May 31, 2007
Hundreds of dogs and cats in the Costa Rican province of Puntarenas will be spayed or neutered, thanks to the new WSPA-funded mobile clinic inaugurated this week.
Run by member society APRAP (Asociación por el Rescate Animal Puntarenense), this fully equipped clinic will visit the two poorest districts in this coastal province and provide much needed aid to animals.
According to APRAP’s president, Dermatologist Dr. Vilma Soto, the situation is particularly critical in Puntarenas where many pets are abandoned by their owners (who cannot afford to care for them), and are left to die slowly and painfully.
“We are trying to create a culture in which people only own the animals that they can actually keep. So providing a spaying and neutering service is key in these communities”, says Soto.
The World Society Protection of Animals (WSPA) has financed both the mobile clinic and the medical supplies needed for two and a half years. Soto estimates that more than 3.000 dogs and cats will receive care by APRAP’s veterinarians and volunteers.
Owners like Mr. Pablo Esquivel and his family pay a voluntary fee to have their pets treated; these monies will help the clinic to run in the future.
“This has been so important for us”, said Esquivel. “We do not have money to take our dogs and cats to the veterinarian, and we did not want any more animals”.
The mobile clinic will travel to poor neighborhoods in the districts of Chacarita and Barranca one day every week. Besides spaying and neutering the animals, the veterinarians will also provide vaccination.