October 6th, 2021

What connections did I find with areas outside of Guanacaste?

Outside of Guanacaste I see animal cruelty and strays a lot. In the US there is a lot of animal cruelty and even more dogs that are in shelters. In the US there are more animal shelters, but there is still an issue of having too many animals in these shelters. It is interesting to see the difference of opinions in guanacaste versus the US when looking at what people do with strays. In the states it is very uncommon to see lots of stray dogs and cats but in guanacaste, and most of costa rica, I see strays everywhere. Looking at the rest of the world and especially in other third world countries strays are much more common and people don’t complain about them like they would in the states. Telling people in the states about the treatment of animals here also gets a lot of interesting comments. Here it is common to keep dogs outside and not bring them to the vet for shots and even not think of them as a pet but instead property. In the states pets are usually pampered and given expensive food and constant vet visits. The view on animals, especially dogs and cats, in guanacaste is very different than a lot of the world, yet issues with stray animals are common all over the world. 

How do I make sure that the work that I did endures? Is my project sustainable? 

My project is sustainable because when I graduate my sister is going to continue working with Barbara. She already comes with me every Saturday when I volunteer at Barbaras and she helps out with the foster animals. She loves animals and is very devoted to this CAS project even though she hasn’t started CAS yet. I have already entrusted a lot of work to her and she loves working with me and Barbara. Since she already has built up a relationship with Barbara, continuing to work with as she starts her CAS project is going to be easier than it was for me. 

What were my perceptions of the project when I started?

When I first started this project I was very worried about what I could actually do. I didn’t realize that there were so many opportunities to work with animals other than just working with them at the shelter. When I first started I never thought that I could run an adoption event or work at a castration event, but now that I have been working for a year on my project I have learned that I can do so much. I was also very worried about working with Barbara because she was strict and intense when I first met her. I have been able to learn how to work with her which is a benefit since now we have a close relationship and she trusts me to do a lot of things that I didn’t ever think she would let me do. My other perception when I started working was that people wouldn’t actually care about my project. I have been proved wrong since many people from the states and even guanacaste are interested in my project and even donate to Barbara’s shelter. Overall, many of my original negative perceptions have been proven wrong and I am glad to continue this project.