Author Archives: Sarah McVean

• PRESENTING THE “GOLDEN PAW AWARD”
• NIGHT – ONE OF OUR MOST DIFFICULT RESCUES – IS DEAD
• WHERE ARE SERVICE ANIMALS ALLOWED?

THE “GOLDEN PAW AWARD”  is presented twice a year by both OUR ORGANIZATION and by the magazine “PETS Y MAS”, and it’s purpose is to honor local people in our communities for their selfless compassion and service toward animals.

On June 23, 2015  this award was presented to PATRICIA HOLMER, a Canadian expat and big – time animal lover who arrived in Costa Rica with her husband TONNY and 2 dogs and a cat in 1997 with a plan to retire. It didn’t take long for the family to start growing, with more and more 4 – legged members rescued from a miserable life with irresponsible owners or from the streets.

I first met Patri back in 2001, and we immediately saw that we shared the same passion in our lives, that being helping homeless animals and fighting the overpopulation through spay and neuter campaigns. Since then, our organization and Patri work together and help each other wherever we can. Today Patricia is taking care of 28 dogs and 22 cats and her home has become a shelter for all kinds of abused, neglected and injured creatures.

They all live in good conditions on Patri’s property or in a few foster homes, receiving both medical treatment and lots of love and attention, something most of them don’t know from their previous lives. Once they are healthy and have received their shots, they get spayed or neutered and prepared for their new homes. Unfortunately, the placement of adult, non pure-bred dogs and cats isn’t that easy in our area, so some of them never find a home. In these cases the only option is to become a permanent member of Patri’s family.

Since Patri’s husband Tonny passed away last year, she is now left alone with all the responsibility, counting on just a few volunteers in the area: SANTOS MONTENEGRO LOPEZ, DALIA RAQUEL MEJIA OROZCO and ARON ESQUIVEL. All of the financial burden must be paid from the little money Patricia has for herself, as she is not receiving regular funding from any institution or organization. She struggles, but she never leaves any creature in need or without help.

Thanks to this extraordinary woman, countless animals have had a chance for a new, better life, and we can only hope that more and more people will follow her example and help us to eliminate needless animal suffering in our community.

A HUGE thank you from all of us goes out to PATRICIA for being such an important and active contributor to animal welfare in Costa Rica.

He was definitely one of the most difficult rescues we ever had. If it wasn’t for persistence and patience of DORIS and DIETER we would never be able to get him in the first place. They called him NIGHT – short for Nightmare – which is what this dog was for the people living in Opera Salvaje and for DORIS and DIETER for almost 2 months.

It’s an incredible rescue story and you can read it on our website under Night-mare at http://mckee-jaco.com/case-histories/

Since his rescue in 2008 NIGHT, this giant with scary looks and a big heart, was living with DORIS and DIETER, who gave him what he never had in his sad life – a home and

a big family, consisting of both humans and doggie and kitty brothers and sisters. He loved other dogs and cats and he loved DORIS and DIETER. He didn’t trust other people, at least not immediately, probably after his experience when he was living all by himself for over 2 years. As soon as he got healthy and recuperated after his rescue, NIGHT immediately started helping to save other dogs. Due to both: his big size and good health condition, NIGHT was the first choice as a blood donor in our area. His blood has saved more than 20 dogs, all of them treated in the Jaco and Herradura clinics with a transfusion containing his blood.

NIGHT did have a long life – he was with DORIS and DIETER 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. Doris and Dieter are heartbroken and they will miss him a lot. RIP Night, you were one of the greatest dogs we had pleasure to rescue.

ASSISTANCE DOGS are specifically trained to help people who have disabilities. Service animals HAVE TO BE ALLOWED to accompany people with disabilities IN ALL AREAS OF THE FACILITY WHERE THE PUBLIC IS NORMALLY ALLOWED TO GO.

Please respect that!

