How do we run the greatest no-kill shelter in the world?

How did we came to be Territorio de Zaguates? 

My husband and I have always had a special kind of love for all sorts of animals. I was always known for being a bit of a "nature freak," constantly looking and caring for bugs, frogs, and other critters, but as I grew older, I definitely developed a soft spot for dogs, especially for those who were usually frowned upon for being mutts, old, sick... the ones labeled as 'ugly' or simply 'not worthy.' 

One day I rescued a dog, Oso, a beautiful and healthy blue eyed mutt, with the intent of giving him up for adoption, but he was a tough cookie with quite a personality, and as soon as I found him a home, we would escape, or get in trouble and once again be abandoned. Soon, I realized that there were thousands like Oso, and some didn't even have the privilege of being cute or healthy like he had. So I started rescuing more, especially the ones that seemed to need it the most... and then more, and then even more. Some got adopted, but most simply didn't, and I just couldn't send them again to the streets.  Soon, I had over 70 dogs in my house, and I knew I couldn't continue living like that in a two-room house. At the same time, some shelters I knew were on the verge of closing and threatened to release their dogs back onto the streets. I couldn't stay idle with that in mind. 

So, I decided to make use of a large chunk of land I had inherited from my grandfather a couple of years prior and build a new kind of no-kill shelter for rescued dogs, both the ones I already had and the ones the shelters had rescued. 

It was not (it still isn't) easy. We had to work the land, as it was just some mountainside. We had to build corrals and internal roads, get electricity and running water functioning, and we had no more money besides our salaries from our 9 to 5 jobs. 

The Government was adamant about not helping at all, so we decided to start asking for help from animal organizations, private companies, and literally any dog lover who wanted to help us. As a result, we became a donation based shelter. 

Our amazing community of supporters has grown with time and patience, and social media really helped us spread the word about our work and mission. We've been featured in magazines, TV, blogs, and documentaries... and people from all over the world reached out wanting to help, so we searched for someone who could help us set up our website and donation platform. We receive economic support from all over the world, and we are deeply grateful. 

Sadly, years have brought many blessings but also countless difficulties. The amount of abandoned dogs in the country has increased significantly, we have fewer donations every month, and the Government has threatened to close the shelter multiple times now. We're currently fighting tooth and nail to fulfill all of their construction demands so we can reopen to volunteers and visitors, but this has left us with an unimaginable debt. We hope to be able to pay it off within the next couple of years after we open. As more people, especially visitors, experience being with the dogs, and be open to donations. 

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How do we feed all of our dogs?

We have lots of dogs! So it's natural to wonder… How do they feed them all? Over the years, we've developed a system. 

We have really long troughs, and what we do is we serve in tracts. First, we serve about eight to ten 60 pound sacks of kibble. So, the first dogs come, and it's usually the stronger, bossier dogs who eat first. We have to walk and patrol to make sure the growling doesn't get out of hand. 

We can't just serve and leave; we stay there distributing the food because some areas get gobbled up first, and there always has to be enough food available for everyone. 

When the food is running low, we empty out another group of 8 or 10 sacks. By this time, the first dogs to eat are usually full, and they've moved away, leaving enough room for the medium dogs or the less outgoing dogs, perhaps even the shyer ones.

We usually do 3 or 4 of these 'tracts'/servings. The last serving is usually just a couple of sacks. By this time, there may be some dogs around, but not many. And we leave out whatever remnants are left, even though there aren't many dogs actively eating anymore.

This is because we know there are timid dogs that may not have eaten yet, older ones that may be slower to get down to the food, or even some that were distracted and didn't realize that we had already served. So, it's essential that there's always leftover food, and we leave it out until it's done.

That means a lot of dogs get seconds and thirds, but that's the only way we can ensure that all dogs that feel hungry can eat. Typically, we process up to 30 sacks of feed a day. 

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How do our dogs sleep? 

As for sleeping arrangements in the Shelter, there is an eight-acre enclosure that's completely enclosed and has a roof. However, we've also built various open enclosures with large extensions of roofing, as it's always raining here. 

There are many places where they can go to shield themselves from the weather or take naps, but some take the time to go in and huddle under a roof, while others stay outside under the stars.

We prioritize giving the dogs plenty of options to choose from and huddle underneath, but we don't have individual beds for each one because we know they would definitely destroy them!

