The baying death-wail of his agony splits the morning silence.The big Rhodesian Ridgeback (mix) who patrols behind his iron barred enclosure has somehow become impaled on the dull-tipped arrow pointed fence and is dying a slow, horrible death.
He’s been jumping up against the inside of the cage-like bars, just like he always has, but this time he slipped and unlike the Centurion’s spear, this thrust will not end the suffering but prolong it.Blood gushing, intestines now hanging out; the more Rubin squirms in pain the more the wound tears.
In most cases, this would become the tragic death of a beautiful dog that wanted only to please and protect and to play.Rubin’s owners return in 30 minutes, learn what happen and go into shock.Kerry and Sara rescued Rubin from a Florida shelter and brought him to Costa Rica as part of their family.
This special breed of dog originates from Southern Africa where the Khoikhoi tribe used it to hunt lions.The “African Lion Dogs” are known for their strength, stamina and their ability to withstand temperature extremes.Because of his genetic lineage and a fortunate chain of events, it will not be time for Rubin to die this day.
KERRY, RUBIN. SARA
The Master Clockmaker tweaks his escapement for all living things in the world and this big “Pound Puppy” has gotten hurt in just the right neighborhood, at just the right time, with just the right people near him.First responding to Rubin’s cries is Bev from her house down the street.She rushes out, sees Rubin, alerts Carol her neighbor and they immediately summon the best possible hope for saving Rubin anywhere in the area---That would be Doris and Dieter, who live only a few houses away.
This is the husband and wife duo who have spent their whole lives rescuing animals and finding them good homes.They do it on a volunteer basis because they care.Read more about these two very special people in previous stories, one of which features a big Great Dane named Night, who actually becomes part of Rubin’s story as well.
RUBIN'S 2ND OPERATION
They arrive quickly.Dieter immediately sizes up the situation and kicks in the iron gate to gain entrance so that the poor dog can be lifted off the cruel fence.The wheels are now set in motion to save Rubin.The emergency phone number to the Yan Animal Clinic is dialed.Dr. Yesenia Alpizar Naranjo (Dr. Jesse) is close by, only because her horse appointment cancelled, so she will meet them at the clinic.
As the emergency surgery is being planned, it is discovered that they don’t have the right type of transfusion bag.Another cell phone is called; this time it’s to Dr. Wendy Villalobos, who works at another clinic.She just happens to be in the immediate area, has the correct transfusion bag and will bring it and assist on the surgery.
The surgery goes well.Rubin’s intestines end up a little shorter and his lost blood is replaced and he lives!The last time Dr. Jesse performed a surgery of this size on a dog, it took that dog 8 days to recover.Rubin is back home the very next day and pulling his owner down the street again, ignoring his newly repaired 12 inch wound!
His natural strength and canine exuberance causes a tear in the skin near the wound and a “minor re-do” is performed by Dr. Jesse, assisted by Dr. Alex Jimenez and Lidia (see photo).
DORIS, NIGHT, DIETER
A very important detail now needs to be told.As one can see, Rubin was actually supposed to live.He did lose a lot of blood though, so where could the vets get that much blood on such short notice?Did someone say “what about that big Great Dane that lives with Dieter and Doris?”Yep, Night was the blood donor that saved Rubin! So the saga of Night continues (see previous story below).
NIGHT AND FRIEND (photo by T Dominey)
A great big dog surviving on his own in the hills of Jacó for 2 years until 2 caring people, who refuse to give up, finally rescue Night from a slow death of starvation and injury---the circle of lifegiving continues.
There were many heroes and angels in Rubin’s story; hopefully we’ve recorded them accurately. Note, that Rubin’s owners will be moving away from this house with its “spear-tipped” iron enclosure.If anyone with a pet has this type of fence, please be aware of how dangerous it is. Thanks to Katja from the Mckee Project, the special organization that saves so many animals in the Jacó area.
For more information and to see the face of Lilly, another great dog, go to: www.animalrescue-jaco.com.If any corrections in the story need to be made, please email
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.