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader

Asociacion Pro Bienestar Animal (McKee Jaco)

We started our SPAY/NEUTER PROGRAM immediately after the New Year’s festivities with our “little spay days” working with 4 vets in our area. Never before we had so many clinics supporting us and offering low cost castrations to the stray animals and to pets belonging to low income families. Thanks to these wonderful professionals the number of spayed / neutered animals almost doubled in the last months and reached an average of 90 PER MONTH!

Huge THANK YOU to Dr. Bernabé Berrocal at the Clinic Plaza Boulevard, Dr. Yeimi Nunez Herrera at JACO PETS in Quebrada Ganado,  Dr. Wendy Villalobos at her clinic in Jaco, and Dr. Jose Manuel Jimenez at JACO PETS in Jaco for making it possible. Also other vets in our area are helping those, who cannot afford regular prices, it looks like we are the luckiest county in Costa Rica!

Not a month passes that we don’t receive reports about new DISTEMPER cases in our county. So our message to all pet owners: PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR ANIMALS HAVE ALL CURRENT SHOTS. 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.

Here are the typical symptoms of distemper. They vary considerably, depending on the strain of the virus and the dog’s immunity, and they don’t need to happen all together the same time.

• fever, which could go unnoticed and then peak again later.
• eye and/or nose discharge – most of the animals we’ve lost in our area so far had really bad conjunctivitis, (discharge from the eyes) light sensitivity
• as well as loss of appetite.
• cough, labored breathing (pneumonia)
• vomiting
• lack of muscle co-ordination – animal walking as though it was drunk.
• muscle spasm
• partial paralysis
• progressive deterioration of motor skills
• seizures that can affect any part of the body – One type of seizure that affects the head, and is unique to distemper, is sometimes referred to as a “chewing gum fit” because the dog appears to be chewing gum
• depression
• increased sensitivity to pain or touch

If you have any questions or doubts, please talk to your vet.

DON’T GET CONFUSED BY TOXOCARIASIS ALERTS

A condition called ocular TOXOCARIASIS is transmitted by a parasite found in the feces of infected animals and can enter the bodies of people WHEN INFECTED FECES COMES INTO CONTACT WITH THE MOUTH. So please, don’t panic and just teach children the importance of washing hands and that it’s dangerous to eat dirt soil. And if you have pets – de-worm them regularly.

ASSISTANCE DOGS are specifically trained to help people who have disabilities. Service animals HAVE TO BE ALLOWED to accompany people with disabilities IN ALL AREAS OF THE FACILITY WHERE THE PUBLIC IS NORMALLY ALLOWED TO GO.

THE INDIFFERENCE KILLED THIS DOG. WE NEEDED A WEEK TO FIND HIM, BECAUSE THE ONLY THING PEOPLE DID WAS TO TAKE A PICTURE AND POST IN ON OUR WALL. When we finally did find him, it was too late. He died in front of the clinic, before the vet even could see him.

In serious cases one has to act first – take the animal to the clinic and make sure that it receives help immediately. Then we can post pictures and look for a foster home or sponsors. Only doing so we give an animal a good chance to survive.

YOGA FOR MCKEE JACO BY ADE OJURI @ ROOM2BOARD
was a wonderful experience, and a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who joined us, to the teacher ADE OJURI and also to the owner of the Hotel BRIAN for providing the place and inviting all of us to a nice sunset drink so we could enjoy the view and relax after the class. $62 were raised by the participants. THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU WHO MADE THIS WONDERFUL AFTERNOON POSSIBLE!

EHRLICHIOSIS (transmitted by ticks) is the biggest killer of dogs in our area, and it’s mortality rate is over 50%! – THIS IS BECAUSE THE ANIMALS DON’T RECEIVE THE ADEQUATE TREATMENT IN TIME. If your animal get diagnosed with ehrlichia, here some important information about the treatment. The antibiotic recommended to treat this illness is Doxicicline. Most recent studies made in Costa Rica at the NATIONAL UNIVERSITY show that to successfully treat Ehrlichia, THIS ANTIBIOTIC HAS TO BE ADMINISTERED IN A DOSAGE OF 10 MG PER KILO, EVERY 12 HOURS FOR AT LEAST 28 DAYS. Lower dosages, different schedules (for example every 24 hours) and/or a shorter duration of treatment could not completely cure the animal, and could cause the transition to the chronic version.

