from all 3 family members — something they never knew in their previous lives.

I’ve known Patricia and Brenda for over 5 years now, and I’ve completely lost count of the number of animals rescued by them – thanks to these extraordinary women, so many animals have had a chance for a new, better life, and we can only hope that more and more people will follow this example. 

HOW WE GET THREATENED AND BLACKMAILED 

There is not a week that goes by that I’m not threatened or blackmailed by someone with an animal problem. The story is always the same: somebody has a dog or a cat which he/she doesn’t want or cannot have anymore, and they make it very clear that if I don’t help them, (read: if I don’t come and pick up the animal RIGHT NOW) they will have no other option than to abandon it.

I just received an email with this very same theme — a cat which will be “abandoned” unless we find a home for it. And just few days ago, a girl called me and said that her dog needs shots, and if we cannot give them, she will have to abandon it. They use always the same words: “LO VOY A IR A PERDER”, which means:  “I will bring it somewhere and leave it there, making sure that it doesn’t find its way back home”.

Some people even try and make it sound a little better, like that “they would hate to have to abandon —”, but the idea is always the same — help me, or do this for me, and if not the animal will end up homeless. These threats don’t work with me, and in fact they make me quite angry, and I immediately explain to them that this is not how we work. And that we help whenever we can, we give shots if somebody who really cannot afford them asks for our help, and when the animal needs a new home, we are more than happy to HELP THEM find one, BUT WE DEFINITELY WILL NOT WANT TO DEAL WITH ALL THOSE WHO WILL TRY TO BLACKMAIL US.

We will not deal with people who threaten us, as it causes us to react in a manner opposite to that which was intended.

I can imagine that many of us feel this way, and I think that it’s normal – my husband’s mother has a saying: “Don’t say MUST, ‘cause it makes me feel so WON’T” WE ARE HERE TO HELP, AND NOT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR PEOPLE’S PROBLEMS. So if this happens to you, please explain to the person that this is not the way to talk to us, and it’s not how we work. PEOPLE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT AN UNWANTED ANIMAL IS THEIR PROBLEM, AND IT’S THEY WHO HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT IN A HUMANE MANNER, and as we will ALWAYS try to help them, there is simply no need to blackmail or threaten us.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Thank You Frog8th Anniversary of Mckee-Jacó:
Thank you to all our friends

May 2011

8 years is a long time, and that is why the little retrospective below is also pretty long, although I really tried to make it as short as possible. It’s not only our story, it’s also a way to say THANK YOU to all of you who supported us for all these years.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

There is no way I can name all of you, but I would like to at least name here those of you who have been supporting us with both regular and occasional donations this year. So, our huge THANK YOU goes out to EVERYONE who has been a part of this great project and who made all this possible.

Collage June 2011

This June, we celebrate our 8th anniversary. When I look back, I almost don’t recognize our organization — although we don’t have more members or volunteers than when we started, we definitely have many more friends and supporters than ever before. And this allows us to accomplish so much more than we were able to 8 years ago.

Our goal “way back” in 2003 was to help our community to address the issue of the countless stray animals roaming the streets, as well as to offer help with animal health care and adoption. And when I say “address”, I mean to actually start doing something about it. Dr. Sergio Brenes, who had just opened his clinic in Jaco, was supporting us from day one, offering low cost castrations and services at a special low price for all strays and pets belonging to low income families. Very soon we found out that along with the better roads and more cars, came an increase in car accident victims who require orthopedic surgeries. This was when we contacted the Animal Hospital at the University in Heredia and asked them for help. The head surgeon there at that time Dr. Carlos Morales, as well as his team became our very important supporters, and have remain as such ever since then – WE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO HAVE SO MANY ANIMALS’ PAWS SAVED, IF IT WASN’T FOR THE UNIVERSITY CLINIC.

In time, we found more vet friends willing to help us with both their services and advice — Dr. Yayo Vicente, Dr. Blas Rivas, Dr. Rosalinda Alvarez, Dr. Shirley Hernandez, Dr. Roger Alfaro, Dr. Victor Quesada, Dr. Carolina Rodriguez, Dr. Gini Bermudez, Dr. Becky Mora Rojas, Dr. Wendy Villalobos, Dr. Yessenia Alpizar and Dr. Federico Chaverri Suarez, all from Costa Rica, and Dr. Sean Beck, Dr. Robin Stronk, Dr. Richard Righter, Dr. Lee Wilson and Dr. Laura Taylor from the USA.

We are still one of the most frequent clients at the University Clinic in Heredia, where the vet team headed by Dr. Mauricio Jimenez helps us with all the difficult cases that cannot be treated in Jaco, including the orthopedic surgeries, while Dr. Carlos Morales, (the former vet superintendent at UNA, now part- time retired) comes to Jaco every 3 weeks and performs orthopedic (and all kinds of other) surgeries for our McKee patients totally free of charge

WITHOUT THE CONSISTENT COOPERATION OF ALL THESE PROFESSIONALS, WE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE LEVEL OF MEDICAL CARE OUR PATIENTS RECEIVE EVERY DAY.

The last few years have been pretty tough for all of us, and the weak economy has affected many of us, especially those involved in charity organizations. But with a lot of luck and help from so many of you, we were able to not only survive, but also to do an excellent job in all 3 areas of our activities:

  • CASTRATION
  • EDUCATION
  • RESCUE-ADOPTION

There is no way I can name here all our supporters, but I would like to at least name here those of you who are supporting us with both regular and occasional donations this year. Our huge THANK YOU goes out to:

  • Linda Look for financing the bulk of our education program, as well as so many of our extra needs
  • Pat and Wendy Hundley for their so very generous monthly support of the spay-neuter program,
  • Stuart Welch and Ghogha and Mohamed Amon for not only their monthly support, but also for all the additional donations for the special projects, and for also being our very good friends,
  • Hotel Mar de Luz, Wishbone Restaurant, Hotels Los Ranchos, Las Orquideas  and Tropical Garden and Leo Plumley for supporting us every month since we started in 2003,
  • Liz from Tacobar Jaco, Cathy Brennan, Guiselle Hernandez Solano and Ana Lorena Ardon for their monthly support this year,
  • Sylvia van Baekel and Rachel Alves for their generous contributions to our spay-neuter and adoption programs,
  • SASY! for supporting our spay/neuter program every year
  • Dr. Sean Beck, Dr. Lee Wilson, Dr. Laura Taylor & Dr. Rochelle Low , Dr. Barbara Eisen, Emma Cusack, Dr. Matt Wheaton, Dr. Doug Coward and Dr. Dave Coward, Dr. Gesa Kohn-Gould, Riverside Animal Hospital, Kathy Rothschild and Judy Witt for all the meds they donated to us this year,
  • Fundacion McKee and ANPA for helping us with advice and providing educative materials for our education program
  • Icon Print & Design for providing us with free ad space in the Jaco Guide magazine,
  • Alberto Zevallos and Donna Conneely for taking care of our website and designing all our “specials” every time we need them, (and for being so patient with us!),
  • Pets y mas” and “Mucho Gusto” for donating us these beautiful magazines, and also for free ad space to publish our news any time we ask for it,
  • Hotels Doce Lunas, Canciones del Mar and Mar de Luz and Mr. Stuart Welch for donating us a place to stay for our volunteer vets any time we ask for it
  • Matthew from Hotel Paraiso del Sol for helping us out with transportation to and from UNA any time he goes to the Central Valley
  • Our foster families: Arusha, Leo & Jim Hogan, Andrea & Chris of Discovery Horsetours, Doris & Dieter, Marina & Dwight, Cynthia, Peggy, Melissa, Ana Lorena, Angela Maria & Johnny, LalenaDayis, Martha, Paul & Cassidy for opening their homes for our “orphans”
  • Chuck from WOW Surf for donating to us a great surfboard every year
  • TV Jaco for broadcasting our messages, 

And to:

  • Nicole Zaranek, Cheryl Heinan Mead, Peg McNally, Calypso Cruises, Sarrah Kaye, Myra Weiger, Deanna McClean, Annemarie & friends of Kelly, June & Anthony Beard, The Bubba Memorial fund, Mark Jackson’s friends, Susan Giampapa, Noel Harverson, Ana Pana, Taffy Tucker, Adolfo Orellana, Desimprove SA, PURINA, Denise Channell, Judy Yanover, Lilly and Till & Tortuga del Mar, Hugo & Lisa Camilieri, Hotel El Jardin, Lesley Groenewoud, THE WOK, Ayurveda Centroamericana, Mary Kelly, Cassidy & Andre Barbeau, Nancy Lebo, Judy Witt, Mary Desmond, Mitzi Stark, Kelly & Mark TenEyck, Karen Fischer, Ronald Meltzer, Cathi Brennan, Denise Gilbride, Henry & Eugenia Balke, Wendy Mackenzie, Michelle Tullis, Johnny from Taco Bar, Maria Cristina Velásquez & John, Mario Gasparetto, VETIM SA, Hildred Wooley, Rachael Rudd, Sybille Dockhorn, Andrea Osorio y Boris Gordienko de Hotel & Club Punta Leona for their donations this year

To our members and volunteers:

  • Doris Schluckebier, Leo Hogan, Sylvia van Baekel, Arusha Pabisch, Andrea and Chris Wady, Liana Robinson and Elisabeth Lubbers for giving so much of their time and love to our furry friends
  • Luz Pineda and Cynthia Lizano for her excellent work with the youngest members of our community,
  • and to all those whose names are not mentioned here, but who were helping us to make our county a better place to live for all — both humans and  animals.

THANK YOU for being a part of this great project and for making all those “miracles” we do every single day, possible.

For the list of all our sponsors this and previous years, please click here.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


72 animals (both strays and those from low income families) spayed / neutered in April
April 2011

Another clinic was held in Quebrada Ganado on April 8th. This clinic was organized by Dr. Victor Montenegro and his wife Catalina Valverde from Universidad Nacional, by Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria UNA and by us (McKee Jaco). Four teams of students supervised by Dr. Montenegro performed the surgeries, and 30 animals were spayed/neutered — some belonging to low income families, and some were strays. 2 teams of students offered free checkups, and Dr. Montenegro was testing all the patients for parasites, with some of them also receiving a blood test. Other students had a very interesting presentation held at the local school, and both the kids and the teacher loved them.

Quebrada Ganado spay clinic

Our main job at this event was to collect enough funds to cover the costs of the meds and supplies. We collected 155,000 colones — 85,000 from the owners, and 70,000 from our very generous sponsors Patri Holmer from Tarcoles and Rachel Alves from Herradura, and the money was given to the Escuela Veterinaria to cover their costs. We also had some meds and supplies leftover from our last spay day which we donated to this clinic as well. From Quebrada Ganado the UNA team went to Costa Pajaros and Punta Morales, where they offered castrations for 2 consecutive days. It was a wonderful experience, and we hope that UNA will come back soon to our area.

UNA Vet School at Quebrada Ganado

Together with our little spay days in both the Jaco and Herradura clinics, this April we were able to spay/neuter a total of 72 animals. Of course a huge thank you goes out to Dr. Wendy Villalobos and Dr. Yessenia Alpizar for their cooperation!

INVITATION TO THE ART FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN PUNTA LEONA

Great news from Punta Leona — the hotel and club there are organizing an art festival from May 13-15 and then on May 19-22. Andrea Osorio, who is the project manager there, contacted us and offered us a free space at this festival, as well as the possibility of performing a presentation of our project to the public, and we are very thankful for this great opportunity. We will be there on Saturday, May 21st from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and on Sunday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, with the presentation being held on Sunday at 10:00 am.

We need a few volunteers who would like to be a part of this project. The public there will be both Spanish and English speaking, so we are looking for volunteers who can communicate in both languages. If you would like to help, please contact Katja at 2643-4012 (leave a message) or simply answer this email.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE SPAY DAY HELD IN PARRITA ON
SATURDAY, MAY 21ST

SASY! (Stop Animal Suffering Yes!) as well as our organization (Asociación Pro Bienestar Animal/Mckee Jaco) are joint- organizing a big spay day to be held in Parrita, and we are planning on spaying/neutering around 50 to 60 animals. We have already found 2 volunteers in Parrita — Marcia Briceno Valverde and Monica Vargas who are taking care of everything that needs to be organized before the clinic, yet we still need people with cars to help with transportation of the animals to the clinic and then back home. If somebody would like to help with this vital part of this event, please email us at info@mckee-jaco.com.

NOMINATIONS FOR THE NEXT GOLDEN PAW AWARD

The nominations for the next Golden Paw Award are due by May 25. If you know someone who truly makes our community a better place through the work they do with animals, please fill out the form on our website (click here) or email us at info@mckee-jaco.com

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

THANK YOU TO ALL SPONSORS OF OUR OUTSTANDING VET BILLS

From all the animals we listed in our two last newsletters, almost all of them found a sponsor. A Huge Thank You goes out to Stuart Welch for sponsoring Negra, to an anonymous donor from Playa Hermosa for taking care of Patches’ bill, to Liz Bar from the Taco Bar, to Nancy Lebo and Sylvia van Baekel from Herradura and to Maria Cristina Velasquez from Esterillos for covering Canela’s bills, to Judy Witt and Denise Gilbride from the USA for sponsoring Susy, Layla and Lisseth, and to Mike and Deanna McClean also from the USA for sponsoring a part of Isba’s bill. There is still a $150 outstanding bill needing to be paid for Isba, and if somebody would like to help with it, please let us know.

Papa Capi, the old dog with kidney failure who is living out his last few months on Andrea and Chris’ farm has found a sponsor for both his expensive prescription food and his treatments. Kelly & Mark TenEyck and Karen Fischer from the USA met Capi when they went on a horse tour with Andrea and Chris, and they fell in love with this sweet old guy and decided to help pay for all his special needs. Thank you Kelly, Mark and Karen!

THANK YOU TO DONORS OF DESPERATELY NEEDED MEDS

This month started with a gift. We received three very generous donations containing different meds, all of which are so needed in both our rescue and adoption program.

Judy Witt donated to us meds she was able to buy at cost from Dr. Barbara Eisen, Cream Ridge Animal Clinic in New Jersey, and Dr. Laura Taylor and Dr. Rochelle Low from VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists in Oregon organized donated supplies which Laura brought to us here in Jaco, and Kathy Rothschild from the USA also brought us meds donated by her employers at Riverside Animal Hospital, NYC.

We are distributing all these meds to both our local vet clinics and other vets that work with us who also support animal organizations in Costa Rica. From both ourselves, as well as all those who will benefit from these so generous donations, THANK YOU!

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Dr. Lee Wilson, Dr. Wendy Villalobos and Peter van Hussen sponsor 4 castration days for strays and pets belonging to low income families
March 2011

Another castration event for strays and pets belonging to low income families took place in March at the Plaza Boulevard Clinic in Jaco. 26 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 and other supplies. And of course to Dr. Wendy Villalobos and the staff at the clinic, for providing us a place and being a part of this great project, as well as to Doris Schluckebier for assisting in all surgeries during these days.  

