Even more importantly, we tackle the problem of cat and dog overpopulation by regularly providing low-cost spay/neuter clinics. Many people in our community want to prevent their beloved pets from bringing more unwanted animals into the world but cannot afford the standard cost of surgery and post-operative medications. When they are scheduled for one of our clinics, they let us know how grateful they are. One or two veterinarians staff each clinic. Volunteers care for our dog and cat clients during and after surgery. We also include post-operative medications and emergency care for all of our clients. We are very grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to our community in this way.

We help as many low-income families and their pets as possible at these clinics. And with your help, we can help even more. You can help educate your neighbors, workers, and friends by explaining the importance of spaying/neutering their pets. You can also offer to pay for their pets to be spayed/neutered. Many low-income members of our community do not own a car. You can even offer to transport them and their pets to/from our spay/neuter clinics, usually held on a Sunday, at Centro Veterinario Costa Ballena (Dr. Fernando's clinic) in Uvita. We believe that this is a community problem for everyone who lives in this region, and we would love everyone to be part of the solution.

Knowing how just one unaltered pet proliferates the exponential growth in unwanted dog and cat populations, you can see how important it is for everyone in our community to lend a hand in curtailing this problem. In addition to helping your workers, neighbors, and friends with getting their pets spayed/neutered, you could also donate to El Refugio so that we can hold more low-cost spay/neuter clinics.

We welcome visitors to our shelter Fridays from 9 to 11, Saturdays from 9 to 12, and by appointment during the rest of the week. You can make a cash donation to support our low-cost spay/neuter clinics while cuddling one of our wonderful cats and dogs. Alternatively, you can donate online.

To learn more about El Refugio, check us out on Facebook, or take a peek at our website.