Now you can pick a pet here in Costa Rica through the Internet by looking up www.lar.petfinder.com, the Costa Rican link of Lighthouse Animal Rescue and the international Petfinder.com.
Located in the coffee town of Atenas, northwest of San José, Lighthouse Animal Rescue was founded in 1996 by Frances Jones in Edgewater, Florida. It moved to Costa Rica with her in 2004.
Petfinder is an international organization that lists cats, dogs and other animals offered by 9,100 associated shelters and rescue centers. Through Petfinder, prospective owners can locate the pet they want by region, type, age, size and color.
While the Costa Rican center is just getting started, Jones has already found homes for puppies that were abandoned and rescued. All cats and dogs listed are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and in good health. Jones stresses that Lighthouse Animal Rescue is a no-kill shelter where animals awaiting new homes freely roam the property and receive the same attention as her own pets.
Petfinder.com is a grassroots project begun in 1996 by Jared and Betsy Saul from New Jersey to save adoptable pets from euthanasia. The organization helped place more than a million pets in 2005.
