February 22, 2008

HEREDIA, Costa Rica – A Central American shelter has been crippled by damages resulting from a massive storm that ravaged the area, sending trees and other debris flying and damaging their facilities.

Lilian Schnog from the Humane Association for the Protection of Animals in Costa Rica told Pet Pulse that the storm, which hit soon after the new year, has left shelter workers in a very difficult position. They are unable to continue their spay/neuter program, which Schnog says has greatly diminished the number of dogs and cats that are born in the area.

In all, a house for sponsored dogs was demolished by a tree, as was a chain link fence enclosing the grounds, a puppy nursery and new construction to expand the facility.

Sponsored dogs are those that cannot be adopted because of behavioral or health issues, but the shelter cares for anyway.

Schnog said that although the damage is extensive, luckily no animal or person at the shelter was injured by the storm.

Still, it’s been six weeks since the storm hit, and shelter workers are just now beginning the clean-up process.

“What we need now is money to buy building materials and materials for our neuter program,” said Schnog, a Dutch ex-patriot who is running the shelter.

The AHPPA is a no kill shelter, with the exception of unhealthy animals. Currently, they are housing 59 adult and 23 young dogs, eight cats and 12 kittens. The dogs, Schnog said, are roaming the facility grounds because there is no fence to keep them in their enclosure.

Schnog said the shelter needs roughly $10,000 to repair the damages. And because of the storm, their ability to provide low cost spay/neuter operations to local communities has been cut off.

She explained that there are so few cats because of the AHPPA’s aggressive spay/neuter program, which travels from village to village providing the surgery.

When asked if food and other such donations would be helpful, Schnog replied that because of the shelter’s somewhat remote location the time it takes for supplies to arrive is much too long. She’s asking for financial donations, which can be made via PayPal at animalescostarica.com.

To learn more about the AHPPA, visit ahppa.org. To donate, head to animalescostarica.com.

Tell us what you think under this story. Post your favorite pet videos at the zootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas at news@zootoo.com or by calling us at 877-777-4204.