MCKEE  JACO thanks all animal lovers for their support. Together we were able to improve the destiny of so many dogs and cats!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!

• MCKEE-JACO FUNDRAISING EVENT
• SPAY / NEUTER NEWS
• TOGETHER WE CAN DO SO MUCH!

Many thanks go out to ALL OF THOSE THAT PARTICIPATED in the fundraising event that was held at the GREEN ROOM on June 15. Many people were involved in making it such a grand success, and our heartfelt thanks goes to each and every one of you who joined us that day. A BIG THANK YOU goes also to the band LOS CHUPACABRAS and  to DJ MOUNIER, who kept us company for this special event.

The fundraiser was a big success, with over 100 people coming out to support this community event.

We were able to raise $2. 432.00 from both the sale of tickets and the raffle. This amount covered our outstanding bills with the University clinic in Heredia and the clinics in Jaco and to purchase the most necessary meds we need in our rescue and adoption program.

A special thanks also goes out to ALL THE SPONSORS OF THIS EVENT, (the list was published in Facebook and soon will be published on our website as well), to our friend and supporter TINA WALLACE, who did such a great job organizing this party, to RAQUEL and STAFF at GREEN ROOM for providing this wonderful place and offering great drinks and food and, of course, to all 100 of you who joined us at this event – THANKS!

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL CLINIC FOR STRAYS AND PETS BELONGING TO LOW INCOME FAMILIES IN ESTERILLOS

34 companion animals were attended to by the very dedicated veterinary team:  DRA. MELISSA ALVAREZ and DR. DANIEL CHAVARRIA, and their assistant ANTHONY VADO. Other major contributors to this very successful event were the organizers: JESSICA PECK and HAZEL MORA, both from Puriscal, as well as our volunteers: SHANNON PLAYFAIR, SILVINA GOREN and LEO HOGAN.

There were many other volunteers – our big THANK YOU goes to all of you who came to support us during this clinic. And a special thanks goes also to the sponsors of this campaign: JESSICA PECK, HOTEL PELICANO, DENIS LEON from PURA VIDA CHURCH, SHANNON PLAYFAIR and KAREN YOUNG from the restaurant LOS ALMENDROS, who donated to all of us (vets and volunteers) a delicious lunch.

Together with our “little spay days” at the 3 Jaco clinics: Plaza Boulevard, Dr. Wendy Villalobos and Dr. Yeimi Nuñez Herrera, we were able to spay / neuter 119 animals in the months June and July.

Thank you to DR. BERNABÉ BERROCAL, DRA.  YEIMI NUÑEZ HERRERA and DRA. WENDY VILLALOBOS for performing the surgeries for us here in Jaco, and also a big thank you to all of you who sponsored all these surgeries, as without your financial help this would never be possible.  

TOGETHER WE CAN DO SO MUCH!

– We can save animal lives.

– We can eliminate animal suffering.

– We can educate people who are ignorant to the responsibility of  pet ownership.

– We can teach children to respect all kind of life and become better adults.

Please help us to save animal lives and make our county a better place to live. 

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
Asociacion Pro Bienestar Animal (McKee Jaco)

• INVITATION TO A FUNDRAISER PARTY
• PRESENTING THE “GOLDEN PAW AWARD”
• YOGA FOR MCKEE JACO BY ANABEL MIRANDA @ VIDA ASANA YOGA RETREAT
• JUST A REMINDER…
• BIG SPAY DAY IN ESTERILLOS

McKee Jaco cordially invites you all to our next FUNDRAISER on Sunday, June 15th in Green Room Jaco.

There will be live music by the CHUPACABRAS and DJ Celine Mournier, raffles and a lot of fun.

The door opens at 2.00 pm. The $20.00 contribution includes a welcome drink.