Thanks to the angel named Teri, who saved Rosco the Wonder Dog and keeps us in the loop when things happen.Read her blog at www.yo-yoinparadise.blogspot.com
When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the Sherlock Holmes classic “Hound of the Baskervilles” he portrayed a giant satanic canine creature with glowing eyes that would tear out the throats of innocent travelers who traveled across the English Moors at night.
In the hills above the Hermosa area, about 10 minutes from JacóBeach, the local residents have been suffering a somewhat similar situation for 1½ years (except for that tearing out the throat thing).Stories persisted that a huge man-eating dog, the size of a horse, had been seen coming down out of its mountain lair terrorizing residents in the middle of the night, ripping through trash bags searching for food.
There were also reports where residents noticed that the giant beast had a broken leg.These, at least, were the local legends when Mckee Project veterans Doris and Deiter decided to brave possible horrible, bloody deaths being ripped apart by this terrible creature and attempted to capture it alive.
An ingenious wooden box-trap was constructed the size of a small 1 car garage.The key trigger mechanism, custom designed by Deiter, would slam shut when activated by the animal.They soon realized that the creature they were dealing with had a higher level of intelligence than expected, as various other animals were being trapped in the “Monster Box”, but not the “Evil Devil Dog”.
It wasn’t until 6 weeks of traveling up into the hills twice daily, releasing the innocent animals trapped by mistake, when they finally succeeded.The captured giant dog has been named “Night” and turns out to be a pony-sized Great Dane that may have been stolen out of a pickup truck, who then escaped and was bravely trying to survive on his own for over 18 months.
This species was developed for hunting in Germany in the late 19th century and was known as a Boar Hound. Once Night was brought back into a world of kindness and good care, he immediately adapted and is now being nursed back to Mckee Project health standards.
One of the most shocking details of Night’s odyssey is that a large number of plastic bags seen in his feces did not kill him by becoming twisted around his intestines.
This obvious cousin of “Scooby-doo” will make a great companion for the right person or family. Yeepee!Update--Doris and Deiter have decided to add Night to their own family. Congratulations!!
The suffering of the innocent extends to the animal world.In the Beginning, the Human Race was given dominion over the animals.We need to take that sacred charge to heart.For those who give help, in whatever form, the rewards are warm, mushy, loving stuff that infuses our souls and keeps us whole.
BOY SCOUTS HELPING
Their eyes will tell you horror-filled stories of starvation, disease and cruelty.Bones begin to show through flea and tick infested fur of the ones that are sick and heads droop because they know that death is coming.Although some try to survive in small packs, a few will succumb and crawl off to die almost every day.Those that get hit by cars are the lucky ones; not having to slowly starve.Viewed simply as vermin by proud owners of “pure-breds” or treated like insects to be exterminated by soul-less human beings; these are the forgotten dogs of Jacó.
Sometimes though, it seems when “dark” forces get the upper hand in our unfathomable world, the tide of battle turns as Captains of goodness and light send in their teams of Angelic ministers to heal and love those who cannot help themselves.
VETS AT WORK
This has happened in our little town, starting in 2003 when a band of Angels masquerading as volunteers, donators and vets appeared and started doing their good works under the name of the Mckee Project (www.mckee-jaco.com).We have written about them before but now it is time for a revisit to this caring and dedicated group.
The words that the Mckee Project dedicates itself to are as follows; “To end pain and suffering of all companion animals in Latin America.”One of the most important actions that Mckee performs is spaying and neutering.On September 21st in Tarcoles (a few minutes from Jacó), a makeshift clinic was set up where local residents brought in their pets for reasonably priced (read; people paid what they could afford) expert spaying and neutering.Amazingly, 81 animals were operated on that single day!In just one clinic event, the potential suffering of thousands of animals was prevented.