This time Dr. Wilson stayed at the beautiful beachfront hotel in JacoCANCIONES DEL MAR, which with its great ocean and garden view from each room is one of the nicest places in our area. Dr. Wilson loved her time there and enjoyed the lush tropical garden and the invigorating swimming pool during her free time. A huge THANK YOU goes to owner Peter van Hussen for donating such a nice place for our volunteer from the USA.

Together with our little spay days in both the Jaco and Herradura clinics, this March we were able to spay/neuter 62 animals. Of course a huge thank you to Dr. Wendy Villalobos and Dr. Yessenia Alpizar for your cooperation!

THE DISTEMPER SITUATION IN OUR COUNTY STILL QUITE SERIOUS

For a brief moment it looked like we were starting to have this distemper situation under control, but unfortunately it was just a misleading interpretation of a few days with no reports of new cases. After those few days the reports started up again, yet now double and triple the amount of cases in the areas which already went through the epidemic and which we considered distemper-free. And again we have many cases in Tarcoles, Herradura, Jaco and Hermosa – almost our entire county.

We’ve already informed you about irresponsible pet owners who let their sick dogs continue to roam the streets and spread the virus. All vets in our area make sure that everyone who has a dog knows that we are dealing here with a highly contagious disease, and that if the owner of an animal with symptoms decides to wait to be 100% sure of the diagnosis, they also understand that this animal has to be separated from other dogs as long as distemper cannot be 100% ruled out.

But clearly it doesn’t work the way it should, as the sick dogs end up abandoned, roaming the streets and spreading the virus to all other dogs which happen to be around. So we would like to repeat our appeal to all dog owners: DISTEMPER IS EXTREMELY CONTAGIOUS AND USUALLY FATAL. If you decide to try any of the available treatments, please separate your animal from other dogs, and be aware of the long term effects of this disease, which can turn up months or even years later as convulsions and/or damage to the nervous system. And please, please don’t let your animal suffer – “waiting and hoping” while your dog suffers, is not effective and quite inhumane.

USING STRAY DOGS FOR TESTS PURPOSES

For all of you who don’t speak Spanish and didn’t understand all the discussions on the TeleTica news and then all over Facebook, here’s a short summary:

One of the animal protection organizations here in Costa Rica reported a case of inadequate treatment of animals at one of the companies that manufactures dog and cat food.

According to information provided by witnesses, and later confirmed by Telenoticias, the dogs for these tests were provided by an animal shelter owned and operated by Lilian Schnog of San Rafael de Heredia, who is also the director of an organization known as AHPPA. In exchange for providing 19 dogs to be used for testing purposes, the manufacturer delivers to the organization 8 bags of dog food every month. The activists reiterate that the dogs are most of the time locked in kennels, and that the research takes one year. They also confirmed that once the tests are over, the dogs will be euthanized. This message came together with a video showing the dogs in their small, filthy cages, one of the dogs actually constantly running in circles, others barking, and all showing a very sad picture indeed. Lilian Schnog’s comment was that she and other people were visiting the 19 dogs several times, and that they were always in good condition and clean cages.

If you ask me, THIS IS NOT THE POINT. The point is that an organization which is supposed to actually protect animals  (this means after their rescue rehabilitate them and find them new homes) is in fact providing animals to use for tests. It robs them of a chance to get adopted and it puts them in cages for a year instead – how humane indeed. Our job is to give the rescued animals a new chance and a better quality of life, and not to sell them for a few bags of chow so that they can continue their miserable life for 1 more year. Something is definitely wrong here, and SOMEBODY SEEMS TO HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT OUR JOB IS AND WHAT OUR GOALS ARE.

There are always rumors about non- profit organizations – sometimes they’re true, and sometimes they’re not. But this story which just came up last month is not a rumor, IT IS A FACT, and one which shows HOW DISRESPECTFUL AND CRUEL ONE OF US HAS BECOME.

We would like to disassociate us from AHPPA, and make sure that all of you that support us know that we are deeply disappointed and refuse any connection to organizations that conduct themselves as they do.  And by the way – in other countries there are different methods used to check food. The factories that produce food for companion animals actually make deals directly with the animal’s owners, and provide them with chow for a year, in exchange asking them to answer their questions once a month as well as bring the animal to the vet for a checkup. The animals live in their own environment, with their families, and the results of these tests are really decisive and arguably far more valid, as opposed to trying the products on animals that are being held prisoner, under huge amounts of stress and no real human contact, which is an environment so contrary to that of any companion animal.

SPONSOR NEEDED FOR OUR OUTSTANDING BILLS AT UNA

From the animals listed in our last newsletter so far only 2 found a sponsor. Huge Thank you to Stuart Welch for sponsoring Negra and to an anonymous donor from Playa Hermosa for taking care of Patches’s bill.

Now we still have some more outstanding bills – here they are:

Canela/Chiquita was brought to us from Bijagual and had exactly the same problem as Negra. She received a part of her treatment at UNA and the rest at the Jaco Clinic. She is with her foster family now, waiting for her new loving home.

The costs of her treatment were: 90,000 colones ($180) at UNA and 30,000 colones ($60) at the Jaco clinic.

Lisseth – when we received a call about her, it was already about a week after her car accident. She couldn’t walk and she was in terrible condition. We were shocked at how someone could see a dog suffer for a week and not do anything to help. She was brought to UNA, but she was too weak for orthopedic surgery – she was treated for 10 days to allow her to recuperate enough for surgery, but unfortunately she didn’t make it. But her bill still has to be paid – it’s 80,000 colones ($160).

Sussy and Layla were both brought to the University Clinic to be diagnosed. It was during the time when many dogs in our area were dying every day and nobody really knew why. They both were tested for distemper, and as they both tested positive, they were put to sleep. This was the dark moment when we discovered that we are dealing with a distemper epidemic here. The bill for both of them (tests and euthanasia) is 30,000 colones ($60).

Isba — belongs to a poor family in Esterillos. When we first heard about him, his front paw was huge — at least 3 times bigger than his other paws. The anti-inflammatory injections didn’t help, so Isba was sent to UNA, where he was diagnosed with bone cancer. He was checked for metastases in all his organs, but it looked like the tumor was isolated to only this paw, so the vets recommended an amputation. It took some time to get him ready for this surgery, as he also had ehrlichia and needed to get better first. Isba is back with his owner now — he is happy and quite active, and it’s very obvious that he doesn’t miss his paw at all. The bill which still has to be paid for Isba is for 175,000 colones ($350).

If somebody would like to sponsor or part-sponsor one of these puppies, please contact me at 2-643-4012 or info@mckee-jaco.com.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Another 68 animals belonging to low income families and strays spayed/neutered this February
January / February 2011

The clinic held in Esterillos Oeste on February 19 was one of the best clinics we’ve ever had. We did it by combining the Plaza Boulevard Clinic together with a fabulous vet team from the States: Dr. Robin Stronk with her husband John Stronk, and Dr. Richard Righter and his wife Shirley Righter.

This team of professionals donated their services for the entire day. 40 animals, all strays and animals belonging to extremely poor families were spayed/neutered during this clinic. This team worked non-stop for 9 hours, first “adapting” the local school into a provisional clinic, and then proceeding with the surgeries in these most difficult conditions. Thank you to Dr. Wendy Villalobos for loaning us fixtures from the clinic and for helping us with preparation of the meds.

Our guests also brought 2 sets of surgical instruments, (which at the end of the spay day were donated to us) as well as many other needed materials and meds such as sutures, antibiotics and pain meds, as well as a host of other items.

January 2011 Spay Clinic

Special thanks goes also to everybody who came to help us that day: Elisabeth Lubbers, Rosemary Bonilla, Marina Imatova, Doris Schluckebier,

Sylvia van Baekel, Pat Chidester, Brigitte Picard, Marg Weigel, Pat Costigan, Cathy Goralka, Bob Clark, Leo Hogan, Lilly Vukoman and Liana Robinson. And thanks also to Rich & Ginny Shiver for the tastiest egg salad sandwiches, chips and dips, to Marina Imatova for her famous veggie sandwiches and to Karen Young from the Restaurant Los Almendros for the delicious lunch donated for the veterinarians and their assistants.

Together with the mini spay-days held in both clinics, we were able to spay/neuter 68 animals during the month of February.

THE GOLDEN PAW AWARD FOR KARIN HOAD FROM ASOCIACION ANIMALES DE ASIS IN HEREDIA

THE “GOLDEN PAW AWARD” is presented twice a year by both OUR ORGANIZATION and by the magazine “PETS Y MAS”. Its purpose is to honor local people in our communities for their compassion and service toward animals. On January 14, 2011 the award was presented to KARIN HOAD, the director of ASOCIACION ANIMALES DE ASIS IN HEREDIA for her excellent work with and for abandoned animals in the Central Valley.

Karin Hoad - Golden Paw award winner
THANK YOU KARIN FOR ALL THE TIME AND LOVE YOU GIVE
TO THOSE FURRY LITTLE FRIENDS WHO NEED OUR HELP. 

THE DISTEMPER EPIDEMIC IN OUR COUNTY IS NOT OVER

There is still a frightening number of distemper cases in the area spanning Tarcoles to Hermosa – every day many dogs are dying because of this highly contagious disease.

Our organization was able to buy 100 tests for diagnosing distemper. This was done to insure a 100% correct diagnosis, as obviously nobody wants to euthanize their animal based on a “maybe, possibly” diagnosis. Well, what is happening now is even with a 100% positive test result showing the distemper virus, many owners take the infected animal back home and “pray for a miracle”. Due to the nearly non-existent survival rate of this disease, coupled with the collateral damage it inflicts on the animal, this option is a very bad choice. And the real tragedy is caused by the animal’s owners – most, if not all of them let the infected animals roam free instead of separating them from other dogs. So they roam around and infect all the other animals in the area where they live – this is now BIG TIME tragedy.

I was told that with the conditions like we have down here this epidemic will go on for approximately 6 months. But considering the irresponsible acts of so many individuals here, I am afraid that it could take even longer. So please consider the following: DISTEMPER IS EXTREMELY CONTAGIOUS AND MOSTLY DEADLY. If you decide to try any of the “miracle treatments”, please separate your animal from other dogs, and be aware of the long term effects of this disease, which can turn up months or even years later as convulsions and/or damage to the nervous system. And please, please  don’t let your animal suffer – “waiting and hoping” is not effective and not humane.

SPONSOR NEEDED FOR OUR ACCIDENT ANIMALS AT THE UNIVERSITY CLINIC

Since December and January were notable months for accidents and many difficult cases which couldn’t be treated in the local clinics, we now have to deal with the vet bills for all those cases.

Negra – the nice black cocker spaniel female was wandering around in the Auto Mercado parking lot in Herradura. She was starving and begging for food, but was chased away because of her scary looking, huge cancer she had on her private parts. She was sent to UNA where she received chemotherapy and was also treated for ehrlichia, which she had in addition to all her other problems. It looked like she was used by her former owner just for breeding, and when she got sick, she was kicked out on her own. Negra wasn’t very affectionate at first, and it took some time before she started connecting with humans. Now she is a different dog – her foster mom loves Negra, and Negra loves her back with tons of unconditional love that only a dog can give. Negra’s bill is 100,000 colones ($200). She is also ready for her new home.

Canela/Chiquita was brought to us from Bijagual and had exactly the same problem as Negra. She received a part of her treatment at UNA and the rest at the Jaco Clinic. She is with her foster family now, waiting for her new loving home.

The costs of her treatment were: 90,000 colones ($180) at UNA and 30,000 colones ($60) at the Jaco clinic.

Patches – had a complicated fracture of his paw and had to stay at the University clinic for a month. He is doing great now and has already found a home, but there is still an outstanding bill at UNA, and it’s 185,000 colones ($370).

Lisseth – when we received a call about her, it was already about a week after her car accident. She couldn’t walk and she was in terrible condition. We were shocked at how someone could see a dog suffer for a week and not do anything to help. She was brought to UNA, but she was too weak for orthopedic surgery – she was treated for 10 days to allow her to recuperate enough for surgery, but unfortunately she didn’t make it. But her bill still has to be paid – it’s 80,000 colones ($160).

Sussy and Layla were both brought to the University Clinic to be diagnosed. It was during the time when many dogs in our area were dying every day and nobody really knew why. They both were tested for distemper, and as they both tested positive, they were put to sleep. This was the dark moment when we discovered that we are dealing with a distemper epidemic here. The bill for both of them (tests and euthanasia) is 30,000 colones ($60).

Isba – belongs to a poor family in Esterillos. When we first heard about him, his front paw was huge – at least 3 times bigger than his other paws. The anti-inflammatory injections didn’t help, so Isba was sent to UNA, where he was diagnosed with bone cancer. He was checked for metastases in all his organs, but it looked like the tumor was isolated to only this paw, so the vets recommended an amputation. It took some time to get him ready for this surgery, as he also had ehrlichia and needed to get better first. Isba is back with his owner now – he is happy and quite active, and it’s very obvious that he doesn’t miss his paw at all. The bill which still has to be paid for Isba is for 175,000 colones ($350).

Puffy – is a patient at UNA for probably 6 months now. The doctors are trying really hard to save his paw, and let’s hope that they will be successful. He had a really complicated fracture which required a total of 3 surgeries. We still don’t have a bill for this dog, but we are already looking for both: funds and a new home for him.

Jaco – was hit by a car and was in terrible pain. Thanks to Cynthia, one of our foster moms who called us right away, he received help immediately. He was brought to the university clinic the very next day, but his condition was too bad for immediate surgery and he had to wait a few days in order to get better. After the surgery he had problems recuperating, but few days ago we received a call that he is doing fine and that we can pick him up in about 5 days. We don’t have a bill for Jaco either, but we want to start collecting funds for him too. We are also looking for a foster or permanent home for him.

At this point we would like to thank Dr. Maurizio Jimenez and his team at the University Clinic for their support of our project. Without their help and these huge discounts they give us, and of course the incredible patience when it comes to receiving our payments, we wouldn’t be able to help all these animals that need all these special services.

And also a huge Thank you to Dr. Carlos Morales, who comes to Jaco every 2 or 3 weeks and performs all the most difficult surgeries, including the amputations and orthopedic operations, for our animals for free. This is an incredible contribution to our project, and we are endlessly grateful to him for it. And also thank you to Dr. Wendy Villialobos for offering the use of her clinic in Jaco for all of these surgeries.

If somebody would like to sponsor or part-sponsor one of these puppies, please contact me at 2-643-4012 or info@mckee-jaco.com.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Important note to all dog owners
December 2010 / January 2011

There is a frightening amount of distemper cases springing up in the area spanning Tarcoles to Hermosa — many dogs had to be put to sleep because of this highly contagious, yet highly preventable disease. Dogs who aren’t up on their shots are the most vulnerable. The disease can be spread from dog to dog, through any of the following secretions — blood, urine, saliva, pus and fecal matter. Dogs that are not properly vaccinated may also contract the virus from the air, as well as eating infected food. Distemper is historically the biggest killer of dogs and renders an over 80 percent mortality rate in the USA alone. Down here infected animals get euthanized if diagnosed with distemper.

