Dogs in Costa Rica – A happy ‘tail’ about Rico.

I was probably within a few minutes of witnessing the irresponsible owner drive up and abandon him in the road. How do I know?

I have worked almost eight years here in Arenal, Costa Rica struggling to improve the quality of life of both domestic animals and wildlife. I know painfully all too well, the signs of a recently abandoned animal.

They are obviously disoriented as they wander all over the road not knowing where to go or what to do. In those first panicky moments, they have no knowledge of traffic and are in severe danger of being hit by oncoming traffic.

They are a long way from home and are in totally unfamiliar territory. They think surely there is some mistake. Surely their owner is coming back for them?

And they tend to stay in the area they were abandoned for some time: waiting, waiting, waiting. They wait until hunger and thirst gets the best of them and then they begin to wander aimlessly until they find something to quench the thirst and ease the hunger.

Then, they seek some sort of safe refuge. Over time, if they survive all of the numerous dangers, they will develop a definite “route” of travel as they try to eek out a living on whatever they can find. Yes, the “newbies” are pretty obvious.

And so it was with the pooch the first day I saw him. On the road I was traveling around our pueblo, I noticed him immediately, not only for his “newly abandoned” behaviour, but because he was a unique colour I had not seen in our area: a rather large, brindle coloured hound mix.

He appeared in fair health which further told me, he had not been on his own for a long time. He was obviously disoriented as he frantically searched the area where he was abandoned, looking for his owners. My heart broke. He looked hopeful and his ears perked up at each sound of a car. I knew he wasn’t just “passing through” and his owners weren’t coming back for him.

The closest refuge for him was curled up in a corner of a bus stop under the protection of the little roof. And there he stayed for a whole week! Waiting, waiting, waiting. His remarkable faith and loyalty to his undeserving owners was heart wrenching.

Having faced these tragedies more times than I even care to remember, I know how difficult it is to begin feeding a street dog. They break your heart, and when you begin feeding them they desperately begin to follow you around for both the food and human companionship and sadly in my case I can’t adopt any more. But my heart breaks watching an animal starve.

Hence, my invention of the “dog bombs”. In small clear plastic bags, I load a cup or two of dry dog food, tie it in a loose little sack and when I happen to see a very hungry dog, I slowly drive by and “activate” the “bomb” by ripping open one end and then give it a good toss in to the vicinity of the hungry pooch. The dog is so surprised by something hitting the ground close by, they seem to pay little attention to who threw the bomb as they rush to greedily consume the food. That keeps me somewhat “anonymous and the dog fed.

Such was the case when my brother, Jim came down for a visit about a year ago. He was involved with Basset Hound rescue in the states, so I was certain he was a likely candidate to travel with me to dispense “dog bombs”. “Want to go throw some dog bombs?” I asked with a twinkle in my eye. Not waiting to give him the answer to his obvious question, off we went for me to demonstrate the proper trajectory of “dog bombs”.

When we drove up to where “Rico” as he was later named was hanging out, he immediately stood up, tail wagging. Okay, maybe I wasn’t totally anonymous. It didn’t take the pooch long to associate the blue Rav-4 with the funny muffler with a sudden gift of a tasty “dog bomb”. Jim immediately fell in love with the handsome boy. He said “Sis, I want to adopt him”. Feeling it was a spur of the moment emotion and a really tall order, I guess I mumbled something like “yes, that would be nice”.

My brother’s trip came and went all too fast, but he regularly called me to ask “how is my dog?” I would give him updates. Finally after several times, he sternly said “Sis, I am really serious, what do I have to do to adopt him?” I said, “if you are really serious, I will check in to what we need for him to become “flight worthy” while you check on the United States side for what paperwork he needs to enter the country.

So, we began the process. Rico would need an International Health Certificate to leave the country stating he was in good health and current on all shots and Jim verified that his carrier would fly him to the U.S. with all proper paperwork.

I began vaccinations immediately, and took him in for surgery to get him neutered. I couldn’t in good conscience send a dog who could reproduce to add more problems with strays on the states side. So, some several weeks after his inoculations were current, and three days before “take off”, Rico “sat in” for his neutering surgery.

When all was ready, I contacted Jim telling him it was a “go” and to get his ticket and to purchase the largest kennel allowable for flight because this was a big boy weighing in at 66 pounds and he would be flying cargo.

My brother flew in on a Saturday and we spent the evening “prepping” his new pooch for flight, giving him perhaps his first bath ever.

By mid day we were headed, pooch in crate, to the airport in Liberia for Rico’s big adventure. The process went smoothly with all paperwork in order and the big guy now lives with his new family and an elderly rescued Basset named “Clover”. He has settled in nicely and is a beloved family pet adored by Jim and family.

The entire process from the beginning was full of many too many experiences to relate, like me chasing the pooch down the middle of the road the day before my brother was due to fly in when he escaped his make-shift tether. And the doctor and myself having to remove a good dozen “torselos” out of his hide when we did his surgery for neutering. Or me sitting up most of the night post surgery to be sure the rowdy boy didn’t rip sutures, as well as other numerous memories, but that’s the “fun” part, isn’t it? J

To see an abandoned street dog end up with a “Cinderella” life is truly rewarding and I only wish that for all of them. It’s those happy endings that keep me somewhat sane and moving forward.

However, an important message here is that though Costa Rican dogs and cats can be adopted and taken back to the states. I can’t stress enough that you have to do serious investigation prior to the process. In the year since Rico’s adoption, many airline regulations have become much stricter.

Now that the air carriers are charging for each piece of luggage, I am told that pet transportation has taken a very low priority and some won’t transport animals during certain months or some not at all. So, do your homework and be sure before you embark on pet adoption. Rico was one of the very lucky ones!

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Written by Gloria Dempsey. Zoologist in Arenal, Costa Rica.

If you would to contribute to the rescue and care of wildlife in Costa Rica and maybe help with the cost of a new portable X-ray machine, please send a US cashier’s cheque to our Zoologist friend in Arenal Gloria Dempsey:

Gloria Dempsey
5717-28 Nuevo Arenal – Tilaran
Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Or you can email Gloria Dempsey at zoologist@welovecostarica.com

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.