Helping the street dogs of Rosario Costa Rica with food, adoption, spaying and neutering, and medications...........
Zaguates Rosario
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Vet visits are $$$$$$.

They are the biggest expense I have after food. The word is out that I'm helping, and now I get calls from all over the neighborhood to help sick animals. And then there are those I FIND that are struggling. Moralva Vets in Grecia are great, but others are also helping - Dr. Jorge in Naranjo and Dr. Daniel in Grecia also. I could REALLY use some help with veterinary expenses, which vary, but average about $300 a month now.

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This is Kimberly. I call her the "bionic dog", because she now has a titanium ring in her hip. I now know that I can't afford surgeries like this one, as it cost more than $800 US....my budget for animals for about 3 months. Her story is below. She's doing fine now.

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Kimberly's owner told me she was hit by a car and couldn't walk. She had been suffering for over two days. When I took her to my vet (Moralva Vets in Grecia) the x-rays showed that her hip was shattered. (Just a broken leg would have been soooo much cheaper!) In any case, she now has a titanium ring in her hip, had a second surgery to take out the pins a couple of months later, and is now walking normally. Moralva has been wonderful with trying to help me out with treating the "zaguates" that I bring in.....their website is www.veterinariamoralva.com. 
I have also found places where I can buy worm pills and frontline down here cheaper, and also order some online for friends to bring down from the states. BUT. Surgeries like this I can no longer do without help as I'm on a fixed income. If only!!!!

EHRLICHEA - a terrible disease that is VERY common in dogs.

Ehrlichea is a bacterial infection transmitted by ticks. I have recently taken no less than THREE dogs (one of them Mancha) to Moralva Vets in the past two weeks whose owners cannot afford to treat them. The blood test and antibiotics (Doxycycline for three weeks) runs about $60-$80 per animal. IF the owners give the dogs the entire spectrum of Doxy the animals recover. Unfortunately, Ehrlichia is EXTREMELY common here, as most dogs are not treated for parasites and ticks are rampant. If the dogs are not treated they will die - the first symptoms are lack of appetite and lethargy.

PARVO - Another terrible disease that is prevalent here.............

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It usually kills. And Tego, this dog, has it.  
And, of course, his owner doesn't want him. He was cute when he was a healthy puppy, but then he got sick, so now he's homeless also. A week at the vet's on fluids and antibiotics (Parvo is a virus, but antibiotics help the diarreah and secondary infections) and he's better. He's living in a stall in the stable where I live, and getting better and better. Parvo is contagious to puppies (dogs under a year) for two months, so he's here for now, as his possible future home has young dogs living there.  TEGO IS A GREAT DOG. AND, as I couldn't find him a home, it looks like he's going to live close to me at the guardhouse in the community where my house is. I'll still feed and walk him, but the guards are looking forward to having a companion, and everyone loves him here. Another happy ending for a neglected animal.

This little poodle mom had to be rushed to the vet........

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I received a call from her owners saying that she was in trouble, and when I arrived at the house she had given birth to one puppy, and another was crowning, but she was exhausted and had basically given up. She was thin, undernourished, and weak to begin with (typical of pregnant dogs here). I told the family that she would die if we didn't go to the vet, but that they needed to pay SOMETHING as I couldn't pay the whole bill. We rushed her to the Moralva vets and Daniel gave her a shot of adrenalin, and fluids for energy. Three hours later we had three pups and a happier mom. Let's hope they get her spayed!!!!!

Another dog in trouble with a skin disease...................................

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This little guy was suffering from a skin disease and I talked to his owner, who confirmed that it was getting worse, and (of course) they couldn't afford the vet, as he was still eating, etc. (i.e., not near death)!  Here we are at Moralva waiting for treatment - this photo is from the SECOND visit after two weeks of medication and baths. He's starting to grow hair back, and is better. Skin diseases are tough to treat; there are usually secondary infections and a combination of fungal and or bacterial problems. We're still working on this. At the top of this page is a photo of Daniel and Josa, a vet tech at Moralva, evaluating him.  They're wonderful with the animals that I bring in to them.

Is this a dog, or a pile of garbage?

I found this dog below in a ditch. When I found his "owner", he literally DUMPED the dog into my cage, and I rushed him to Dr. Oscar, another vet in Grecia. He was on fluids and antibiotics for a week, and is now living in a stall in the stable where I live. He is still very weak, and may not live, but is eating. He was almost starved to death. The picture below this is Mr. Skinny (or Senor Flaco) in his stall. UPDATE -since these pictures were taken, Mr. Skinny had to be put down. He just wasn't responding well, and all the neglect he suffered had taken it's toll. RIP, Mr. Skinny. 
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