The percentage of unvaccinated dogs in our county is even higher than expected, as we’ve discovered that even some of the animals which have caring owners, have missed their shots for years. And of course there are the strays and the low income families’ pets, who’ve never seen a veterinarian in their entire lives — their condition is awful, due mostly to lack of proper nutrition. Their immune system is not prepared to fight any kind of contagious disease, and they are the first victims of this horrific disease.

Please make sure that your dog is protected by a special vaccine. And as long as the epidemic is not totally under control, make sure that your dog doesn’t have contact with animals you don’t know. And avoid all places where your dog can come in contact with many other animals.

Dr. Wendy Villalobos from the Clinica Plaza Boulevard in Jacó decided to help low income families with dogs, and is starting a vaccine campaign offering vaccine to all those who cannot afford the regular price. For more information, please call the clinic at 2-643-5333.

We are also taking all necessary precautions against spreading the virus: all massive castrations in the area from Tarcoles to Hermosa are cancelled until further notice. We will continue castrating in the clinics, but we will also make sure that all dogs receive their shots before the surgery. And we will also make certain that each and every rescued animal will be separated from other dogs in the foster homes, especially from those who couldn’t receive their shots, as they are not healthy yet.

GOOD BYE TO JERRY HALLSTROM (BUBBA) AND MARK JACKSON

In the last two months our community lost two incredible members, both big time animal lovers as well as our supporters.

Jerry Hallstrom (Bubba) left us unexpectedly at the end of November. He was a very loyal supporter of our project. He was always very generous with us, leaving donations in our donation box at the clinic every time he was there. Bubba never left an animal in need without help — his house was full of pets, all of which were rescued from the streets. At Bubba’s they found love and respect and a new and wonderful life they never had before.

His family decided to make our organization a beneficiary for his memorial fund. They were in Costa Rica the first week of January, and presented us a check for $500. This so very generous donation will go towards our adoption program, which at this moment has the most needs of all our projects.

In the first week of January another community member passed suddenly, leaving all of us in shock and grief. Mark Jackson — the only one everybody would trust to look after not only their homes, but their beloved pets as well. Mark was a true animal lover and he was loved by both people and animals. He and his wife Nance didn’t have any pets of their own, because Mark dedicated his life to taking care of other people’s animals while they were travelling. Mark was a wonderful man who will be missed by all of us, both two and four legged. Mark’s friends decided to make a donation to our project, which Mark was a part of. In the memorial which took place at the Hotel Estrellamar last Saturday, they collected $248 which was given to us in order to keep our project going. This money will go towards our spay/neuter program.

We are so terribly sorry for the loss of both these men — they will always be in our thoughts and in our hearts.

Bubba and Mark, may they rest in peace

LAST CLINIC OF THE YEAR 2010

The last clinic in the year 2010 was organized on December 17 by a group of private individuals from San Jose together with a group “GRUPO BELEMITA DE PROTECCIÓN ANIMAL”. 48 animals were spayed/neutered in the area of Playa Azul/Tarcoles, all of them pets belonging to low income families there. Thank you to DR. CARLOS MONCADA, ESTEBAN HERNANDEZ, MARIA JESÚS CHAVES and TIFFANY HERNANDEZ CHAVES from the Belemita group for their excellent work and for all the meds they so generously left the owners of the sick animals. A huge Thank you goes to ADRIANA BARRANTES UMAÑA, JUSTIN DENYER BARRANTES, MAYRA BADILLA GOMEZ and YESSENIA SALAZAR BADILLA not only for organizing this clinic, but also for sponsoring 35 of the attended animals and for all the dog and cat chow they brought and gave to the poorest families in that area. This is already the second time that Adriana, her husband and a few volunteers came to us from the Central Valley to help out in the poorest areas of our county.

December 2010 McKee-Jaco spay day

WITH THIS CLINIC WE EXCEED THE NUMBER OF 1000 SPAYED/NEUTERED ANIMALS IN THIS PAST YEAR.

THANK YOU TO DONORS OF SO NEEDED MEDS

This January started for us with two very generous donations containing different meds, all of which are so needed in our rescue and adoption program. Nicole Zaranek, a volunteer from Canada, brought us many different medications and sutures donated to us by Dr. Gesa Kohn-Gould from the Brant Animal Clinic in Burlington, Ontario. Nicole also helped with sorting and distributing them at different clinics and vets. And Leo Hogan brought from California so many needed antibiotics and other drugs — all donations collected by her friend Emma Cusack from the Animal and Bird Clinic of Mission Viejo, California. We are distributing all these meds between our local vet clinics and other vets who work with us and with other associations and that are known as supporters of animal organizations in Costa Rica. In our own name and in the name of all those who will benefit from these so generous donations, a HUGE THANK YOU to Dr. Gesa Kohn-Gould and to Emma Cusack, as well as to everybody who gave Emma all the meds in order to forward them to us.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Another 83 animals belonging to low income families
or strays spayed/neutered this November

November/December of 2010

In November, besides the regular castrations in the Jacó and Herradura clinics, we also had two “mini-clinics” in very poor areas of our county — one in “parcelas” in Herradura and one in the “precario” called “Hole”, where we were able to fix additional 25 animals.

November 2010 McKee-Jaco spay day

Thank you to Dr. Wendy Villialobos and Dr. Diego Solano from Jacó and Dr. Yessenia Alpizar from Herradura for providing low cost surgeries for strays and for animals belonging to low income families. We spayed/neutered all together 75 animals and sponsored another 8 from the Tarcoles area.

The clinics were sponsored by: Linda Look from the USA, Pat Hundley from Jacó, Sylvia van Baekel from Herradura, Lauren Tomlinson from Florida, (guest at the Jim Hogan Surf Camp), Jennifer Clark from Canada, Nancy Lebo from Herradura, Olga Ureña from Jacó and Elena Lamiquiz from Jacó. Thank you for this contribution!

THE LAST STAGE OF OUR EDUCATION PROGRAM
“SHARING THE WORLD WITH THE ANIMALS” FOR 2010

We finished our education program for this year with an animal competition at the Herradura school on November 21st. Our Thank You goes to all sponsors of the wonderful prizes for the winners and for participants: PURINA Costa Rica, Marriott Los Suenos, DayStar – Jaco, Banco Nacional de Costa Rica – Jaco, Farmacia Sofia – Jaco, Kartwheels Boutique – Erin & Christian Diaz – Jaco, Farmacia Jaco, and magazines “Pets y mas” and “Mucho gusto”. A special thank you also goes out to Angela Maria and Johnny from the Art School “Mire vea” in Jaco for joining us at this event, offering an art class and an art competition to the kids and painting faces, so that in the end we had some cat and butterfly-faced kids running around. And of course, a huge THANK YOU goes to Luz Pineda, for both organizing this event as well as for being in charge of this education program during the entire year.

November 2010 - McKee Jaco education program

What we focused on this year was teaching our younger members of the community the concept of responsibility and respect for all manner of life — both animal and persons alike.

IT’S RAINING KITTIES AND PUPPIES

Foster homes needed badly!!!! Please open your home to one of our furry friends and you will get lots of love in return. (We will supply food and medication if needed.)

COSTA RICA’S ORGANIZATIONS AND PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF THE NOVEMBER DISASTER

After all the recent rains and floods, our county was visited by 2 different organizations and one group of volunteers from the Central Valley, bringing food to our area for animals belonging to families that were affected by the floods. A HUGE thank you goes out to Adriana Barrantes, Natali Arrieta, Laura Alpizar, Johnny Serrano and Justin Denyer. This group of individuals came down on Saturday bringing 100 Kilos of dog chow, 22 Kilos of puppy chow, 30 Kilos of chicken concentrate and 8 Kilos of cat chow. All these goods were distributed in the Tarcoles area, where the people suffered the most. It’s amazing what a little group of people can do in only one day!

Rescate Animal was also helping in the same area — Dr. Laura Loaiza came together with a group of volunteers, checking up on the animals and distributing food for them. Thanks a lot to Rescate Animal for this great work.

On Sunday, we received a group of volunteers from ANPA. After visiting Playa Azul, the volunteers concentrated their efforts on Jacó, specifically on the 2 “precarios” called Hole and Copey, and on Pueblo Nuevo in Las Monas, which was the most affected part of Jaco. ANPA left the people about 500 kilos of food, bowls, blankets, de-worming medicine and magazines. Two officers from our Municipal Police joined us and helped to distribute the goods. Thank you so much Vanessa, Andrea, Angie, Alexis, Elvin, Alexandra and Carlos, all from ANPA, for helping us!!!

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Who we are
December of 2010

Every day we receive so many calls, emails and Facebook posts, and all from people asking us to take care of difficult situations involving animal problems in our county, and sometimes even in the entire country of Costa Rica. Well, we are trying really hard to do our best, but our possibilities are very limited. Here is some information about who we are and how we operate.

First of all: WE ARE A VERY SMALL GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS. This means that we are not employed by an organization called McKee, nor do we have employees who work for us. We are 6 volunteers, two of which have full-time jobs and cannot leave their office, nor can they be reached by phone. The other 4 work at home, but it doesn’t mean that they are always available for emergency calls. Leaving messages about accidents and emergency cases on our answering machines doesn’t help animals in need. It’s very possible that the message will be listened to hours later — obviously too late to help. So please, remember this: don’t waste time leaving messages, emailing and looking for others to take over. Feeling sorry for a sick animal will not help it, nor will it relieve its pain. If you see an animals in need, please act and help! In the case of an emergency, like when an animal has been hit by a car for example, take it to a vet — it will have to go there anyway, and the sooner the better.

WE DO NOT HAVE A SHELTER. This means that we cannot collect animals from the streets, because we don’t have a place where we can put them. If they are sick, they need to be taken to a clinic, but after that we always need a foster home for them. Our foster homes are always packed with animals, and we always need more people willing to offer their homes for animals to recover in during their treatments, and after that, while waiting to be adopted. So if you want to bring an animal in, please help us to also find a foster home for it. We will provide meds and (if necessary) food, but we need a place with nice people who will take care of these animals in need.

We are a non-profit organization, which means that WE DEPEND SOLELY ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONATIONS from local businesses and individuals, as well as people who live out of Costa Rica that care about the humane treatment of companion animals. So if you bring us an animal which is in need, please try to help by sponsoring all or part of the costs this animal will generate while it recovers — this means from the time it first goes to the vet to the time it gets adopted. Or, at least help us to find a sponsor for it. Please, NEVER promise to cover the costs without keeping your promise, as at least half of our debts with the University Clinic are as a result of these broken promises.

If you go to our website, you will learn more about all our projects — we have our spay/neuter program with an average of 70 spayed/neutered animals a month, our adoption program with over 20 adopted animals a month, our education program in the Jaco and Herradura schools with over 1500 students that we have influenced in a positive way, and our program to help low income families to take proper care of their pets. It’s a lot of work for such a small group of volunteers.

So if you would like to join us in this work, please let us know, as any and all help you can offer is badly needed.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Another 68 animals spayed in October
November of 2010

68 ANIMALS SPAYED/NEUTERED IN OCTOBER in both the Jaco and Herradura Clinics. These surgeries were sponsored by: Linda Look, Pat Hundley, Sylvia van Baekel, Stuart Welch and Nancy Dilbeck. Starting with November, we will organize additional bi-monthly “small clinics” with 10-15 spayed animals. All animals attended to at these clinics will be strays, so we will need sponsors for them. To sponsor the castration of one animal costs colones 8,000 ($16). If you would like to help, please let us know.

61 ANIMALS IN OUR FOSTER HOMES READY FOR ADOPTION

Check out our album of rescued animals for adoption on Facebook — we are packed with quite a variety, so please do help us find homes for them. We have 61 animals to choose from — if we don’t find homes for them as soon as possible, we will be not able to rescue and help new animals.

SPAY DAY IN HERRADURA AND ANIMAL COMPETITION AT HERRADURA SCHOOL BOTH POSTPONED BECAUSE OF THE RED ALERT IN THE COUNTRY

Because of the recent weather issues, we were not able to have our spay day on Thursday, November 4th. Also, the animal competition planned for November 7th had to be cancelled, as all activities at Garabito’s schools were cancelled by the government until November 8th. The spay day will take place one week later, on November 11th, but we still don’t have a new date for the school event. We received many beautiful prizes for the winners and for all who will be joining us at this activity — our huge thank you goes to: PURINA Costa Rica, Marriott Los Suenos, DayStar — Jaco, Banco Nacional de Costa Rica — Jaco, Farmacia Sofia — Jaco, Kartwheels Boutique — Erin & Christian Diaz — Jaco, Farmacia Jaco, and magazines “Pets y mas” and “Mucho gusto” for sponsoring this event. We will keep you informed about the new date.

CALENDARS AND AGENDAS FOR 2011 – WAITING FOR YOU

Calendars and agendas for 2011Buy our beautiful calendars or agendas for yourself and your friends at the vet clinic Plaza Boulevard in Jaco, vet clinic Yan in Herradura, pharmacy Sofia in Jaco or you can order and we will deliver. All proceeds go to the animals in Garabito county. Thanks.

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS

Please print these numbers and keep them somewhere convenient, so in a case of emergency you will be able to immediately call a vet.

CLINIC JACO, PLAZA BOULEVARD, LOCAL # 20, 2-643-5333
Emergency: Dr. Wendy Villalobos – cell: 8930-4216

CLINICA YAN, HERRADURA, PLAZA REAL, 800 M de Automercado, 2-637-7574
Emergency: Dr. Yesenia Alpizar – cell 8-995-0742, home: 2-637-6008

CLINICA DR. SERGIO BRENES, Jaco Sol, phone #: 2-643-1256
Emergency: 8-360-7317

There is also a vet named Hellen Porras who lives in Quebrada Ganado. She works in Puntarenas, as I recall, but during the evenings and weekends she is mostly at home. She can also come to your place in case of emergency. Hellen’s phone number is: 8-825-2995

BUDDY GOES TO CANADA

Do you remember Buddy? The beautiful and smart black dog, abandoned in Esterillos by his owner? You can read his story by clicking HERE.

Buddy from EsterillosEleanor, who adopted him, after he twice came all the way back to her from Jaco, had problems with some people who didn’t want to understand and accept his fear of thunder.

Well, she decided to find a place for him where there is hardly ever any thunder, and the only critical time would be around new year. Eleanor found a perfect place for him and Buddy will be leaving Costa Rica soon. She still needs an airplane-approved travelling kennel for him — maybe somebody has an used one that she could buy? Eleanor is taking care of Buddy for over a year now. She had to build a fence around his dog house in order to keep him from running away as soon as there is a sign of thunder. She will be paying both his plane fare as well as a customs broker, which for some reason has to be involved. So it will be a big help if somebody could offer her a used/inexpensive kennel. Buddy is 23” tall and 33” long, and he has to be able to stand up and turn around.

