Mission: Saving Dogs and Cats
AUTHOR: The Refuge Team
We are El Refugio Hogar Animal Costa Ballena; a non-profit animal welfare organization started in 2017 by a small group of animal lovers. Thanks to our volunteers, donors, and supporters, through the years, we have been able to help many dogs and cats in our Costa Ballena region with community outreach, spay-neuter clinics, rehabilitation, sheltering, and adoptions into loving homes.
The past difficult years are still significantly impacting our area as the economy is slowly rebounding. Many in our community struggle to feed their families, including their beloved dogs and cats. Thankfully we are recognized as a strong support network in our region.

We receive many daily calls for help, including medical, food, and rehoming needs. In 2022 we helped more than 230 dogs and cats living with families in our community. We anticipate that this need will continue to grow in 2023. In the past October, we also focused on post-hurricane flooding relief in the low-income communities of Cortés and the farms of Palmar. We collected a large amount of pet food, cat litter, linens, toiletries, clothing, food, and cash, thanks to the generous donations of our volunteers. It was delivered to the special people in these communities who give what little they have extra to help homeless dogs and cats.
Many of our intakes are dogs and cats that were lost, abandoned, and even discarded. We receive requests for help daily. In 2022, we took in over 165 dogs and cats. They have been loved and cared for by our volunteers and veterinarians. Over 150 of these animals found their forever homes in 2022, for which we are so grateful. Our foster families are our lifeline, with limited living spaces and no kitten nursery or proper space for puppies at the shelter. Some of our extraordinary fosters lost hours of sleep bottle-feeding tiny kittens, and so many puppies and adults are receiving care in the comfort of loving homes.
Spaying and neutering dogs and cats are the only solutions to their overpopulation and suffering when rendered homeless. This year we spayed/neutered 432 community cats and dogs and hope to do many more in 2023!

El Refugio is a volunteer-run organization that depends 100% on donations to continue our mission. We are so grateful for each of our volunteers, who accomplish all our good work. We also thank all our generous donors. Please consider adopting an animal from us, joining our team of fosters and volunteers, or donating to our organization so we can continue helping the dogs and cats in need in our community.
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Email: carlos@ballenatales.com
Phone: +(506) 8946 7134 or +(506) 8914 1568
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