After a long drive we finally arrived in Costa Rica’s eastern coastal town of Limon where we had an early appointment for a live broadcast at the local radio station. We had been invited to promote the AHPPA/ Outreach Project, our spay and neuter campaign, to be held in the area over a three day period.

Part of Limon’s wildlife, in addition to the ominous and circling black vultures, are the numerous mangy street dogs; we couldn’t emphasize enough to all who would listen how important it is to have a spay and neuter campaign in this part of Costa Rica.

The thirty minute radio show allowed us to share information about the advantages of having animals neutered and spayed; time was also allowed for callers to ask questions. Although the radio show was held very early in the morning, there where several callers with questions about the Outreach Project and the surgeries and services it offered.

Following the radio broadcast, we continued our trip along the Caribbean coast to Puerto Viejo, an hour drive from Limon towards Panama. This laid-back, rustic beach town includes many Bob Marley look-a-likes, including some of the street dogs (or beach dogs) who too were sporting dreadlocks.

In the exhausting heat of the Caribbean we struggled our way through the 46 animals that were brought to the Outreach Project for castration. Several appreciative owners brought us cold drinks and snacks and cheered us for our work. Quad bikes (4×4 motorbikes) were used to transport the patients to and fro. Although a long and hot day, it was an energizing event due to the many local people displaying their care and love for the canine and feline population of Puerto Viejo.

Our final two days had us returning to Limon where we castrated another 48 animals in a Community Centre.  Many people understood the importance of having their pets de-wormed and vaccinated and requested these services as well.

Thanks to the big heart of Kim, the organizer of the Limon area Outreach Project, a mangy street dog was given a second chance. Seen roaming around town, this dog was finally caught after a heated two-block chase, her underbelly heavy with huge mammary, indicating the many litters she had thus far produced. This friendly creature was limping as a result of an old fracture, utilizing the affected leg as a walking stick. Kim decided she wanted to offer this poor dog a new life.

Kim is generously sponsoring this dog’s treatment and maintenance costs at the Outreach Projects home office: the Animal Shelter in San Rafael de Heredia. Here, she is now being treated for her skin problems and has been vaccinated and de-wormed. She will be spayed, as soon as her skin has healed, and available for adoption.

You can personally support AHPPA’s Outreach Project by organizing a neuter/spay project in your region by contacting us via email at: castracionescostarica@gmail.com

Or by making a donation at Banco Nacional de Costa Rica
Account name: Asoc.Humanitaria Para la Proteccion Animal de Costa Rica,
Account no. 100-1-040-0000431-9

Please keep informed about our upcoming projects by signing up for our monthly newsletter.

On behalf of the Animal Shelter Costa Rica,

Of course the regular castrations don’t really stick to your mind after doing over 50 on one day. It’s the more extreme patients that you remember when you finally sit down. One of them was a cat that someone locked in the toilet that day. One of the volunteers found it when opening the door of the public toilet. It didn’t try to escape but just lay there. After the horrified volunteer asked me to come and see the cat as soon as I had time, I walked with her to have a look. It was no wonder that the cat didn’t move, as on first sight I could see that it’s intestines were prolapsed and covered with little black ants. Because of the seriousness of this condition and the irreversible damage to its intestine I decided to put the poor thing out of it’s misery as quickly as possible. Taking it out of the toilet and lifting its head it showed that the side of the head that was first facing down was cut by, what seemed to be a machete cut and now deeply embedded with maggots. The idea of this story however, is not to try to horrify the reader, it is merely to state how important these projects are. Apart from castrating 98 animals in Matapalo and another 34 in Dominical in just 3 days, these projects bring much more. The people in places where normally no vet comes, like Matapalo, hear about these projects and start thinking more seriously about taking care of their animals. Another great thing about going to these areas is that we can also help the more serious cases. Many times sick animals that are living on the street (or on the beach in this case) are really suffering for weeks or months, sometimes even years with severe skin problems, growing tumors or other diseases. Many of these sick animals can be treated, like one of the beach dogs in Matapalo where we removed a tumor the size of a tennis ball.

We can conclude this story saying that we made a great impact with our AHPPA Bullet Castration Program 2010. There are however still many more places to go and our mission is not over by far. You can personally support us by organizing a project in your region.

Please keep informed about our coming projects,
Viktor van Marrewijk, DVM

La Negrita went to live in the mountains where there was another woman with animals. This time she had a large yellow zaguate and a large weimeraner to learn to love. It took a while but they began to play together and enjoy the mountain air. They wandered all over the place exploring. Then a small kitten came to live with them and the Negrita was fascinated. They became best friends. She was still terrified of fire and loud noises but the kitten would come and lie down with her where she was hiding. That made her happy.

Then the time came when the woman had to leave in an airplane. The Negrita was used to mountain air and was getting old but still healthy. She went to try the compound for older dogs at the Refugio. There were many dogs running around loose when she arrived. They were all calm. There were even some kittens in a cage under a desk. La Negrita sniffed them and they were calm too. Lillian, the directora, gave her a shot and cut her nails. Then she sat in the office and watched the goings on with her own house and mattress right near her. It seemed like a nice place for dogs. The next day she went to live with the other older dogs. She can run free in the mountain air. She has plenty to eat and the doctor will take care of her when she needs it. She is very happy.

They found him tied up on a tree…

We are treating him, though what he needs most is food!

Above you see him eating his heart out.

Love and food is always there at our shelter!

Two vets of our clinic in San Rafael de Heredia will be fulltime involved in this project.

We can therefore provide a professional service with the possibility to return on regular dates or stay for more days if required.

Additional services we provide are vaccinations, deworming and consults.

More complicated cases like fractures or tumors can be taken to the clinic in San Rafael de Heredia (equipped with X-ray and ultrasound) and returned after surgery and recovery.

You can support us making this outreach program a succes by either organising a castration project in your area or by making a donation.

For more information on how we work or how to organize a project email to castracionescostarica@gmail.com

Or you could help us by making a donation on banking account:

Banco Nacional de Costa Rica N⁰ 100-1-040-000431-9 under the name of AHPPA and
please mention it is for AHPPA Outreach Program

Together with your help we can make this outreach program a huge succes!

We hope to hear from you soon,

Dra. Laura Villegas

Dr.Viktor van Marrewijk