If you, or anyone else can help, please contact Eleanor directly at: 2-778-8308, or email her at: eleanora35@yahoo.com.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Another successful clinic for strays and pets
belonging
to low income families in Quebrada Amarilla —
121 animals spayed/neutered in September!

October of 2010

Quebrada Amarilla spay/neuter day

The McKee Project-Jaco held another successful spay/neuter clinic in Quebrada Amarilla, on Sunday September 12th.

54 companion animals were attended to by the veterinary team: Dra. Rosalinda Alvarez, Dra. Shirley Hernandez and their assistants Joselyn Hernandez, Pablo Douglas Castañeda and Mauricio Pobeda Calderón.

The clinic was held in a factory, where our last Golden Paw Award winner Shirlene Chinchilla and her husband Carlos Bermudez work and keep all the animals they foster.

Our big THANK YOU goes to: Sylvia van Baekel, Arusha Pabisch, Leo Hogan, Doris Schluckebier, Lee & Margo Sanders, and Liana Robinson for taking care of all animals before and after the surgery and providing transportation to the animals and their owners. A special thanks goes also to Jimmy Tancrell from Jimmy T’s Provisions in Herradura, for providing a delicious lunch for the vets and the volunteers, to Sylvia van Baekel and Rossy from Cafe del Mar for donating cold drinks, and to Shirlene and Carlos for providing a place to make it all happen.

Together with our little spay days in both the Jacó and Herradura clinics, this September we were able to spay/neuter 121 animals, and of course a big “thank you” goes out to Dra. Wendy Villalobos and Dra. Yessenia Alpizar for their cooperation!

As the Quebrada Amarilla area is very poor, we collected only $208 in contributions. The balance of $560 was paid from the money we raised from our last fundraiser in August. The surgeries at the Jacó and Herradura clinics were sponsored by Pat Hundley, Linda Look and Sylvia van Baekel.

“GOLDEN PAW” AWARD now in central valley

We proudly announce that starting this year, the Asociacion Pro Bienestar Animal (member of the McKee Project Costa Rica) will present its prestigious “Golden Paw” award together with the magazine Pets y mas. Once a year, as in the past, the presentation will take place in Garabito County, and the second presentation will take place in the Metropolitan Area of San José.

The “Golden Paw Award” is presented twice a year to honor local people in our communities for their compassion and service toward animals.

The winner will receive recognition from both our association and from Pets y mas, and also a prize of 100,000 colones (approx. $200.00) in cash, which is intended to be used in her/his work with animals. Besides this, there will also be special prizes from our sponsors – for example a weekend in a hotel at the beach or in San José.

We will receive nominations for the next presentation until October 31st, 2010. They may come from any community member. Nominee must be at least 12 years old, must live in the Central Valley (when presented in San José) or in Garabito county and Esterillos (when presented in Jacó) and cannot be a McKee member or Pets y mas employee.

More traffic accidents = more help needed for the injured animals

It’s great having better roads and cars — we drive faster but unfortunately our animals haven’t necessarily learned to deal with the increase in traffic, as they are getting hit by cars more often than in the past. Also, the cars almost never stop and take responsibility for the accident, nor do they offer to bring the injured animal to the closest vet clinic. If the animals survive the accident, they most often need special orthopedic surgery, which can only be obtained at a few clinics in San José. We work together with the University clinic in Heredia (UNA), as the doctors there help us in any way possible, which also includes a very reasonable price, as well as giving us a break with our payments. In addition to these expenses, we’ve always had to pay somebody who would bring the animals there and later pick them up for us. This costs us $140 just for transportation there and back. Lately we have been very lucky to count on a few friends, who offered to help with transportation any time they have to go to Central Valley. Mathew Scott from Jacó is transporting our patients back and forth any time he goes to San José.

Mathew and his wife Mary are the owners of hotel Paraiso del Sol — a great place for a getaway from the hustle and bustle of the Central Valley, located in the heart of Jacó, only 300 meters from the beach; you can leave your car in the parking place at the hotel, as everything you need is within walking distance from their place. If you ever need a break from the city, just call 2-643-3250 and make a reservation for your well-deserved vacation.

Rachel Alvez and Jorge Mendez are also helping out in tough situation. Jorge has a van and offers transfers (to people mostly) to and from the airport or the city. He is prompt and knows San José very well, as he used to drive a taxi there. You can reach Rachel and Jorge at 8360-7190 (Jorge) or 8335-5922 (Rachel).

Our huge THANK YOU to Mathew, Rachel and Jorge for their support – it saves us a lot of money and stress.

We are still looking for sponsors for the following animals:

Marishka – is owned by a wonderful family, but they cannot afford to pay for her orthopedic surgery and asked us for help. We split the total of 98,000 colones ($195)
in two amounts – 55,000 colones ($109) which the family is paying us back in payments, and the balance of 43,000 colones ($85) which we are looking for someone to sponsor.

Cleo – was found in Tarcoles in terrible condition. She was diagnosed at the University clinic with a tumor, which was surgically removed. She is finishing her chemo-therapy next week — everything worked out perfectly and Cleo will be ready for adoption really soon.

Canela – rescued in Bijagual, has the same kind of tumor as Cleo, and is still at the University clinic receiving chemo-therapy.

Flaco – was a victim of a car accident, and needs orthopedic surgery, which at this moment cannot be done as he has advanced ehrlichiosis and is still too weak. As soon as his blood work shows that he can be operated on, the doctors at the University Clinic will do the surgery.

Negra – the beautiful cocker spaniel mix found on the parking lot at Auto Mercado in Herradura has the same type of cancer as Cleo and Canela. The doctors cannot do the chemotherapy so far, because she is very anemic due to ehrlichiosis. As soon as she becomes stable, she will also receive her treatment.

These 4 animals are still in treatment, so we don’t have the bills yet, but if you would like to sponsor one of them, just let us know and we will find out the approximate final price.

Our education project extended including Herradura

McKee-Jaco Education Program in Herradura

Animales - comunidadOur EDUCATION PROGRAM “Sharing the world with the animals” is finally also in Herradura school. Starting in August, we concentrated our efforts on Escuela líder de Herradura with over 850 students. With some more time we will be able to reach all the students with many different presentations and events, and here are some of the subjects we cover:

  • “WHAT ANIMAL WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE?”
  • “ANIMALS IN OUR COMMUNITY”
  • “COMPANION AND WILDLIFE ANIMALS”
  • “ANIMALS AND THEIR NECESSITIES”
  • “ANIMAL’S DICTIONARY”
  • “WHAT DO ANIMALS EAT”
  • “IN WHICH DANGER ARE PETS?”

Special Thanks to Luz Piñeda, who does an excellent job teaching our young people everything they need to know about animals, their needs and feelings and about how to be a responsible animal owner. Also a huge THANK YOU goes to the school principal Daisy Mora Flores and to all the other teachers for their support and cooperation.

The story of Rina, rescued in Argentina, now online

Another wonderful story which was sent to us by animal lovers from Argentina — it shows us, once again, that where love is, is also hope and that no one but OURSELVES can make a difference.

Check it out under http://www.mckee-jaco.com/casehistories.htm#Rina.

If you have a similar experience you’d like to share with us, please click here and fill out the form to send us your story.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


McKee Jacó Fund Raising Event:
Thank You Everybody!

August of 2010

Many thanks go out to ALL OF THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED in the fund raising event that was held at Jaco Taco on August 14. Many people were involved in making it such a grand success, and our heartfelt thanks goes to each and every one of you. BIG THANK YOU goes also to LOS CHUPACABRAS — the band who kept us company the entire evening.

McKee Jaco fundraiser, August 2010

The fund raiser was a big success, with over 190 people coming out to support this community event. We were able to raise $3,800.00 from both the sale of tickets and the silent auction. These funds will be distributed in the following manner: $1600 will go towards the following clinics: University Clinic in Heredia, Plaza Boulevard Clinic in Jacó and YAN Clinic in Herradura in order to cover our outstanding bills. $1200 is needed in the education program as well, since we are extending it to now include the school in Herradura, and $1000 goes towards our spay/neuter and adoption program.

McKee Jaco fundraiser, August 2010

A special thanks goes out to all THE SPONSORS OF THIS EVENT (see below) — we will also publish this list on our website and in Facebook. And, of course, to all 190 of you who joined us at this event.

Sponsors of the Fundraiser

Silent Auction – PURA VIDA GARDENS • RESTAURANT ECLYPSE @ DOCE LUNAS • LOS AMIGOS SPORTSBAR & GRILL • COCAL HOTEL & CASINO • SACA GOMAS @ CANCIONES DEL MAR • CALICHE’S WISHBONE • CAFÉ DEL MAR • BIG BAMBOO • JUNGLE SURF CAFÉ • RESTAURANT JACO TACO • COFFEE SHOP • LOS SUENOS CANOPY • DISCOVERY HORSEBACK TOURS • HORSE TOURS JACO • HENRY KANTROWITZ • MICHAL’S THERAPY CENTER • KAYAK JACO • OSH ABITBUL • ACHE SPA • RESTAURANT @ HOTEL POSEIDON • MOJITOS RESTAURANT @ HOTEL ESTRELLAMAR • TCBY • PREMIER DENTAL CARE CENTER • HERRADURA DIVERS • LOS SUENOS RESORT AND MARINA • THE WOK • LOS PIBES • D’MARIO’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT • COSTA RICA DERMATOLOGY GROUP • ALL ******STAR RENTALS • EL PELICANO RESTAURANT • THE POOL DOCTOR – LEE SANDERS • HOTEL PLAYA BEJUCO • CLUB DEL MAR & LAS SANDALIAS • BLACKBEARD’S RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE AT MORGAN COVE RESORT AND CASINO • SURF INN HERMOSA • BIG RON’S PIZZA AND SUBS • RIOASIS RESTAURANT • CLARITAS RESTAURANT • LEMON ZEST RESTAURANT • W.O.W. SURF • RANCHO LAS PALOMAS • BOOKS & STUFF • LINDA LOOK • TIMOTHY HERBST • SANDY FULLER • NORMA KAHN • VETERINARIA YAN – HERRADURA • VETERINARIA PLAZA BOULEVARD • CASSIDY BARBEAU • EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED THE EVENT AND/OR MADE DONATIONS TO MCKEE
Donations – KAREN CAMPBELL • DAWN DUNSTAN • ELENA LAMIQUIZ • GHOGHA AMON • STUART WELCH • JOHNNY CHAVARRIA FROM THE COPY SHOP • DENISE GILBRIDE • LESLEY GROENEWOOD
Organization – MARGO AND LEE SANDERS • ELLEN BROUSSARD • TICKET SELLERS • LIANA ROBINSON • TINA WALLACE AND • ANYONE THAT HELPED DURING THE EVENT
Band –
Los Chupacabras
Restaurant –
Jaco Taco & Staff

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Presenting the “Golden Paw Award”
June of 2010

THE “GOLDEN PAW AWARD” is presented twice a year by our organization to honor local people in our community for their compassion and service toward animals. On June 16th, 2010 the award was presented to Shirlene Chinchilla Perez from Quebrada Amarilla.

Shirlene, a sweet young girl with a big heart, together with her husband Carlos Bermudez, are really putting the effort towards making Quebrada Amarilla and the surrounding area a better place to live for all animals. Their house is full of happy, healthy pets, many of them rescued by Shirlene or Carlos, and many that were just dumped off in front of their house by irresponsible owners. Yet all of them find a loving home there, where they are cared for until they can get adopted. A visit to their home reveals just how much they care about our furry little friends — there’s the group of little abandoned kittens exploring their new place, the 5 adorable little puppies found in a box in front of their house happily playing with each other and there is an injured dog that was left on the side of the road that is now receiving the proper care.

Pata de Oro collage
Please click on image to see a larger version in a new window.

Shirlene and Carlos not only take care of animals in need, they also make sure that they find good homes and get spayed/neutered as soon as possible. Together they both run a little factory where they produce beautiful clothes, especially all kinds of shirts with logos on them, and a percentage of their income is always put aside in a special box in order to pay for castrations of their foster babies. I’ve known Shirlene and Carlos for over 5 years now, and I’ve completely lost count of the number of animals rescued by them — thanks to this extraordinary couple so many have had a chance for a new, better life.

We can only hope that more and more people will follow this example.

How can we deal with the overpopulation problem?

Please spread the word about this little project. Talk to your friends and neighbors, and tell them following:

If they happen to have a female cat or female dog which is in heat or pregnant, ask them to PLEASE DON’T DUMP THE POOR THING OFF SOMEWHERE FAR AWAY FROM WHERE THEY LIVE, hoping that she will not find her way back home. If she is in heat, or just days after, we still can have her fixed. If she is pregnant, ask this person to please allow her have her babies in their place, and to contact us in order to help to take care of the puppies/kittens. Once they are ready to go, we will help to find new homes for them. We will also make sure that their female cat or dog gets spayed as soon as the babies are adopted. We will offer them a special low price for the surgery, and if they need more financial assistance, we will provide it for them. We will also offer the special low spay/neuter price for all babies.

Please help us to resolve the overpopulation problem in this humane way. Ask people you know to be a part of the solution, and not part of the problem.

Spay/Neuter news

Spayday collage
Please click on image to see a larger version in a new window.

This last month was one of the most successful months in OUR CASTRATION PROGRAM. 81 animals, some strays and some belonging to low income families, were spayed/neutered this June. The little spay days in both the Jaco and Herradura clinics, with a total of 56 fixed animals, were sponsored by Sylvia van Baekel, Linda Look and SASY. The spay day on Sunday, June 13th, in Esterillos Oeste, was sponsored by Pat Chidester, Fred & Brigitte, Craig Payne, Mike & Martha, Robby MacLean, Rosemary Chamberlain, Bar "Le Loft" (Kristel Bayers) and Karen Young from the restaurant “Los Almendros”, who provided a fabulous lunch for all. This clinic was organized by Dr. Wendy Villalobos and Elisabeth Lubbers — both from the Plaza Boulevard Clinic in Jacó. Doris Schluckebier assisted Wendy during the surgeries, and Pat Chidester, Elisabeth Lubbers, Anyorleth Viales and Rosemary Chamberlain took care of the animals before and after surgery. On this day 25 animals were spayed/neutered, most of them females. A special thanks goes out to the teacher from the Esterillos School, who gave permission to use the place for the clinic.

