The National Animal Protection Association’s (ANPA) eighth annual canine festival at Roosevelt Plaza on March 6 lived up to its name, as dozens of dogs and their owners joined in for a day of games, contests, and doggy doings. Although ANPA’s goal is to promote the care and adoption of zaguates (mixed-breed dogs), plenty of huskies, cockers, shepherds, and other purebreds came to celebrate with their humbler cousins.
An army of about 100 volunteers managed the inevitable tangle of leashes and kept everything moving. Booths offered dog clothes and hats, pet products, T-shirts bearing ANPA’s slogan “No sea racista, adopte un zaguate” (“Don’t be racist; adopt a mixed-breed dog”) in all colors, a flea market, baskets and other dog furniture, rubber bone toys, and food, including hot dogs.
Flyball and obstacle-course demonstrations showed that a rescued mixed breed like Zoe can compete with border collies and rottweilers in the brains department. In other competitions, the smallest-dog trophy went to a Barbie-sized shorthair named Ken, while the largest-dog trophy went to a horse-sized Pyrenean mix.
The talent contest drew only one entrant. Nobody else could bark sums and roll over on cue. The fashion show had dogs strutting across the stage in ballet dress, scout uniform, safari outfit, Red Riding Hood cape, and a Saprissa T-shirt.
One dog even wore a wig with a flouncy gown. The owner-pet look-alike parade matched a slinky black outfit to a slinky black dachshund, identical print dresses, and matching blue sweatsuits. The program ended with the crowning of King Raúl and Queen Camilla, who received trophies with dog statuettes and bags of dog food.
The day’s main attraction was the corral where healthy, spayed dogs from ANPA’s adoption center were offered for adoption. Thirteen dogs went home to real families.
Although ANPA no longer accepts unwanted dogs and cats, it has about 40 spayed and vaccinated pets available at its adoption center in Coronado, northeast of San José, and at the adoption house in Guadalupe (400 meters south of the church, left-hand side). ANPA educates the public on responsible pet care and runs community spaying clinics around the country.
For information on adoptions, spaying clinics, how to help, or to buy an ANPA T-shirt, call 255-3757 or 233-0779.
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