Nestled within the mountains of Costa Rica, Territorio de Zaguates, or Land of the Strays, is a sanctuary that’s home to over 1,800 dogs. That could sound unbelievable, however it’s actual, and it actually is a magical place.
Land of the Strays was began round 17 years in the past from Lya Battle and Alvaro Saumet’s need to assist the road dogs of Costa Rica. They started the rescue of their two-bedroom home, however as soon as they’d over 100 dogs, they realized they wanted extra space. Battle’s grandfather had left behind a 370-acre farm within the mountains, so that they packed up their lives and their dogs and moved their rescue efforts there.
After a number of native shelters closed and left their dogs within the care of Land of the Strays, the variety of dogs on the sanctuary grew and grew. The rescue’s efforts started to be recgonized all internationally, and now, nicely over 1,000 dogs are in a position to name the sanctuary home.
“We are a temporary home for hundreds of puppies looking for a second chance, so most of our dogs are adoptable (nationally and internationally); but we are also the permanent home of many others who may never find their own family because of their looks, age or special needs,” Battle informed The Dodo.
Walking across the property on the sanctuary, it’s actually a paradise. There are fields to frolic in and mountains to hike, and regardless of the place you go, there’s at all times at the very least a dozen dogs desirous to accompany you alongside the best way.
“Our caretakers ‘run’ the dogs out of their corrals about three times a day, each run/walk [is] about three hours long,” Battle stated. “This is the time they usually use to run up the mountain, get extra dirty and play on the little man-made pond we made for them. Our pack of hundreds of dogs is divided into smaller packs/groups, each led by a caretaker. Dogs tend to ‘choose’ one of them as their alpha and integrate into their group, so even when they have the chance to roam free in the property, they tend to stay together with the caretakers because they love hanging out with their person.”
There are additionally areas for senior and particular wants dogs, and for dogs who may have a bit of further area away from the remainder of the residents. Some of the dogs who’ve been on the sanctuary a very long time prefer to discover the property on their very own, and so they’ve constructed sufficient belief with their caretakers for them to belief that they’ll at all times come again to their corrals on the finish of the day.
One of the extra pleasant elements about Land of the Strays has at all times been that they welcome the general public to return and go to and go for hikes with their many, many dogs. Recently, although, they’ve hit a roadblock with that enterprise.
“A couple of years ago, the government authorities prohibited us from accepting visitors, and gave us a list of infrastructural requirements to keep functioning that, at the time, seemed impossible to meet,” Battle stated. “However, with a massive effort, we began the renovations and completely transformed the farm … We’re now struggling to finish most of the construction projects to hopefully open our doors to visitors and volunteers by next year.”
The sanctuary is funded utterly by donations, which may generally be tough, however everybody concerned is absolutely dedicated to creating positive each single canine they’ve is nicely taken care of.
“As you might expect, sometimes we are forced to prioritize food and veterinary attention to the dogs and the projects get delayed, but we keep working and still going strong at it,” Battle stated.
Hopefully very quickly, this sanctuary will have the ability to open its gates to the general public once more. When that day comes, anybody and everybody touring to Costa Rica ought to head there instantly and stay the dream of being surrounded by over a thousand cute dogs.
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