And that place is in Costa Rica!
Several weeks ago a video went viral showing a supposed dog rescue shelter in the mountains of Costa Rica where hundreds of dogs all live harmoniously together. Having lived here for almost two years and never hearing of it, I knew that I HAD to see it for myself. So we took a little day trip. And it turns out the hype was well deserved.
The shelter is known as Territorio de Zaguates (zaguate being Spanish for a mixed-race dog, kind of like “mongrel” in English). This project started simply with a couple, Lya and Alvaro, taking in some street dogs in order to give them a better life. Costa Rica is full of street dogs, so I think they just saw it as the little bit they could do to help. Well, over time, the numbers grew and grew, and people started dropping off more dogs–so eventually they moved the operation out to their family farm. And bam! Now this mountainous territory is home to upwards of 700-900 dogs (I’ve heard both 700 and 900 thrown around, and it’s still not clear to me how many dogs their actually are…but I think that’s because it’s pretty hard to keep track at this point!).
Going into our visit, I had a lot of questions. Are the dogs properly cared for? Are they dirty and smelly and unpleasant to be around? Is it even safe to walk around with that much poop lying around? And there have got to be a ton of dog fights breaking out all the time, right?? It turns out none of these questions were issues of concern, and instead our visit was, in one word, AWESOME!
Every day they take all of the dogs out for a long walk (a paseo) around the property, and the public are welcome to come for free to walk with the dogs. We were supposed to be there by 9 when they start the walk but didn’t make it until 10, and so we came upon a big red gate with no one to let us in and a fear that our drive was for nothing. Thankfully, after about 20 minutes of waiting, the gate was opened for someone leaving the property and we made our way in. Moral of the story: If you want to visit Territorio de Zaguates, email them to find out the time of the paseo and then get there on time!
Upon arriving, we had quite a bit of catching up to do since the group had already been out walking for more than an hour. We hiked it up a long, steep hill…which, honestly, felt like it would never end…until we finally heard distant barking and eventually came to a hillside filled with dogs (and admittedly filled with more people than we expected, too!).
It was mid-paseo break time for all these beautiful pups. There was much panting and relaxing and running and frolicking. One thing we immediately noticed is that the dogs were so calm and there was hardly any barking. They were remarkably quiet, and the dogs were incredibly sweet. All they wanted to do was climb and cuddle and play. It was truly a dog lover’s paradise (and from the looks of it, a DOG’S paradise!). What little bit of commotion took place was because the handlers got the dogs all excited with some hillside sledding–which was hilarious to watch:
The other thing we noticed immediately was how HAPPY these dogs were. Every one of their faces showed absolute contentment. And I have never seen so many dog smiles in my life.
After the hillside rest, we continued on with the paseo. There’s no better way to take a leisurely stroll than with hundreds of dogs running past you, jumping and playing. As we walked, one of my original questions was answered: No need to worry about stepping in poop because the dogs, just like us, have no interest walking in their own mess–so they make sure to step off the path to do their business. Our shoes came away completely clean (save for the dust and dirt of any normal hike).
Lya, one of the founders of the shelter, joined us on the walk, and we got to hear a little bit more from her about the project. Talking to her quelled any fear about the care and concern of the dogs. They make sure every new dog is spayed or neutered as well as vaccinated, de-wormed, etc. They are bathed regularly and fed well. And they actively look for forever homes to adopt these precious pups. Especially now that knowledge of the shelter has gone viral, their adoptions are on the rise (though there are still plenty of dogs needing homes!). From everything we observed, it seems that this place is a dog heaven on earth. As Lya said, they are not a perfect answer to the issue of stray dogs in Costa Rica–but they are simply trying to do what they can, and in the process they are giving these pups a happy life that FAR outweighs life on the street. Just look at those faces! You can see the joy.
As you can imagine, running such a large shelter requires a lot of resources. Food, vaccines, medical procedures, soap, and the like. If you are so inclined, please check out their Facebook page and consider donating. You can donate online, or better yet if you come to VISIT, you can take the paseo with the dogs for free and they will accept donations at the end. If you are coming to Costa Rica, add Territorio de Zaguates to your “must do” list. You will not be sorry!
I’ll leave you with my favorite video of the pups at the end of our paseo:
Every Day That the Sun Rises 