Education news

Our EDUCATION PROGRAM “Sharing the world with the animals” during the last two months was also a huge success, as we concentrated our efforts on Escuela Central de Jacó (Kindergarden to 6th grade) with 660 students. We were able to reach all the students with many different presentations and events, and here are some of the subjects we covered:

  • “WHAT ANIMAL WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE?”
  • “HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE TREATED IF YOU WERE AN ANIMAL?”
  • “IN WHICH DANGER ARE PETS?”
  • MURAL “HOW WE TAKE CARE OF OUR PETS”
  • “GOOD AND BAD FOR OUR PETS”
  • “VACCINATING OUR PETS”
  • “HOMAGE TO A DOG”

Spayday collage
Please click on image to see a larger version in a new window.

Special Thanks to Luz Piñeda, who does an excellent job teaching our young people everything they need to know about animals, their needs and feelings and about how to be a responsible animal owner. Also a huge THANK YOU goes to the school principal Vera Virginia Alpizar and to all the other teachers for their support and cooperation.

If you would like more information about these projects, please contact Katja at info@mckee-jaco.com.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Helping our chained-up friends
June of 2010

It’s rainy season here in Costa Rica. We now have so many storms, all with rain, thunder and lightning, and so many dogs in the area are tied up on a short rope with no shelter, nowhere to hide, and no way to escape if the property floods.

Chained up

The Problem:

All over the world there are people who believe that dogs should live outside. So their dogs are kept tied up, because if they were free they would escape the yard. Many animal lovers in these countries are trying to get those dogs off the chain, offering the owners the solution of installing a fence (for those who don’t have any) or extensions for the existing fence if the dogs can jump over it. There are organizations collecting donations and building fences for chained animals in cases when the owner cannot afford it.

Unfortunately this is not the reality here in Costa Rica, where we live and work.

Most people here, especially in the little towns and villages, don’t have a fence, nor can they afford any. And they will keep their dogs tied up, because they think that this will make them good guards. Or, they believe that this will make them more intimidating to potential thieves. Or they are afraid that they will run away or get killed by a car. Or simply because their parents had their dogs chained up, and this is the only way they know to keep a dog.

After some time, these dogs become quite anti-social, becoming more and more wild and scary, especially if they are by themselves with no possibility to socialize with other dogs or humans. As a result, as soon as they are off chain they run away, chase cars and bicycles, attack people and other dogs — not a good scenario.

What can we do?

Chained up and worriedPeople here don’t like it when somebody tells them how to deal with their animals. They believe that they own their dogs, and as the owners, they can do whatever they want with the animal. It’s very difficult talking to them about something that they are doing wrong without offending them.

But there is almost always a way to start a friendly conversation with them, which later gives us the possibility to address the problem and discuss with them possible solutions.

Building fences is not an option for us, as we simply don’t have the funds for it. But what we can do is install a long cable runner. It’s not a perfect solution, but it will give the animal much more freedom than what he has on a short rope, which is what most of the people use down here.

Please help us in finding dogs that are chained-up, and installing runners and shelters for them. Once we do this, we’ll stay in touch with the family, talking to them and teaching them how to properly take care of their animals. We’ll show them how to walk them and feed them, and how to make sure that they will not drown in a storm. We bring them magazines, flyers and all kinds of materials that we want them to read and learn. This is a great way to change not only the dogs life, but also the people’s attitudes on how they should care for them. This is the way to make sure that their next dog will have a better life.

It’s cheap to install a runner for a dog — only 6 to 10 dollars, depending how long it is. With this runner, a dog will have between 18 sqm and 30 sqm of free moving space. We can install it so that one end will end up at the terrace, so the dog may stay close to the people and have shelter when it’s raining. If there is no dog house, we will ask the owner to contribute to the project of building it. If he doesn’t have materials to build, we can help with that. We can also help if both materials and labor is needed. In all these years we’ve been working with and for animals, we have built many dog houses and runners.

But we need your help in order to first find all the dogs in need, and then to install for them runners and shelters.

We would like to start this program now, as the rains and storms make these dogs lives even more miserable than they already are. We have all kinds of info which you will need, should you decide to be part of this great project. Please look around your neighborhood and give us a call at 2-643-4012 or email us at info@mckee-jaco.com — We will go with you to talk to your neighbors and help install the first runner, and if necessary, the shelter as well. Once you see how easy it is, you will be able to do it yourself and also teach your friends how to do it.

How do we finance this project?

The costs of making a runner using 6 to 10 meters of special cable, with all the materials we would need, will be around $6.00 – $10.00 for each dog. If they don’t have a collar, (unfortunately this happens quite often – instead of a collar, they just have a rope or a heavy chain around their necks, and it’s mostly too tight) we will also need a collar, which depending on the size of the animal will be another $5.00 – $7.00. The most expensive part is the actual shelter — sometimes we are lucky, and there is already some kind of shelter that we just need to adjust and fix, but if there is none and we will have to pay for both materials and labor, it will cost us between $70.00 and $100.00, depending on the size and design.

Our supporter for years, Linda Look, has offered to sponsor this project. If you would also like to be a part of it, please let us know. Together we can make it happen!

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


The Rodolfo Zuñiga Jazz Quintet &
Club Del Mar Hotel help McKee Jacó

May of 2010

The idea was born when Rodolfo Zuñiga, the band leader and drummer of THE RODOLFO ZUÑIGA JAZZ QUINTET, the famous jazz band that came to Costa
Rica from Florida for a concert in San José, decided to give a free concert
in Jacó. HOTEL CLUB DEL MAR offered the musicians free room and board, and
came up with another great idea — to charge admission and donate the full
amount to charity.

It was a wonderful event — great music, and a wonderful place to enjoy it with
great food and one of the best Margaritas in Jacó. The cover charge ($5 per
person) went half to our organization and half to support Garabito’s
schools. A HUGE THANK YOU goes to the owner Phillip and the manager Jeanette
for making this event such a great experience and for supporting our
project. The money we received will be used in 2 equal parts for both an
education program in Escuela Central de Jacó, and also for a spay/neuter
program which takes place every day in the Jacó clinic, located at the Plaza
Boulevard.

Jason — our of our first rescues, one of the greatest dogs — has died

Jason tribute portrait

He was definitely one of the worst looking dogs we ever rescued. And one the
best looking after he recuperated 2 months later. He was our pride and joy,
and he was loved by all of us. He was living with Doris and Dieter from the
first day their paths crossed and he had chosen their place as his home and
them as his family. You can read his story on our website under: http://www.mckee-jaco.com/jason.htm.

He was a pack leader at Doris’s and Dieter’s place. Dogs and cats, puppies
and kittens — everybody was looking up to him and treating him with respect.
He loved kittens, and it happened once that somebody threw a kitty over the
fence while all people were gone, and Jason took care of the little guy
keeping him warm between his paws and licking him the same way his mom would
do it.

He had two different “godparents” — Mariela Sanchez Zapata from San
José was sponsoring Jason for some time, and after that Emilija and Dragan
Levaja
, who fell in love with him and would visit him every time they were
in Jacó. He was friendly to all of his “fans” and he sure loved being
spoiled and petted by them. But the real love of his life was Doris, the same
Doris who was touching and petting and loving him when nobody else wanted to
even get near him, due to his skin condition.

Jason collage
Please click on image to see a larger version in a new window.

Jason was old. When we rescued him, we were told that he was at least 8
years old. We put 7 on the website hoping that if we make him one year
younger, he may find a new home a little easier. Well, he didn’t, as nobody
really wanted him due to his size, as dogs of his size generally don’t have
a very long life.

Jason did have a long life — he was with us for another 7 years — and these
were wonderful years for him, the human family he lived with and for all his
furry brothers and sisters.

He was happy and healthy, and the day before he died he enjoyed cookies
brought by his “godparents” Emilija and Dragan, and after that he had his
obligatory walk on the beach with Doris and Dieter — it was a great day,
full of love and joy. He passed away the next morning, with no suffering or
pain — he was just gone and we all miss him so much!

Socks, the retired adventurer, now online

Another happy ending story which will make you smile — the big adventure of
this beautiful cat Socks is online now. Check it out by clicking here — you will love it. If you have a similar experience you’d like to share with us, please send us your
story by clicking here and filling out the form.

Our accident animals looking for sponsors

PATCHI — the nice hunting dog, who was rescued months ago with an old
fracture and went through a lot of problems after his orthopedic surgery,
needed to have the back leg cut off. He is a happy 3 legged dog now,
recuperating from ehrlichiosis, which he also had in addition to all other
problems. He still has one outstanding bill of $300.

AZUL — this little guy was rescued in Tárcoles months ago, and had many
health problems, with ehrlichiosis on the top of the list. He is back from
the University Clinic, continuing his treatment and recuperating really
fast. He has an outstanding bill of $150.

SMUDGE‚— one of the little kitties fostered by Arusha, just came back from
UNA after an orthopedic surgery. He will need to go back again to have the
pin remove. So far his bill is for $200.

GEORGE — was hit by a car on the Costanera 2 weeks ago. He was collected by
Dr. Roger Alfaro, who happened to be in Jacó that day. Dr. Alfaro offered to
take him to his clinic in San José the next day to perform the orthopedic
surgery. This was done 2 days later, George is recuperating from the surgery
now and will need rehabilitation as soon as he comes back to Jacó.

Cassidy and Paul from Herradura volunteered to foster him – thank you guys,
George is a large size dog, not easy to find a place, even temporary. So far we’ve had to pay $300 for this great guy.

If you would like to full or part sponsor one of these animals, please let us know. All these animals are also looking for a new home — if you would consider adopting one of them or know somebody who would — please send us an email to info@mckee-jaco.com.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


The McKee-Jacó project held another successful spay/neuter clinic in Tárcoles on Sunday, April 25th
April of 2010

66 companion animals were attended to by the very dedicated veterinary team headed by Dra. Rosalinda Alvarez, which included team members Dra. Shirley Hernandez and their assistants Joselyn Hernandez, Marcela Hidalgo and Alejandra Meoño.

Noticias de abril

Other major contributors to this very successful event were the organizers from Tárcoles, Patri Holmer, Brenda Cira Morales Gonzales, Marvin Jose Olivas Morales and the Scout Group 317 with their leader Alexander Rodriguez Vargas — they were a tremendous help in keeping the many animals calm, and seeing that each was taken in the correct order.

There were many other volunteers – our big THANK YOU goes to: Sylvia van Baekel, Arusha Pabisch, Doris Schluckebier, Nancy Martin & Mark Jackson, Lee & Margo Sanders, Rachel Alves, Helen Broussard, Rossy Quesada, Vicky Lasky & Johnny Berry, Joey Riday with his daughters Kelin and Jessica, and a special thanks goes also Douglas Giampapa and Sylvia van Baekel for donating cold drinks, Patri Holmer for donating coffee and Alexander Rodriguez Vargas and his family, who cooked for all of us (vets and volunteers) a delicious lunch.

Together with our little spay days in both the Jacó and Herradura clinics, this April we were able to spay/neuter 109 animals, and of course thank you Dr. Wendy Villalobos and Dr. Yessenia Alpizar for your cooperation!

Our sponsors for spaying/neutering this month are: SASY!, Sylvia van Baekel, Stuart Welch, Nancy Lebo, Rachel Alves and Lee and Margo Sanders.

Where to leave our four-legged friends when we have to travel

Since each year there are more and more animal lovers and responsible animal owners in our community, there are also more possibilities to have your pets taken care of while you have to travel.

  • Doris Schluckebier offers boarding of dogs at her place. The dogs have to be friendly with both dogs and cats, as they are kept free together with Doris’s own pets. Doris walks them every day on the beach, and she will also attend to any special needs, if necessary. The dogs love it there, and it sometimes happens that they don’t want to leave when they get picked up … Contact Doris at 2-643-2359.
  • Mark Jackson is a big time animal lover who offers both house and animal sitting for the last 4 years, to all those who prefer the full “pet and home security service”. He also offers a daily walking service to those who are not able to walk their dogs by themselves.vMark can be contacted at 2-643-5409 or 8-857-0308.
  • Karen Anniballi graduated as a veterinary assistant with experience in volunteering in different projects and shelters in the USA. She offers professional pet care: morning and/or evening feedings; half hour walks as many times as needed; clean yard and litter box; medication administration if necessary; gentle basic obedience training; all this with daily emails and pictures to you. Karen can also provide boarding to cats, puppies and exotics in their own living quarters. You can contact Karen via email at ksanniballi@yahoo.com.

Volunteers needed to organize our next fundraiser

It’s time for our next fundraiser party. We are looking for VOLUNTEERS WITH ENOUGH TIME TO ORGANIZE THIS EVENT. If you could help, please contact me at 2-643-4012 or send me an email to info@mckee-jaco.com.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Central Pacific Women’s Group meeting
invites McKee-Jacó to present their project

March of 2010

On March 18th our dedicated member and favorite foster mom for all canine orphans — Taffy Tucker — presented our project to the members of the Central Pacific Women’s Group. A huge THANK YOU goes out to all of the Women’s Group members for receiving us in such a warm and friendly manner. We met some old friends who we’d lost contact with, and made some new friends who offered us all kinds of help and support. It was one of the nicest experiences, as we not only had a chance to present our project, but also received so much input from the members, many with new ideas and some offers to help. We also received the proceeds from the regular meeting-donations, as well as some additional and very generous donations from the group members.

So thanks again for receiving us, and for offering us your sympathy and your support that’s so very much needed. And thank you Taffy, for presenting such an interesting presentation!

Education program in Jacó schools continues

March School Project

As soon as the schools opened their doors, we picked up right where we’d left off before the big holidays last year. We started in February with a meeting with the teachers and parents at Escuela Central — with its 660 students, it’s the biggest school in Jacó. And just like last year, both teachers and parents were very happy to have us back on board, offering us all kinds of help in order to continue the education program “Sharing the world with the animals”. We had a lot of fun with different competitions and games. Thanks to Purina and Pets y mas, who sponsored this event, we were able to offer great prizes to the winners. Another Special thanks goes to Cynthia Lizano and Luz Pineda, (both of whom are in charge of the education program this year) for organizing this meeting in such a professional and interesting way. And to the school principal Vera Alpizar and to the teachers, for their incredibly effective support, both now and in the past. And of course to Pets y mas and Purina for providing us with prizes for this great event. After this successful “comeback-meeting”, we began making our presentations every day to different groups of kids. What we teach is the concept of responsibility and respect for all manner of life — for both animal and persons alike.

March School Project 2

We also had a meeting with the teachers from our Colegio Profesional de Jacó – with its 754 students, it’s the biggest high school in our county. We picked up our work there, immediately after the Easter Holiday in April. We are still unable to secure a sponsor for including the Herradura-School in our project, so this school, with a student body numbering over 800, will have to wait until we find a solution in order to introduce our program there at least as a “part-time” project.

