My husband and I retired in Costa Rica over four and a half years ago to enjoy the magnificent beaches, mountains, and forests this country has to offer. During our exploring we came across a different part of Costa Rica: small, impoverished villages in areas such as Playa Flamingo, Playa Grande, Huacas, and others where the wealth of the country does not reach. The people who live here are extremely poor, yet they live life within their means and find happiness. However, with limited money and local resources, another problem surfaced: an overpopulation of unhealthy pets. Having limited money, no car, and a typical hour long journey to the nearest vet, animal care is usually not an option for most families. Pets are then usually abandoned or left to fend for themselves, and most often will begin to replicate.

The solution to the problem was obvious: provide a local clinic that could easily "get to the problem" and provide basic veterinarian care and spay/neutering services.

Initially, our idea was met with strong resistance from most Ticos (nickname for Costa Ricans). Their few experiences with vets frequently ended with the death of their pet, mostly because the vet was either called too late or it took a week for the vet to come to them. In either case, it was viewed as the vet's fault. To get things off the ground, we literally had to beg, borrow and occasionally steal a needy animal in order to provide care.

We initially concentrated on female dogs because they were the most needy and each spay improved the life of one dog and reduced the future population of another. So many dogs were underfed, infested with parasites, and sometimes drained of life when we arrived. We also supplemented the diet of very poorly fed animals for up to six weeks after surgery and provided free treatment for internal and external parasites.

As time passed, people noticed our spayed dogs gained weight and looked much better than the average dog. Attitudes towards veterinary care and spay/neutering had started to change. And remarkably, as their pets looked better, they were treated better. Some animals have actually become truly “pets” actually live in the house with their families. We have even found that with home delivery and a flexible payment schedule, some Ticos will purchase nutritional dog food for their pets!

Since we began, our clinics have turned into an outreach program for Costa Rican pet owners everywhere. In the last few years, we have spay/neutered close to 3,000 animals and treated thousands more for common pet illnesses in Costa Rica such as parasites, skin problems, and tumors. We have started using telephone consultations with the veterinarians in San Jose for extremely sick animals and use their direction to offer treatment when transportation is not an option. We are extremely proud of all of our accomplishments and the animals we've been able to save. But our successes have now become the source of our failure.

The services that Dawn's clinic are now so widely known across Costa Rica, we find ourselves limited in our ability to offer help. We have tried to expand our resource pool of veterinarians and volunteers, but the effort to this requires more time and money than the clinic currently has. Our initial vision of providing total animal care to pets in need has now become a full-time job to run properly, and will require many more people than we currently have. To continue offering quality care, we need to hire full-time veterinarian and a assistant to perform surgery, diagnose illnesses, and administer medicine. This will allow us to continue organizing local clinics and offering other services such as spay/neutering services for cats and foster care of puppies (remove them from certain death environment and raise them in our home till they are suitable for a new home). We have also started a foundation to help establish a veterinarian practice here in Costa Rica. However, it will take time to get this up and running without a substantial subsidiary.

I urge you to make a donation and read more on how you can support our efforts in saving animals across in Costa Rica.