El Refugio Hogar Animal Costa Ballena

Founded in early 2017, El Refugio Hogar Animal Costa Ballena (which means “The Refuge Animal Home of Costa Ballena”) is the only animal rescue organization in the Costa Ballena region of southern Costa Rica.

El Refugio is a non-profit, no-kill animal rescue organization, run entirely by volunteers, including its board of directors. All money donated goes entirely to the ongoing welfare of the animals. El Refugio also receives generous support from a 501(c)(3) charitable organization based in the U.S. called Friends of El Refugio. (Donations made to Friends of El Refugio may be tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers.)

The goal of El Refugio is to improve the welfare of dogs and cats through rescue efforts, low-cost spay/neuter and vaccination clinics, education programs, and community outreach, with a focus of rescuing and rehabilitating homeless, abandoned, and injured dogs and cats.

To date, we have:

• Rescued over 500 homeless, abandoned, and injured dogs and cats, including providing veterinary care, vaccinations, spay and neuter surgeries, and caring for them until they are adopted
• Spayed and neutered over 2,000 animals at low-cost community spay and neuter events
• Provided ongoing care for the 40-60 animals that are at our shelter and in foster care at any given time
• Helped hundreds of local families in need with emergency assistance for their pets and animals they have rescued through our community outreach program
• Presented animal welfare educational programs for numerous local schools and youth programs throughout the Costa Ballena region