SASY! supports the spay/neuter program in the poorest communities

STOP ANIMAL SUFFERING – YES! is a non-profit organization, one dedicated to locating and distributing the funding needed to support the efforts of many groups and individuals, specifically those dedicated to creating a better life for animals in Costa Rica. Once a year SASY! organizes a big Charity Auction, and a large part of all obtained funds are distributed to other organizations, in order to help them in their efforts to make Costa Rica a better place to live for both humans and animals. This year, our organization received a contribution from SASY which will make it possible for us to offer our spay/neuter program in the poorest communities of our county. THANK YOU SO MUCH SASY! We start with a big spay day in Tárcoles, which is planned in April. We are still looking for other sponsors for this clinic — if you would like to contribute, please let us know. If you would like to learn more about SASY!, please check their website at http://www.sasycostarica.com/.

Goodbye to Trish Johnson

Our founding member and good friend Trish Johnson re-located to Florida this March — we lost a very dedicated member of our group, as well as a very good friend. It’s only 4 weeks since she is gone, and we already miss her a lot. THANK YOU Trish, for being there for us for so many years! We wish you all the best, and hope you enjoy this great new start in this new stage of your life!

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 click here to fill out the form on our website or email us at info@mckee-jaco.com.

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

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Castration Days for strays and pets
belonging to low income families

February of 2010

Another CASTRATION DAYS FOR STRAYS AND PETS BELONGING TO LOW INCOME FAMILIES took place on February 2nd,3rd and 4th at the Plaza Boulevard Clinic in Jacó. 30 animals, all strays and animals belonging to extremely poor families were spayed/neutered during these 3 days. Our special THANK YOU goes to
Dr. Lee Wilson, who came to us all the way from Alaska, offering her help in the clinic for the entire week. And of course to Dr. Wendy Villalobos, for being a part of this great project.  
 
Dr. Wilson stayed at Doce Lunas, which is one of the nicest hotels in our area, and she truly loved being there. A huge THANK YOU goes to owner Chris Danko for this generous offer to donate such a nice place for our intrepid volunteer from the USA.
 
Together with our little spay days in both — Jacó and Herradura clinics — this February we were able to spay/neuter 63 animals, and of course thank you Dr. Wendy Villalobos and Dr. Yessenia Alpizar for your cooperation! Our sponsors this month are: Karen and Bill Show, Sylvia van Baekel, the money box we’ve got at the hotel Tortuga del Mar and Dr. Sean Back from the USA, who donated to us the sutures.

Jacó firefighters save a kitty

Jacó firefighters saved a kitty that escaped from a taxi on her way to the vet clinic. Scared to death, in an area she didn’t know, Rosis did what all cats do in situations like this — she climbed a big tree, going so high that there was no way to bring her down with a regular ladder. Not only the owners — Andrea and Christian — but also the people from the place known as Cabinas Santa Ana, were trying for hours to help rescue the poor little puss. Finally, somebody had an idea to call the fire department, and this is how Victor Venegas, Alberto Mendez and Ana Laura Alvarado got involved in this “animal tragedy”. They came immediately, and like true firefighters, were very friendly and ready to help. The job ended up being a “piece of cake” for the firefighters, who are obviously well-trained in ALL forms of rescue! Another huge THANK YOU goes out to Victor, Alberto and Ana Laura and to all the other firefighters from the Jacó station for being there for Rosis, and for also offering their help should any more of our furry friends need any assistance in the future.

Our accident animals at the University Clinic

A few of OUR ACCIDENT ANIMALS AT THE UNIVERSITY CLINIC have already found a sponsor. Thank you to Stuart Welch who offered to sponsor Pluton and to Liza Price for sponsoring Blacky — a beautiful dog from Esterillos, whose front leg had to be amputated.
 
We still have left Sasha the Dalmatian, Navidad-Peanut.

If somebody would like to sponsor or part-sponsor one of them, please contact me at 2-643-4012 or info@mckee-jaco.com.

Online auction

Auction PaintingOur ONLINE AUCTION finished on February 8th midnight. The highest bid was $500, made by Chris Danko, the owner of Hotel Doce Lunas. Yet another huge THANK YOU goes to the artist Carlos Galli, who donated this beautiful painting to our organization, to everybody who participated in this auction, and of course to Chris for the highest offer. 100% OF THE MONIES RECEIVED FROM THIS SALE WILL GO TO OUR SPAY/NEUTER AND ADOPTION-PROGRAM.
 
Carlos Galli’s artwork is available for purchase in Giotto Gallery in Jacó (next to Pachi’s Pan bakery). Contact the artist at 8832-1356, or his email address: galliartjaco@yahoo.com.

Sponsors needed for the education project at the Herradura school

After 6 weeks of vacation, the schools opened their gates this February, which means that we are back on track with our program “Sharing the world with the animals”. The last year was one huge success — in numerous activities we taught our young people the value of empathy and compassion towards ALL animals. Our primary target was to educate them towards a better understanding of the needs of all animals, the relationship between the animal and it’s environment, and the ways in which all animals, the environment and humans are related. We implemented our program in the two main schools in Jacó — Colegio Tecnico Profesional (from 7th to the 11th grade) and Escuela Central de Jacó (from Kinder to 6th grade) and were able to reach 1388 students and their families. This year we will continue working with both of these schools, but we would also like to include the school in Herradura in our project. This school has over 800 students, and we consider it a very important target in our efforts to make Garabito county a better place to live for both humans and animals. In order to include this school we need sponsor/s — if you would like to part-sponsor this great project, please contact me at 2-643-4012 or info@mckee-jaco.com.

IT’S NOT ALWAYS CRUELTY — MOSTLY THEY JUST DON’T KNOW ANY BETTER. THIS IS WHY EDUCATION IS SO VITALLY IMPORTANT.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Spay-Neuter Competition in Jacó Clinic
January of 2010

Spay/Neuter
Click on the image to see a larger version in a new window.

The Spay-Neuter Competition in Jacó Clinic held during the week of January 18 – 23 was a big success. We attended to 25 kids and their families, providing not only the surgery, but also distributing all kinds of flyers made especially for this event while addressing the most important problems in our area. All the kids received many wonderful prizes, from school kits, dog and cat chow and animal magazines, to certificates for a free consultation at the Jacó clinic, valid for the entire year 2010. A huge THANK YOU goes to Dra. Wendy Villalobos and Dr. Alejandro Madriz and all the staff at the Plaza Boulevard clinic in Jacó for their excellent work and assistance during this week. A very special THANKS also to Purina for donating 75 bags of dog and puppy chow for this event, as well as other activities we are planning for the months of February and March. And to our friends from “Pets y mas” magazine for providing (once again) so many free magazines for all the kids and their families. And of course, to Mrs. Linda Look from the USA, who had the original idea for this great activity, and also sponsored it!

Besides the 25 pets in the competition, we were able to have spayed/neutered other 33 animals, so all together we reached a number of 58 in January.

Castration Week for strays and pets belonging to low income families will take place during the week of February 2nd to February 7th. If you know of any animals with no owners, or animal owners who cannot afford even the very low special price we offer in our monthly clinics, please contact me for an appointment. Please consider that pet owners who qualify for this surgery have no transportation possibilities either, and will need somebody’s help in order to bring their animals in.

Kids support animals in need

Joshua Thomas (10 years old) and his cousin Daniela Zamora (11 years old) from Herradura decided to go into business and make some money for a computer they both want to purchase. Joshua’s mom Laura prepared some of the yummy tuna dip she is famous for, and the two young entrepreneurs went out and hit the streets for a door-to-door-sale. Turns out the kids were very successful, the sale went great, after they paid the mom back for her expenses, they had 42,000 colones left! They decided that they will donate ¢18,000 ($32.) to the animals in need, (both are big time animal lovers) and split the balance of 24,000 colones — Way to go Joshua, Daniela and Laura!

Dani and Josh

Our accident animals at the University Clinic

December was a month of accidents, so now January is a month of vet bills for them.

Patchi — the nice hunting dog with a broken hip was sponsored by Meg Burns, and Jovi the beautiful Jack Russell mix, by Sheila Flanagan — both from Esterillos. Thank you so much for your generosity!

Now we have left Sasha the Dalmatian. Sasha’s already been adopted by a very nice family from the southern zone of Costa Rica, and they will also take care of the surgery to remove the pin, but her main bill is still outstanding. So is the bill for Plutón, a great dog which had to have a front paw amputated. The owner is a young costarican man who really cares about his dog, and has already paid a lot of money to different vets for all kinds of different surgeries, trying to save Pluton’s paw. He also paid for the transportation to the university clinic. Now there is still an outstanding bill of 113,000 colones (about $200). We would like to offer Pluton’s owner to pay us half of this amount in payments, and are now looking for a sponsor for the other half.

Navidad, a beautiful young female was hit by a car on the main street on Christmas Eve. She is now called Peanut and is back in Jacó, but still in rehabilitation. She needs to go back to the University Clinic in 3 weeks, so there is still no bill, but we would like to start looking for sponsors and for a new home for her. If somebody would like to sponsor or part-sponsor one of these puppies, please contact me at 2-643-4012 or info@mckee-jaco.com.

Buddy story now online

We have so many animal stories — some of them with, others without a happy ending. You will love this one. Check it out for yourself, visit this page:
http://www.mckee-jaco.com/casehistories.htm.

If you have a similar experience you’d like to share with us, please send us your story — there is a link to the form on the bottom of the “Case Histories” page.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Spay/Neuter competition for
elementary and high school students

December 2009

There will be some “homework” for our Elementary and High School students for their long summer vacation. On the enrollment days, (December 17th and 18th) all students are receiving information about the special spay/neuter competition, held in January from the 18th to the 23rd at the Jacó clinic.

School flyer

The special price of the surgery will be 5000 colones, (about $9) which has to be paid by the student who brings the animal in. The first 25 students who bring an animal in will receive:

  1. a certificate good for 1 free consultation at the vet clinic, including de-worming
  2. 1 bag of dog/cat chow
  3. a nice new school kit (exercise books, pens, pencils, pencil boxes etc.)

There will be also some “surprise prizes” for all participants.

Vacation time here in Costa Rica is very long, and during this time our young people here don’t have anything useful to do, as our county doesn’t offer much for them. This will be a great opportunity for them to learn more about how a vet clinic works, as they will be interacting with the vet, learning about the proper care of their pets and maybe even getting a chance to volunteer in one of our clinics on occasion.

Another successful spay/neuter month

December is always a busy month for everybody, so the target figures for castrations are generally lower than all other months. So far we we’ve been able to spay/neuter 47 animals — in Bijagual and in both Jacó and Herradura clinics. This makes 780 surgeries this year so far, and I guess that by the end of December, we will reach 800. This number represents only the animals we financed full or partially.

The castrations this month are being sponsored by: Nancy Lebo, Stuart Welch, Sylvia van Baekel and Trish Johnson. Thank you so much for your generosity!

VeterinarioThe “Golden Paw Award”

THE “GOLDEN PAW AWARD” is presented twice a year by our organization, and it’s purpose is to honor local people in our community for their compassion and service toward animals. On December 16, 2009, the award was presented to Rossy Quesada Gomez, the popular owner of Cafe del Mar, located in front of the new park on Jacó’s main street.

Rossy helps all animals who happen by her restaurant or her house. She feeds them when they are hungry, makes sure that they get fixed and fosters them until they get adopted. All animals are welcome at her place — she has 3 cats and 9 dogs of her own, with many others that are just visitors. Some of them she found injured on the street, others just came to her place and never left — and why would they?

Rossy Quesada interviewThank you Rossy, for all the time and love you give to those furry little friends who need your help.

If you would like to see the presentation “Life” — tune in to Channel 11 in January — we will inform you of the exact day and time.

Thank you for your time.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Sterilization of Animals
November 2009

VeterinarioThe McKee Project Jacó holds its next spay/neuter program for stray animals and pets (cats and dogs) belonging to low income families on Sunday, December 13th.

Place: Bijagual –
Rancho de Carlos Sandi

Time: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m
Financial assistance is available.

To make an appointment call: 2-645-1067 – ask for Fátima.

The people in this area are poor, and many of them cannot afford the already very low full price. Some animals don’t have an owner, and we will have to pay for them. In addition to the surgery, we will “frontline” all patients as well as supply the owners with the de-worming medicine. If you would like to sponsor a part of this project, please answer this email. We also need volunteers with cars to transport animals to and from the surrounding areas.

Place to stay for a volunteer vet

We received a few offers for a place to stay for Dr. Lee Wilson — thank you to all of you who wanted to help us with this. Dr. Wilson will stay in one of the best hotels in our area — Doce Lunas. A huge THANK YOU goes to owner Chris Danko for this generous offer to donate the entire week to our volunteer from the USA.

Doce Lunas is famous not only as a great place to stay while on vacation, the hotel is also extremely cat friendly. All cats who live there (some of them from the day the hotel opened its doors years ago) are very well taken care of, and all are spayed/neutered and healthy. Thank you to the owner, manager and all employees who give these amazing animals love and care.

Adoption Program

zaguateWe always have dogs, cats, puppies and kittens that are looking for a new home, so please check our website and check out Speedy, Buddy, Quijote and Asko, as they need a new place as soon as possible. Besides our 35 cats and kittens, most of which are “ready to go”, there is also Baz — a cool young cat who “adopted” Hotel Vista Pacifico. Baz is a very social cat, neutered, has all vaccines and needs a new home, as the Hotel has already 3 of their own cats.

If you are unable to have a pet at home, you could instead make a Virtual Adoption, enabling us to take care of animals that:

  • cannot get adopted as they are too old, too sick, or are afraid of people
  • are adoptable, but haven’t been placed yet

To learn more about this kind of help, please go to this page or send us an email.

zaguateHomage to the street mutss in San Jose

There are 6 sculptures of 6 different stray animals rescued on the streets in San Jose.

The idea of this great project is to sensitize the community to animal suffering. Our organization has supported this great project, and hopes that one day these “strays” will be the only ones on Costa Rica’s streets.

Thank you for your time.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Jacó responsibleJacó – the community responsible for its animals
October 2009

Another successful activity with the younger members of our community and their parents took place on Friday, October 16th at the new park in Jacó. 240 1st thru 3rd graders from the Escuela Central in Jacó, some of them in the company of their parents, some with their pets, attended the event together with their teachers. After a typical breakfast for everybody, (sponsored by the parents) they were offered some different presentations. The ones who brought their pets attended the presentation by Dr. Esteban Soto from The Plaza Boulevard clinic in Jacó, and they won the following prizes for their furry friends: ultrasound teeth cleaning, vaccines and consultations.

Cynthia Lizano, who is in charge of the education program in our organization, shared the microphone with Scott Ramirez from Scott New Promotional Music, offering the kids all kinds of competitions with great prices for the winners. The prizes were donated by Vetim SA, Ayurveda Centroamericana SA, Chuck WOW Surf, Soleil Soleil shop, Beauty Salon NEVER BETTER and the Plaza Boulevard Vet Clinic. The delicious lunch (for everybody!) was provided by the Escuela Central in Jacó.

Angela Maria Lozano from Escuelarte Jacó offered an art class for 60 kids while two of the school teachers were painting faces, so in the end we had some cat and butterfly-faced kids all jumping around.

