My name is Tania and I am from Berlin in Germany. I have been living in Costa Rica with my husband; Angus; our 3 rescue dogs and 2 rescue cats; for over 6 years. As an animal lover; it has been heart breaking to see so many homeless dogs and cats in need of care; love and a safe home. This situation led me to found and spearhead a small non-profit rescue organization based in Rivas / Perez Zeledon in June 2015. Up until recently we only worked with foster homes; but our dream was always to give the dogs a better environment in which to rest whilst recovering from their ordeals and waiting for their adopted families… that’s why we opened the animal rescue centre in March 2018. We have renovated and furnished a beautiful rented house with a large garden; which functions as our dog rehabilitation centre. Our rescue dogs live in a large outdoor compound and indoor kennels right next to the house. We try to limit the number of dogs to fifteen to twenty but we sometimes have more. In this respect we expect our volunteers to be flexible if we have an emergency case that needs urgent shelter. Once the animals are ready for adoption we usually find homes for them in Costa Rica; but also in the States and Canada. There is also a cute little cat called Lemon who lives with the volunteers in the house. She is very independent and loves to cuddle.
What type of responsibilities would the volunteer have?
Free time:
You will have free time throughout the day. However; the dogs are our main responsibility so they need walking first thing in the morning; feeding; given medication if needed; tracking vaccination and de-worming dates and making sure that they are clean and cleaned up after. They must have access to fresh water; be fed; have no fleas or ticks and remain in a safe environment. Long term volunteers (those who stay more than 3 weeks) are welcome to go on a weekend trip providing at least two volunteers remain on site. Rescuing and caring for animals is a very rewarding experience but it can be a lot of work depending on the particular health condition of the dogs. You will need to be willing to get up bright and early to go on beautiful mountain hikes with our dogs but you will also have plenty of play time with the pups during the day; get to explore the beautiful area and meet like minded people. We work as a small and dedicated team of animal lovers who all have the same goal and want the same thing: to rescue and change the lives of homeless and neglected animals.
We have a 5 day trial period; after which we decide if the volunteer can stay or not but we do reserve the right to ask a volunteer to leave if the relationship is not working.
Pueblo Nuevo de Rivas; Perez Zeledon
Year round
2 weeks minimum
Adults of both sexes 25+
We are looking for: unconditional dog and cat lovers who want to be here to help us with our rescued animals (and not just for a free place to stay); mature; tidy; self-sufficient people; able to use their own initiative; people with a good experience in animal welfare; enthusiastic people who embrace the idea of being involved in an animal charity project; people with a certain fitness level as you will have to go on daily hikes in a hilly environment This position will not work for: people who don�t understand that this is a non-profit charity organization; responsible for the care of rescued animals; people who don�t want to get their hands dirty (you don�t have to love picking up pooh but you have to do it); people who don�t want to get up early in the morning; people who can�t prepare their own meals; people with chronic health conditions that may interfere with the care of the animals. We insist that our volunteers have their own travel health insurance. Our charity is not able to cover any volunteer medical costs if injuries happen on our property; during dog walks or whilst interacting / working with the animals. Every volunteer is 100% responsible for their own medical costs if incurred.
US$5 per day which includes lodging in comfortable accommodation; internet; warm water shower; gas; electricity; bi-monthly cleaner and bi-monthly gardener. Wi-Fi is provided.
