Pet Finders, an animal shelter and Internet adoption service in the western Central Valley coffee town of Atenas, has received a $1,000 dollar grant from the Animal Rescue Site, an online service to raise funds for shelters. The Costa Rican agency was the only shelter outside of the United States and Canada to be awarded a grant.
Pet Finders is associated with www.petfinder.com, an international site that lists cats, dogs and other pet animals in shelters and rescue homes. Anyone looking for a pet can select by race, size or area, says Frances Jones, founder and director of Pet Finder here.
The grant will provide food and veterinary care for the animals at her shelter, which presently include 17 dogs and three cats. Frances has already placed 500 pets in homes here and in the United States.
The Animal Rescue Site garners funds from commercial sponsors to help shelters through its Web site, www.animalrescuesite.com. The public can help care for animals at no cost by simply going to the site and clicking on “Click to give free food and care.”
More than 3,000 animal shelters vied for grants; winners were chosen by Internet votes. Frances would also like other Costa Rican shelters to link up with Pet Finders to expand the range of adoptions. Anyone interested in choosing a healthy, spayed or neutered pet or looking for more information on shelters here can go to www.petfinder.com/shelters/lar.html.
–Mitzi Stark