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Do we have a Veterinary Clinic at the Shelter?

We do! However, it's not precisely a full-service veterinary clinic. We built this beautiful building to offer our excellent Vets a decent place to care for the dogs, as well as perform spaying and neutering procedures.

It's all made of glass, and it's divided into three areas that allow one doctor to be able to supervise or at least watch all the dogs at all times: the ones they are tending to, the ones that are waiting to wake up from anesthesia and those who are up and ready to go.

But spaying and neutering, consultations, vaccinations, and minor, simple procedures are what this small Veterinary Clinic is for.  We don't have any special equipment in there. For any additional procedures, such as x-rays, ultrasounds, blood samples, stool samples, or more sophisticated tests, we bring the dogs to our trusted, fully equipped Veterinary Clinics, such as Innovavet, where they've taken care of most of our dogs for years. 

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How do we introduce new dogs to the pack?

Surprisingly, most of our dogs don't really know who is new and who isn't! 

Still, all new dogs must undergo a process before being integrated into the pack. All rescues do a quarantine first, and when they're done, we move them to a second holding pen, which isn't as closed off as the quarantine area, where they can actually smell and interact with each other through the fence.

In that enclosure, you can see dogs that are already socializing and those that are still very nervous. Certain dogs in that socializing pen are still very scared and stay clear from the edges of the enclosure, while others look totally ready. These second ones, we let out. And by that time, they're no longer 'new' dogs. So they just blend in and become one more of the great big pack! 

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How can we afford to care for over 1800 dogs?

All of our dogs are beautiful, but you'll notice that many of them don't look their best, and some even are in really poor shape and recovering. 

When street dogs start looking malnourished or show signs of the diseases they suffer from, people are bothered by their presence, and they call us. It's okay. That's what we try to cater to: the worst-case scenarios because those are the ones that nobody else is tending to. 

Costa Rica does not adequately address its stray population. Sometimes, we believe it might be positive because at least nobody's collecting them to put them down as a solution. However, that means that anyone who wants to help a dog has to do it out of their own pocket.

Most people who want to help dogs are not millionaires. It's usually the people who know what it's like to go hungry or maybe be homeless and don't want another creature to go through the same.

Many can't commit to taking a dog for a long time. Caring for a dog can be expensive, especially if it will be staying for an extended period while recovering from an illness. So, very understandably, these people can't always lend a hand to the dogs that really need them because they simply can't afford it. These animals may need orthopedic surgery, they may need months of treatment before their skin gets better... And maybe even when they do get better, they just end up being a dog nobody's interested in adopting. 

We understand that most people and minor rescue associations are as limited by funds as we are. Some are limited by physical space, which, luckily, we have. So we try to tend to the more broken dogs. Our commitment is to offer them a chance to be happy, a chance to be loved, to get a name, to find friends, and to remember what it feels like to be just a dog and not survive 24/7. 

But this is super expensive. Just feeding these dogs is over $7,000 every 10 days. We don't get a single bit of help from the government, and we can't expect retailers to help us. 

All our expenses are covered with donations, as well as from my job and my husband's job. We strive to be creative and think of ways to generate additional income. However, it's donations from you abroad and from lovely people here in Costa Rica that enable us to work every day. 

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People may think, oh, we have everything covered. No, we never have everything covered. The first thing that has to be guaranteed is our dog's food, and fortunately, that's usually always covered. However, we have to pay for Vets, surgeries, basic medication, vaccinations, as well as the maintenance and upkeep of this place. 

We've also realized that we can't rely on volunteers for most of the everyday work we do here. We need people who've been hired and trained to work with these dogs. Most of our collaborators live here and have to care for these dogs 24/7, so we have to pay their salaries. 

We are deeply grateful to each and every donor... for every cent that comes our way. And if you think $1 is not going to make a difference, imagine 100 or 1,000 of you feeling that way.

We're grateful for every little bit of help. Prayers and good wishes…That also helps! And I think that's a big reason why we're still around. I believe there is someone up there who listens to your prayers and agrees with what we're doing. 

This is a life commitment, which we're glad to do. I wouldn't change it for the world, but it's not easy. And I am very grateful to each of you who makes it easier by supporting us. 

Lya Battle
Founder and Director of Territorio de Zaguates