EventWe also had cake and brownies donated by TCBY Jacó, Norma Kahn, Julie Textor, Anna Pilz, Cafe del Mar, Teri Dominey and Douglas Giampapa — some of them were raffled off, and some were offered to all those who helped us organizing this event.

The magazines “Pets y Mas” and “Mucho Gusto” donated by the director Christine Bork, were also offered to the public for a donation of 500 colones. Even though the real focus of this activity was to send a message to both the youngest members of our community as well as their parents, with raising money being more of an “added bonus”, we still raised 27,500 colones ($47.00) from the cake raffle and magazine sale. This money will go toward our next spay day.

The message of this activity was very clear and was repeated in all our presentations, games and competitions: nobody else but the entire community is responsible for the animals, and only the entire community can make Jacó a better place to live for both animals and humans.

A huge THANK YOU goes to everybody, who helped us to make this activity such a big success: the Municipality, the director of Escuela Central Vera Alpizar and all teachers participating in the event, Jimmy Alpizar, music teacher who took care of the sound system and provided wonderful music during the breaks, Javier Zuniga Salgado who helped with transportation of all chairs, food and whatever needed to be moved, and all the donors mentioned above and to everybody who was there to share this great adventure with us.

Nominations for the next Golden Paw Award

I would like to also remind you that the nominations for the next Golden Paw Award are due by November 30. 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 or email us at info@mckee-jaco.com.

Kittens, kittens and more kittens

4 beautiful new kittens were abandoned on Saturday, right in front of the house where one of our members (Trish) was living until 2 months ago. Together with these 4, we now have 29 kittens, all of which are being fostered by Arusha, Sylvia, Maudy, Melissa and Leo. If you would like to adopt one, please call Arusha at 2-643-3680.

Adoption days held every month on the 15th at Yan Clinic in Herradura

On the first adoption day 7 cats and 4 dogs were waiting for their new parents. But only one cat and one puppy found a new home – maybe in November we will be more lucky. If you are looking for a new furry friend, be it cat or dog, please give us a call at 2-643-4012 (Katja) or 2-643-3680 (Arusha). You can also check the adoption book at both the Jacó and the Herradura clinic.

Night Story now online

We have so many animal stories — some of them with, others without a happy ending. This story will definitely make you smile. Check it out under
http://www.mckee-jaco.com/casehistories.htm.

If you have a similar experience you’d like to share with us, please send us your story — there is a link to the form on the bottom of the “Case Histories” page.

If you wish to see some pictures from our education program, please click HERE to view our slide show in a new window.

If you would like more information about these projects, please contact Katja at info@mckee-jaco.com.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


School kidsAugust and September bring much success
August/September 2009

The months of AUGUST and SEPTEMBER were both very successful, especially the castrations and the education programs.

Our EDUCATION PROGRAM “Sharing the world with the animals” was one huge success — we started at the two main schools in Jacó — Colegio Técnico Profesional (from 7th to the 11th grade) and Escuela Central de Jacó (from Kinder to 6th grade). In the last 3 months, we were able to reach approx. 600 students, and even more important, we reached them more than once, in many different presentations and events. On the Day of the Child we had a presentation and an activity with not only the kids, but also with their parents and the adults who came to school to celebrate with them. The activity ended up in a big competition called “Tell us about your pet”, and from dogs and cats to chickens, all kinds of animals participated in this competition.

Independence DaySince my first meeting with Cynthia Lizano over 4 months ago, I knew that this program under her supervision will be successful. But even then I didn’t expect the results she shared with me today. She and the teacher from both main schools in Jacó pooled their efforts together and started a wonderful new project involving not only the kids, but also their families. The schools got decorated with animal themes, and the students now consider themselves active members of our association. The parade on the Independence Day showed the students proudly carrying the association’s banner.

More school kidsSpecial THANK YOU goes out to the teachers of both schools Nilsa Bustamante, Alexander Sandoval, Ruth Rojas and Jimy Alpizar and the school principals Vera Virginia Alpizar and Fernando Pusey — without their cooperation none of these incredible results would have been possible.

If you wish to see more pictures, please click HERE to view our slide show in a new window.

Castration Program

We had another successful spay day in Bijagual in August — organized by Carmen Castro Cerdas, Ileana and Brandon Garita Castro and the YAN Clinic from Herradura. We were able to spay/neuter 35 animals, like always all of them either strays or from very poor families. This clinic was sponsored by Leo Hogan, Sylvia van Baekel and Lance Clinton — THANK YOU all for making it possible.

The Tárcoles clinic in September was organized by Patricia Holmer and Alex Rodriguez, Gino Jose Sandi and his son Nigel and the YAN clinic. We attended to 40 animals. The clinic was sponsored by Sylvia van Baekel — Thanks again, Syl.

Another huge THANK YOU goes to Dra. Yesenia Alpizar Naranjo and Dr. Alexander Jimenez Camacho and their assistants Arusha and Sylvia, as well as to everybody who helped on both occasions.

Like always, we also held our “little spay days” every Friday in the Jacó clinic and were able to spay/neuter 20 animals each month. Thank you to Dr. Esteban Soto Molina and Dra. Wendy Villalobos for their excellent service.

If you would like more information about these projects, please contact Katja at info@mckee-jaco.com.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Herradura clinicAnother successful Spay Day in Herradura
July 2009

Another 30 animals, all strays or animals owned by low income families, were spayed/neutered this weekend in Herradura. Our THANK YOU goes to the organizers Arusha Pabisch and Sylvia van Baekel, vets Dr. Yesenia Alpízar Naranjo and Dr. Alexander Jiménez Camacho from The YAN clinic in Herradura and their assistants, Doris Schluckebier, Flor Maria Cambronero Arias, Jose Maria Cambronero Arias and Sharet Juergens Alpízar. Many thanks also to Carlos Cambronero Arias and Luz Maria Villarga Vargas for offering us the use of their house.

Even though the price for the surgery was extremely low (covering only costs), most of the animal owners were not able to pay it, so we needed a sponsor for the missing $240. Sylvia van Baekel and Nancy Lebo offered to share the sponsorship for this clinic — Thank you so much for this generous donation!

We are looking for sponsors for our next spay day — if you would like to help, please send us an email or call Katja at 2-643-4012 or Arusha at 2-643-3680.

The McKee project is a nationwide effort to spay/neuter companion animals, find homes for street dogs and cats, as well as offering effective educational programs. It is a non-profit organization which depends solely on donations. To find out more about this project and how you can help, please visit our website at www.mckee-jaco.com.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


cachorrosUpdate on Ramada dogs
and puppies

May 2009

Good news about the “Ramada Puppies” — Doris Schluckebier and Trish Johnson went there a few times a day for over 3 weeks, and were able to catch 9 of the puppies and all the adults. There is only one puppy left, and we hope to get him/her in the next few days. All of the puppies and adults are already spayed/neutered — thank you to Dr. Esteban Soto and Dra. Wendy Villalobos from the Jacó clinic for operating on them without appointments (which could not be made, as we never knew when and how many we could catch) and also for working after normal business hours. The puppies are still with their foster families: Sylvia, Leo and Doris. Now we need many new homes for all of them — if you know anybody who is interested in adopting a puppy, please let us know.

Another successful clinic in Herradura

Two of our members, Sylvia van Baekel and Arusha Pabisch, organized a clinic in a very poor area in Herradura known as “Parcelas”. They discovered this area two weeks ago, and started bringing the animals from there to both of the clinics in Jacó and in Herradura. In those 2 weeks, they had 8 dogs and 3 cats from the area spayed/neutered. They soon realized that it would be much easier to have the clinic there, rather than bringing the animals one by one to the vet. Doña Marta Matarrita Flores and her husband Giovanni Villalobos Morales offered their house, Dra. Yesenia Alpizar Naranjo, Dr. Alexander Jimenez Comacho from the YAN clinic in Herradura and Dra. Manuela Mora from San José offered their services, and on Sunday May 17th, another 27 animals were spayed/neutered, 11 of them homeless. Thank you to all 3 vets and to their assistants — Sylvie Braibant, Leo Hogan, Doris Schluckebier and Brenda Obando. Thank you to doña Marta and don Giovanni for providing a space for the clinic. And of course thank you to Sylvia and Arusha for making this possible.

As the people in this area are very poor, we needed a sponsor to help us with the costs, as only 2 people were able to pay the full (already very low) price for the surgery. And here again, Sylvia van Baekel helped us out and paid the vets — thank you Sylvia for your generosity!

Update about animals in the place called “Hueco” (Hole).

Maybe you remember our newsletter from May 2008 about this place — there were many very poor people here with far too many animals, none of them fixed, many of them sick, and all of them reproducing twice a year. We did in fact offer our help, but we were not able to get to all the members of this community, so only about 40% of the dogs and cats there got fixed. This changed when Leo Hogan and her daughter Moriah started visiting this area every day. They made friends with one of the families, and offered their help first to them, and later to others in the area. There was a ton of work — pregnant female dogs, sick puppies, unwanted cats with kittens, and Leo and Moriah took care of all of them! The dogs got spayed/neutered, the puppies de-wormed, the cats adopted, and some of the puppies even received their shots. This week all animals there will get de-wormed. The animal owners there are poor people, but they always contribute to help pay for the operations and shots. Thanks to Leo and Moriah for taking care of this project and being so successful with it!

If you want to learn more about our project, please go to our website at
http://www.mckee-jaco.com/ or call Katja at 2-643-4012.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Another 60 animals spayed/neutered in April
May 2009

Since the new clinic in Herradura opened 3 months ago, the number of animals we have spayed/neutered has doubled, reaching about 50 a month. This is definitely a big improvement, and we hope that we will be able to keep it this way in the future.

Besides the regular big and little spay days in both clinics, (Veterinaria Plaza Boulevard in Jacó and Veterinaria YAN in Herradura) Dra. Yesenia Alpizar Naranjo and Dr. Alexander Jimenez Camacho, both from the YAN clinic, went on Sunday, April 19, to Palo Seco Beach and fixed 11 animals there. Marcela Madden, who contacted us about this little project, took care of the sponsors, as all those animals were strays. The vets of course helped by giving a discount rate. A huge THANK YOU to Marcela and all sponsors and to Dra. Yesenia and Dr. Alex for making all this possible.

Dogs at the former Ramada office

There were 2 female and 4 male dogs and about 9 puppies living under and around the former office of the Ramada project, all of them very shy and scared of people.

We’ve been able to catch and fix one male and one female each so far. All the other adult dogs are extremely difficult to catch, and we are still trying — if somebody has experience and would like to help us, please call Trish at 2643-1162 or Doris at 2643-2359. From the puppies, we’ve got 4 males, and they are already fixed and adapting to their foster homes with Ike and with Sylvia. There are still more puppies at the Ramada site, and it’s difficult to count them, but it looks like every day some are missing. We are afraid that they wander out into the streets and get injured or killed, so we need both help to catch them as well as foster homes for them. They are difficult first, as they are scared of humans, but with some time and lots of love they change in one-two days.

Abandoned kittens

April was a month of abandoned kittens. Some of them were put in plastic bags and dropped on the streets, other in boxes left in front of our houses. Some of them could already eat, others had to be raised with a bottle. Some of them survived, other didn’t. 5 kittens, about 1 week old, were left in a plastic bag in somebody’s pickup for hours in the sun, and didn’t make it. To be sure, we do have an overpopulation problem with cats in our area, but there is a humane way to take care of this problem. If there is a mom cat with kittens in your neighborhood, please make sure that the babies stay with the mother for at least 5-6 weeks. As soon as they can eat by themselves, please bring the mom cat to one of the clinics we work with in order to have her spayed. Don’t wait! — female cats can get pregnant immediately after they stop nursing. And make sure that everybody who adopts one of the kittens knows that they have to be spayed/neutered as soon as their weight reaches 3 pounds. We always offer a low cost castration for all low income families, and we pay for those who cannot afford even the low price. So there is really no reason to wait!

The survivors are fostered by our member Arusha and our volunteer Maudy Cordero Cordero, a 15-year-old school girl from Colegio in Jacó. Maudy is raising 7 of them, starting first with a bottle every 4 hours, and is now teaching them how to eat out of a bowl. If you would like to adopt a kitty, please call Katja at 2643-4012.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


McKee EventoMcKee-Jacó Fund
Raising Event

March 2009

Many thanks go out to all of those that participated in the fund raising event that was held at Ganesha Bar in Jacó on March 25th. A big thanks also goes to Tina Wallace and Ninoshka Pardo from TS Water for making the arrangements with the restaurant and all the preparations. So many people were involved in making it such a grand success, and our heartfelt thanks goes to each and every one of you.

We are sorry that the Chupacabras were not able to play for our benefit as was planned — there was a problem with a permit from the Municipality, and we only found out about it 3 hours before the start, so there was no time for re-arrangements.

The fund raiser was a big success, with over 80 people coming out to support this community event. We were able to raise $1,520.00 from the sale of tickets which will go towards the clinics: University Clinic in Heredia, Plaza Boulevard Clinic in Jacó and YAN Clinic in Herradura in order to cover our outstanding and future bills. We also received $680.00 in donations from our supporters in the United States, Canada and Costa Rica, which will be applied to our next Spay Day in Tárcoles.

We will be planning another fun-filled event in the near future, and will keep you updated as to when and where so you can mark your calendar and be sure to join us!

A Special Thanks to our Sponsors:

  • Bar Ganesha for the great food and drinks for our guests;
  • Rock band Chupacabras for offering the benefit concert and coming to Jacó ready to rock for us;
  • Hogan Family from Hermosa, for making a wonderful poster with before-and-after pictures of our furry friends;
  • Stuart Welch, Palm Coast Interiors, Mikel Hermansen, Patricia Holmer, Karen Campbell, Nancy Lebo, Jackie Fletcher, Kevin Jagla, Julia Johnson, Bev Wallace, TS Water and Hotel Mar de Luz for their money donations;

AND … ALL 80 OF YOU WHO JOINED US AT THIS EVENT!

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Our “Accident Animals”
March 2009

There are many animals, mostly those that have been injured in car accidents, which need special orthopedic operations in order to ever walk again. The University Clinic in Heredia (UNA) that handles all these difficult cases for us helps us a lot with all kinds of discounts. But the bills are still very high for our relatively shallow pockets, especially in these difficult times.

