Feature
| Emily Weall

Puppy Paradise in Costa Rica

After being named the Happiest Place in the World on the Happy Planet Index in 2016, it’s no wonder why Costa Rica is becoming the top place to visit – outstanding coffee, stunning scenery, activities such as hiking up volcanoes and riding horses throughout the rainforest, and extensive conservation projects are just some of the top reasons to visit the South American Paradise, but there is also one major swaying point.

The sanctuary Territorio de Zaguates – or ‘Land of the Strays’ in the Costa Rican mountains.

If puppies, or just dogs in general, make your heart happy then Costa Rica is the place for you. Every single dog that you encounter in the sanctuary is available for adoption, and with 900 unique breeds, such as the ‘Chubby Tailed German Dobernauzer’ for example, it’s almost guaranteed that you will meet and fall in love with your perfect pooch.

Every dog that arrives at the sanctuary receives medical treatment and is cleaned and fed before they go off to meet their new brothers and sisters, as well as being given a unique breed name to try and diminish the negative connotations towards mixed breed dogs.

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If hiking through the mountains is your perfect idea of relaxation, you can visit the sanctuary and walk with the dogs throughout the mountains and bond with your new four-legged friend. The sanctuary states that the dogs are free to roam around the extensive land throughout the day – which is complete with free-flowing water troughs; whilst at night they use charitably donated beds and shelters and are fed and cleaned by the enthusiastic volunteers.

At the end of your visit to the Sanctuary in the picturesque Costa Rican Sunset, you are under no obligation to adopt your new furry friend, although it’s undoubtedly hard to resist those adorable puppy dog eyes!

The sanctuary has three main goals that it is striving to achieve – to rescue and improve the life of stray dogs in Costa Rica, promote the adoption of the dogs rescued by the organisation, and to reduce the number of stray dogs by raising awareness of responsible care and ownership of pets.

Obviously, this organisation is costly to run and they depend entirely on donations from the public (as well as people actually going to visit, if you fancy a holiday to the Caribbean coastline) so if you wish to help out ‘Man’s Best Friend’ then you can do so here: www.treeseed.org/TerritoriodeZaguates

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