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE RESCUE AND REHABILITATION OF HOMELESS ANIMALS.

For Tickets in advance please contact Tina at 8331-1811 or Katja at 2-643-4012 or stop by at Tico Pod Art house & Gifts, Taco Bar, Veterinaria Dra. Wendy Villalobos or Veterinaria Plaza Boulevard.

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 both individuals and groups in our communities for their compassion and service toward animals. On May 25th, 2014 this award was presented to Liana Robinson, a young American woman from Idaho who came to Costa Rica in 2008. Within the very first few days she was in our area, Liana had already made her first rescue – a beautiful black lab that she found hiding under her car after an accident. Liana took him in, took care of his surgery (his back leg had to be amputated) and this is how Ninja became a part of her new family here in Jaco. Liana has since become one of our most active volunteers.

After about a year of residing in our community, Liana decided to give Garabito county a place where anyone can come to read, to learn how to play, how to think, and how to work as a team, all the while having a good time – to give  us a library.

In 2010 she opened the first Jaco library, and within a few short weeks it became one of the favorite places to hang for many local kids and their parents. Because education is a very important part of our project as well, together with the Jaco Library we started organizing activities for kids there. Even though she’s always quite busy with the library project, Liana  has never stopped rescuing and fostering dogs in need – I’ve known her for over 6 years now, and I’ve completely lost count of the number of animals rescued and cared for by her.

She was the one caring for Buddy, the famous Turtle Refugio dog who also became a new library dog, teaching both kids and their parents love and respect for older pets. There have been many animal stories with happy endings during her time here (Jackson, Lucky, Tito, Nala, Baby Guiness, Guiness, Layla, Ruby, Boston, Charlie, Chase, Lucy, Purpuk among others) and she is now taking care of two extremely difficult and basically “unadoptable” animals, hoping that at least one of them will find a home.

If this wasn’t enough, every time she leaves to the States she takes a dog with her, making sure that they all find a loving home with her family or friends in States. Thanks to this extraordinary young 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 her example.  

YOGA CLASS for Mckee Jaco by ANABEL MIRANDA @ VIDA ASANA YOGA RETREAT

It was a total success, and a BIG thank you to all of you who joined us, and thanks also to Jenny and Sean for providing this wonderful place. Also kudos to Jenny Cribbs and Todd for preparing a delicious vegan buffet. $336.00 was raised during this wonderful event, and thanks again to all of you who made it possible!

Friends, Iguanas are part of the natural splendor we see while spending time here in the tropical zone, and they don’t belong to us. These beautiful reptiles here in Costa Rica are IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION, and as such have been classified as a protected species under the laws of this country. THEY ARE NOT PART OF OUR DIET, THEY ARE PART OF OUR BEAUTIFUL NATURE. Share this story and be a part of this campaign.

This beauty (see picture above) was found under a tree with all 4 paws tied up – this is done when somebody catches an Iguana for food, but for whatever reason cannot take it at that moment, so they tie it up in order for it to be immobilized, to be taken later on. Thank God Breda and Frodo, Montserrat and Mauricio’s 2 cute Schnauzers found the poor animal, so we were able to cut the rope and bring the poor thing to the clinic for a checkup, after which she could be released back to her natural habitat.

So another big thank you goes out to Montserrat and Mauricio for rescuing her, and to Plaza Boulevard Clinic  for all the help she received there.

Thank you for your time and support.

Katja Bader
Asociacion Pro Bienestar Animal (McKee Jaco)

• SPAY-NEUTER CAMPAIGN NOW PRESENT ON JACO’S STREETS
• EDUCATION NEVER STOPS!
• “I BRAKE FOR ANIMALS” SIGNS NOW ALSO AT REFUGIO DE VIDA SILVESTRE PUNTA MALA
• NOMINATIONS FOR THE NEXT GOLDEN PAW AWARD

For the last 11 years we have continuously offered our spay-neuter campaign to the people of Garabito county, providing low-cost castrations to all those who cannot afford the regular price, explaining why responsible pet owners have their pets spayed / neutered, doing our best to collect the stray animales in order to proceed with the surgery, and also making sure that not one puppy or kitten goes to their new home without first being fixed. Every year we are able to provide over 800 low-cost or free surgeries, and for such a small organization working within only one county, it is a great number indeed.

