Two Veterinary Students From Colorado State University – Making a difference in Costa Rica.

Phew!, time to catch up – we’ve had a wonderful flow of visitors since the New Year; four sets of family and friends from the UK and despite lots of time out showing them the joys of Costa Rica, we’ve had lovely B&B guests as well.

It was a special pleasure to welcome Juliette and Mimi, two veterinary students in a group of 20 here from Colorado State University on a voluntary cat and dog neutering/spaying programme for low income Tico owners who would have difficulty affording this care for their animals.

Organised by a local vet and a long standing CSU colleague, the students ‘operated’ in the hall of a school in San Isidro. I visited and what a sight to behold – the group divided into admission and prepping, surgery, and recovery, with the silence of concentration broken only by barks and meows.

These young people were all self-funding, and they even had to apply for the privilege. The had bought, begged and borrowed all the supplies they brought with them – well prepared with the essentials, but I doubt they could have imagined the make-shift operating environment that must have seemed like light years away from the shiny, sterile perfection of a veterinary school!

Once more, I was reminded of that management adage on perfection being the enemy of the good – and this was very good indeed. With dedicated professionalism and the team working 12 hour days, nearly 200 pets had surgery that week. Many Tico families will be eternally grateful – and we’ll have a few less unwanted animals roaming the streets!

In this cynical world, its always a privilege to meet people willing to give their time and skill to benefit those less fortunate, and the students enjoyed a great learning experience as well. An amusing touch – the beer getting cooled alongside the pills and potions – SO real world!

While seeing our latest friends off at the airport last week, we organized getting our residency permits renewed. Having sent our lawyer evidence that we have enough money coming in to meet the legal requirement, she trotted off to Immigration to present that, got the green light and the next day we had the photo shots – a triumph, we can stay for another couple of years!

That little exercise will cost us $400 in legal fees but Lorena has been worth every penny… the last thing we need is endless trips to San Jose to chase up the painful process.

The Government is planning to increase the income ‘pensionados’ need to stay in Costa Rica; up from the current $600 per month to who knows what, but I wonder if they consider the hidden income from resident immigrants.

Our friends and family members came here to see us but they all toured around the country and spent a load of bucks as well – bless them, we’ve had a great time. And nature delivered on our travels – turtles in Tortuguero and this surprisingly shiny sloth down at Cahuita.

We just love showing off Costa Rica! – more on all that in my next column.

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Written by VIP Member Sheelagh Richards. Sheelagh is originally from Scotland and her husband John who is from Wales are two inveterate British travellers who fell in love with Costa Rica, the beauty of the Talamanca mountain range and the perfect climate of the Rio General valley where they have established a small Bed & Breakfast called Casa de Los Celtas. You can see a free online video interview with John & Sheelagh Richards here.

You can see more about John and Sheelagh’s very affordable B&B outside San Isidro here and photographs and prices here.

Please contact our Recommended Costa Rica Realtors working in the area: James Drews, Daveed Hollander and John Wieland, by using the simple form below:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.