Sometimes the animals are owned by folks who simply cannot afford to pay the regular price, and others just need some more time to pay, so in exchange for a promise to pay what they can, we help them by offering the McKee discount. Sometimes the animals are strays, and the people who bring them to us almost always promise to sponsor them. And predictably enough, sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t…

Here is a list of the animals still needing sponsors:

  • Orejas$510 – ($445, university clinic, plus transportation to Heredia, treatment for “ehrlichia” and shots). The owner paid the first payment of $100 and then stopped. We still need $410.
  • Julia$620 – stray dog, two car accidents, 3 operations, 4 months in the clinic. Rossy from Café del Mar paid $140 and collected $150 from Elena Lamiquis and other guests. We still need $330 for Julia.
  • Princesa$300 – car accident victim. The owner is a poor family in Quebrada Ganado, who never paid anything towards the bill.
  • Hunter $225 – needed surgery on both his hips. The owner (low income lady from Herradura) paid $20, and the rest is still open.
  • Mucki – $150 – stray accident victim with damaged nerve system. Could not be saved, but the bill had to be paid regardless.
  • Suzie – $360 – stray dog with 2 broken legs, collected by Dr. Vanessa Avila Granadas from Parrita. Vanessa already paid the bulk of this amount so it’s not money we are asking for Suzie, but a new home. Suzie is a beautiful little female, with a lovely disposition – would you like her to be a part of your family?

If you have any more questions about our organization, please visit our website at http://www.mckee-jaco.com or send me an email.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Another great “Spay Day” — this time in Herradura!
February 2009

The McKee Project-Jacó held yet another spay/neuter clinic for stray animals and pets belonging to low income families on Sunday, February 15 at the Salon Comunal in Herradura.

26 companion animals were attended to by veterinarians Christian Elizondo and Yesenia Alpizar from the new vet clinic in Herradura. They were assisted by Karla Calderon, Leo Hogan and Doris Schluckebier — a huge THANK YOU goes out to all of them for their excellent work.

And of course to all those volunteers who donated their time in helping us with the post-operative care of the animals, as well as helping with the transportation to get them all back home safely — Sylvia van Baekel, Arusha Pabisch, Emily Ramirez with family and Marina Imatova — thanks!, we couldn’t have done it without you!

A special thanks also goes to the Asociación de Desarollo de Herradura for allowing us the use of their town hall to set up our makeshift clinic, to Randall from CHEWEY’S Pizza who donated 2 large, delicious pizzas and to Sylvia van Baekel, who took care of our drinks.

Thanks also to Servicios Transmundiales for a generous donation given to us to support this clinic — no animal was turned away. Anyone who arrived with an animal in tow but little money to pay were attended to, all with the same care as those who could.

The McKee project is a nationwide effort to spay/neuter companion animals, find homes for street dogs and cats, as well as offering educational programs. It is a non-profit organization which depends solely on donations. To find out more about this project and how you can help, please visit the website at www.mckee-jaco.com or call Katja at 2-643-4012.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


“Spay Day” in Tárcoles was a huge success
October, 2008

Dear friends,

The McKee Project Jacó held the most successful spay/neuter clinic in its 6 year history in the Jacó area on Sunday, September 21st.

81 companion animals were attended to by the very dedicated veterinary team headed by Dr. Blas Rivas, which included team members Dr. Olman Solano, Dr. Wendy Villalobos and Dr. Esteban Soto Molina. They were assisted by several members of our McKee group. Other major contributors to this most successful event were the organizers from Tárcoles, Patri Holmer, Patricia Chacón Rojas and Marilyn Rodriguez Vargas along with Jennifer Paterson, who co-coordinated the transport of the town of El Sur’s animals to the clinic. Even the local scouts were on hand with their leader Alexander Rodriguez Vargas and Sarita Rodriguez Araya — they were a tremendous help in keeping the many animals calm, and seeing that each was taken in the correct order.

There were many other volunteers, and a special thanks goes to the community of Tárcoles for allowing us the use of their town hall to set up our makeshift clinic and to Lynn and Larry Green from Ontario, Canada, who donated the housing for the Veterinarians and their staff and helped to make this day a most pleasant as well as productive one.

Thanks also to a generous donation given by Servicios Transmundiales to McKee founder Christine Crawford to support this clinic — no animal was turned away. Those families who could not afford the 7000 colon fee were asked to donate what they could, and others who arrived with animals in tow but could not afford to contribute were attended to with the same care as those who could.

The McKee project is a nationwide effort to spay/neuter companion animals, find homes for street dogs and cats, as well as offering educational programs. It is a non-profit organization which depends solely on donations. To find out more about this project and how you can help, please visit the website at www.mckee-jaco.com.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Another successful “Spay Day”
June, 2008

Dear friends,

The McKee Project Jacó held yet another successful spay/neuter program for stray animals and pets belonging to low income families on Suturday, June 14th, in Esterillos Oeste. The clinic was organized by our "Esterillos Connection" volunteers: the Raihn family (Kristy, Kurt, Jennaka, and Tiana) and Elisabeth Lubbers. We spayed and neutered 57 animals, most of which were street and beach dogs and cats.

A warm THANK YOU goes out to our veterinary team of Dr. Blas Rivas from Alajuela and Dr. Olman Solano from Atenas, and their assistants Doris Schluckebier, Elisabeth Lubbers and Pat Chidester for their excellent work.

And of course to all those volunteers who donated their time in helping us with the post-operative care of the animals, as well as helping with the transportation to get them all back home safely, thanks! — we couldn’t have done it without you!

Special thanks also goes out to the Azul Restaurant in Esterillos Oeste for their support in providing lunch for the volunteers, to the community of Esterillos Oeste for allowing us the use of their school to set up our makeshift clinic, and to Kate and Dave Treadway for donating accomodations for the vets.

Also, a warm thank you to Brent and Ellen, Brigitte and Fred, Russ and Marga, Pat, Colleen, Brenda and John, Anne, Beau, Janet, Kristy and Kurt and Fletcher for their financial support. Without your generous help, many of the local animals would not have been able to be spayed that day.

Together we can make a difference!

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


hueco 1Update – “El Hueco”
May, 2008

Dear friends,

Today I would like to show you a place in our "beach paradise" called "hueco" Hueco means "hole", and when I first saw it, I was shocked – I’ve never seen something similar in or around Jacó.

As I was told, our Municipality will take care of the people living there in the near future, but there are not only people in "hueco" – there are around 30 dogs, some of them sick, all of them not fixed, reproducing twice a year. Last week we went there with a vet (Becky) and got most of them de-wormed and Frontlined, and now we start bringing them one by one to the clinic for castration.

hueco 2As you can imagine, the people there cannot afford even the very low price of 7000 colones, so we will have to take care of all costs.

If you would like to help us with this project, please go to our website at http://www.mckee-jaco.com/ or give me a call at: 2-643-4012.

We will also have a 3-legged puppy ready for adoption soon – the puppy was found on a street in Heredia, where it got hit by a car.

A young boy brought it to the University Clinic (UNA), but as he didn’t have any money and the dog wasn’t even his, we decided to pay for the treatment. The money for this came from a generous donation we receive lately from an anonymous supporter from Los Suenos. Unfortunately they had to amputate the puppy’s leg, and it is recuperating nicely in the hospital right now, but we will have to find a good home for it soon. If you would like to adopt it (or know somebody who could), please let us know via email:
info@mckee-jaco.com or give us a call at 2-643-4012.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Update – New equipment for the Clinic
January, 2008

Dear friends,

I hope you all had a great holiday, enjoying the company of your family and friends.

We’re starting this new year with a big project. Our goal is to take care of all the strays, as well as those animals living with very poor families in Quebrada Ganado and in Tarcoles. This project will be made possible thanks to a generous donation from Judy Yanover from Los Sueños. We also would like to thank Patricia and Serge Volders from Tour Mart Jacó, who graciously offered to take care of the transportation to the clinic and back.

Also, a HUGE "thank you" goes out to both veterinarians – Dr. Eugenia (Gini) Bermudez and Dr. Carolina Rodriguez for taking care of the operations practically for cost.

There are also some changes in Dr. Alfaro’s clinic. Dr. Jesus Calderon went back to the clinic in San Jose, and in his place came Dr. Carolina Rodriguez, who attends to the patients on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.

And since our last Newsletter, the clinic now has the following new equipment up and running:

  • x-ray machine
  • ultrasound
  • blood test equipment

These 3 machines make it now possible to quickly diagnose animals, in order to start any necessary treatment immediately!!

There is also an ultrasonic dental cleaning machine, which uses sound waves to remove plaque and tartar for a complete dental cleaning. Clean teeth are very important for any animal’s health, and with this equipment, the cleaning process is no longer a difficult and dangerous procedure. It is now just a short, painless treatment that renders much better results than manual cleaning

If you need more information about this new equipment, or any other subject, please contact Dr. Bermudez or Dr. Rodriguez directly – they both speak perfect English, and can answer any questions you may have regarding any and all treatment and procedures. The phone number is: 643-5333.

Have a great New Year.

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Update – CLINIC
November 7, 2007

Dear friends and supporters,

McKee Jacó proudly announces that starting Monday, November 5th, 2007, Dr. Roger Alfaro will be in charge of our clinic in Jacó.

Most of you already know him, as he and his clinic in San Jose has supported our project from day one. Dr. Alfaro is one of the best vets in Costa Rica, and his clinic is definitely one of the best equipped animal clinics in the entire country. For more information about his clinic in Pavas, please go to his website http://www.consultoriodralfaro.com.

Putting the business part of the project in the hands of Dr. Alfaro means that we of McKee will have more time for our own project — time we haven’t had since we first started the clinic. Dr. Alfaro, who’s not only a great vet but also a big animal lover, is giving us the fantastic opportunity of having the best vets in Costa Rica, using the best modern medical equipment, available to us each and every day. And all this at a fraction of what it would normally cost us.

The clinic will be run by Dr. Jesus Calderon and Dr. Eugenia Bermudes, who will share the on-site duties in order to make sure that there will be always a veterinarian staying in the clinic, ready to tend to any and all emergencies any time of the day or night. So now we will be a REAL 24/7 clinic, like we originally planned!

At this point we would like to thank Dr. Victor Quesada for the wonderful job he did in our clinic during the last 4 months. Dr. Quesada left us on his own wish, going back to his clinic in San Jose. We wish him all the best in his professional and private life.

We will keep you up-to-date with all the news from and around the clinic, and I promise that there will be a lot in the coming days!

Thank you, and talk to you later!

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó


Update – CLINIC
July 17, 2007

Finally we are open!

Dear friends and supporters,

if you are familiar with Costa Rica, you will know that not everything goes smoothly down here, that the projects take twice the time and three times the money you calculate. But in the end we managed everything and did OPEN our animal clinic on July 1st.

Our team at the clinic is:

  • Dr. Victor Quesada – an experienced vet from San Jose, who is not only an excellent and dedicated doctor, but also a big animal lover, willing to help any time of the day or night
  • Doris Schluckebier and Elisabeth Lubbers – both assistants, who not only assist the doctor during the visits and take care of the patients in a proper manner, keeping them clean and fed, but also giving them so much care and love that even separated from their owners, they feel safe in the clinic.
  • Wendy Zeledon – secretary. It was her dream to work in an animal clinic, and now every time she has a free minute she’s visiting the patients in the hospital, giving them love and attention

In this short time we have been open, we’ve been able to help about 150 animals who were sick, as well as also spay/neuter 16 dogs and cats, mostly from lower income families.

We hope that in about 3 months we will be able to hire another vet, and then be able to offer round-the-clock service.

Huge THANK YOU goes to all our supporters — to see the list please click this link:
http://www.mckee-jaco.com/oursponsors.htm or go to http://www.mckee-jaco.com/ and then through “How to help” to “Our sponsors”.

Please visit us in our new facilities and see what our combined efforts can achieve, and how you helped to make a difference.

Thank you for being there for us,

Katja Bader
McKee Jacó and the clinic team


tabby kitty with white bibUpdate – CLINIC
November 17, 2006

Two months ago, we asked for your help in raising money for a decent clinic in our area for our furry friends — not only the ones down on their luck and homeless, but also for the ones with responsible owners. Our goal was to raise $80,000.

Thanks to your generous support, we so far have raised $17,200. (see the donors list in How To Help – Our Sponsors) This made it possible to make the first payment on the site we found. The clinic will be located in a commercial center in Jacó, and will have enough space for 2 vets and 10 hospitalized animals.

We still need donations, as we still have to make all interior construction including all plumbing, a roof for the patio, an interior loft, install central A/C, and purchase all furnishings — this place is "the real deal" — a proper veterinary clinic!

Rusti Banagas from Banagas Design will design and collect donations for everything we will need for the reception area.

Victor Keulen from Hotel Mar de Luz will pay for the materials and labor for all woodwork we will need — cupboards, shelves, tables etc.

We also need all kinds of medical equipment — if you know anybody who has access to equipment which is being replaced in hospitals and clinics, (i.e. autoclaves, centrifuges, instrument trays, I.V. stands, as well as all manner of surgical instruments) — we will graciously accept it all!

One of our future vets is coming to Costa Rica next week, and will be able to start working for our association as soon as we open the facility. We are still looking for another vet — he/she must be Costa Rican, and willing to relocate to Jacó.

THANK YOU to all for your continued support — NONE of this would be possible without your help! We will keep you informed about all the latest developments.


Asociación Pro Bienestar Animal (McKee Jacó) launched their new website on November 15, 2006. It will include Spanish and English versions.

A huge THANK YOU goes to Alberto Zevallos (Tito) and Donna Connely from Art Zenith and Felix von Griessenbeck (our supporter in Germany) for making this happen.

Thanks to Felix for getting the website project started, and for his willingness to help animals. Thanks to Tito and Donna for giving their skill and time to enhance the website. Thanks to all of you, the finished project is beautiful!


September 12, 2006

APPEAL TO OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS —
TOGETHER WE CAN DO THE IMPOSSIBLE!

Dear Friends and Fellow Supporters,

After over three years of providing limited services to animals-in-need in this area, and assisting the community with our many programs, despite the lack of volunteers, finances, (never mind the cultural differences!), we are still more active than ever! Yet we have come to the point where we have reached our limits and need your help.

After dealing with the Municipality of Jacó for over a year without any results, and after asking the owners of all the big farms for a small piece of land, (and always getting the same answer), we have decided to raise the necessary funds ourselves to purchase a lot with a house, for a clinic that we so desperately need.

With a proper facility in the Jacó/Herradura/Hermosa area, we will be able to continue our project in an effective, cost-saving manner, as well as also:

  • Give timely and accurate information to anyone whose animal is in need.
  • Provide a place where stray animals (and those from low income families) can receive proper treatment.
  • Provide trained and dedicated Veterinarians, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • Provide a place where the animals can recuperate in sanitary conditions.
  • Provide a place where the animal’s health and well-being is the FIRST priority.

To do this, our goal is to raise $80,000 for the purchase of such property. We are now asking for any donation that you can help us with to make this "dream" a reality. In doing so, your generous contribution will:

  • Save animal lives.
  • Virtually eliminate needless animal suffering.
  • Educate people about the responsibility of pet ownership.
  • Teach children to become responsible adults with pets.
  • Make the area safer place, by drastically reducing the amount of unwanted strays .

Together we can do so much more!

Thank you for your time.

Katja Bader
McKee Project Jacó

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