Within the overall message of our education program, we make sure that the youngest members of our community understand the overpopulation problem, and are aware of the only solution to it. This year we decided to extend our campaign to the streets, installing attractive and appealing signs at various locations where people pass and/or congregate. In March we installed 14 signs, and almost immediately we began receiving incredibly positive feedback. People on the streets approach us, praising both the idea of spreading the message this unusual way, as well as the 2 different designs we used. We would like to be able to produce 14 more signs and install them at the southern end of Jaco and also in Herradura. If you would like to sponsor one or more of these wonderful signs, please let us know. The price is $60 per unit, and the size is 70 x 70 cm.

The awesome design comes from CRYSTAL MCLAUGHLIN, an American artist from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and the project is sponsored by LINDA LOOK – thank you to both of you for making this great project such a big success. And thank you to all of our supporter for their contributions to the spay-neuter program – the full list can be seen on our website: http://mckee-jaco.com/our-sponsors/

Another successful educational activity by MCKEE JACO has been running since the end of February at the little school in Jaco-Pueblo Nuevo. It’s a part of our education program entitled “SHARING THE WORLD WITH THE ANIMALS”, developed in 2009 by CYNTHIA LIZANO, later improved by ANGELA MARIA LOZANO. During these activities the kids work on many different art works that illustrate all animal rights, finishing with a large (1 meter high) sculpture of a parrot, an animal chosen as a symbol of all wild life animals which are so often captured, only to end up living a miserable life in captivity in Costa Rican homes. This sculpture, together with a big sign saying “Let me be free” will be put in the patio of the school. It is very important to organize this activity in exactly this area, one who’s residents are famous for robbing the nests and selling the parrot and macaw chicks on the black market. Thank you to LINDA LOOK from the USA for sponsoring this great activity and to ANGELA MARIA LOZANO for her excellent job working with the kids.

During the course of our “I brake for animals” project, we were finally able to find sponsors and produce 3 new signs at the entrance to and around the Refugio de Vida Silvestre Punta Mala – a “death trap” which claims the lives of various wild animals every single day. In order for the signs to be easily noticeable, they are 2 meters high and 1 meter wide and they are made using reflective materials, making them clearly visible both day and night. Thank you to all sponsors of these so very necessary signs: Dave & Jessica of Jaco, Denise Bishko @ Supersol – Esterillos, Fellow Animals – Esterillos, Restaurant Los Almendros – Esterillos, Tecni Hogar Parrita and Variedades El Amigo – Parrita. Together with these three, we’ve now got 7 big signs installed on the highway in places with extremely high traffic and mortality of our wildlife animals. And 14 medium sized signs on the streets in Jaco, Herradura and Tarcoles.

Also our mission to have our sticker “Yo freno por los animales” (“I brake for animals”) on each car in Costa Rica is ongoing! If you are an animal lover and don’t have a sticker yet, please order one now and join us in achieving our goal to create more awareness and reduce the number of injured and killed animals on the roads.

The attractive, fun design of the sticker also looks great on any other moving vehicle, so make sure to pass it on to non-car owners too! They cost only 500 colones each, and are available in black and yellow. Contact us to place an order, or purchase them at: Veterinaria Plaza Boulevard, Veterinaria Dra. Wendy Villalobos, Farmacia Sofia or Seguridad Total Pacifico.

Our huge THANK YOU goes out to the American artist CRYSTAL MCLAUGHLIN from Myrtle Beach for this fantastic design, and to our friend and supporter LINDA LOOK for sponsoring this entire project from the start.3

The nominations for the next Golden Paw Award are due by May 15. If you know someone who makes our community a truly better place through the work they do with animals, please fill out the form on our website 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

Asociacion Pro Bienestar Animal (McKee Jaco)