The volunteers that generously donated their time, effort and funds, including the local Boy Scout troop, are all unsung heroes, so we will mention their names here, with apologies to those whom we missed.First, is Mckee Project founder Christine Crawford, whose generous donation enabled the sliding-scale type of fee rates to be used for this event.Thanks to new veternarian clinic plaza blvd. owner Elisabeth Lubbers, Vets Dr. Wendy Villalobos Dr. Blas Rivas, Dr. Olman Solano, Dr. Esteban Soto, Alex, Doris, Katja, Deiter, Jennifer, Lynn and Larry, Patricia, Petri, Teri, Angela. Photography by Kyle Roderick.
To Jacosun readers;this is a story originally posted athttp://yo-yoinparadise.blogspot.com/by our friend Teri.If you didn’t see it yet, here it is---EDITOR'S NOTE---UPDATE--ROSCO HAS FOUND A GIRLFRIIEND! THE PHOTO AT THE BOTTOM SHOWS ROSCO BEING LOVINGLY ATTENDED TO BY TIGRA .
Rosco looks happy now but about two weeks ago, he was almost killed.... by my dogs. My Brindy (mother to the three other dogs I have) has been in heat and this attracted Rosco to squeeze through my gate to pay her a visit (Rosco is neutered but that doesn't make a difference). Brindy has had the operation to be spayed but she was too fat so it wasn't completed.
This dog has circulated my neighborhood for a couple of months and I assumed he belonged to someone around here. I was upstairs when I hear this horrible yelping. I flew down the stairs to find both Max and Brindy pulling him from limb to limb. When I opened the door, Macha quickly joined in the pack.
I got my dogs off of him and the poor pup ran back to the barn where he's been hanging out. I went over to check his injuries and loaded him up in my car to go to the vet. The injuries were mainly puncture wounds so Dr. Jose Manual, who has cared for my dogs for years, gave him some shots and the antibiotics/anti-inflammatory pills for his recovery.
I know I can't take him back where he's been staying after talking with the owner. He is not wanted there, only tolerated. He needs his meds for five days so I call my friend Mike (www.jacosun.com) and he arranges for his son, Evan, and girlfriend, Joey, to care for the dog in their home while he recovers.
Poor thing, he really didn't know what was happening but was happy to find himself inside someone's home and took to the tile floor covered with a towel immediately. He seemed grateful to be where someone cares and he was very happy to receive love.
The couple and Mike needed to leave for their 72 hours out of the country so I was panicking, where to take the dog now? Not to my house since my dogs won't allow it. My friend Angela has a home with a fenced yard and offered to keep him for the three days.
So, I go to the couple's home to pick up the dog to take to Angela's and he is nervous about going with me. After all, I probably smell like the bad dogs that attacked him. We (me and Rosco) go to Jaco to pick up Angela and to go to her house. It wasn't two minutes after we arrived, the dog found a way out of her fence through the gate,,, and he was GONE. In my custody for less than an hour and I've lost him.
I was in a panic because it was getting dark and starting to rain. I took off in flip-flops, looking for him and finally found him way back in the woods (read jungle). When he saw me, he just went deeper in the wet jungle and was out of sight in seconds. I didn't know what to do so I called Mike to let him know that the dog had gotten out and was lost in the woods. They were to leave the next day for their trip and it was really raining by now.
It was less than an hour when I got a call from Mike that Rosco had arrived at their home and made himself known by scratching on their front door. If they had any doubts about adopting Rosco, this courageous journey through the woods in the dark and rain, confirmed their decision. Rosco had adopted them.
I went back and this time, took Mike and Joey with Rosco back to Angela's and brought with me some wiring to secure the front gate so he couldn't escape again. The three days went by fast under Angela's loving care and when they returned from their trip, Rosco was waiting and greeted them as if he had been their pet all his life. (He's still not sure about me)
The love of a homeless dog has no comparison. I am ashamed of my dogs and their action but had it not happened like it did, I feel Rosco would have been killed by the heavy traffic on the street where he had been staying. Things work out the way they do for a reason.
A LITTLE MORE TO THE RIGHT, PLEASE
Thank you Mike, Joey, Evan and Angela for opening your heart and home to a lost, helpless street dog just looking for love.
This is a Bubu update.The cute little puppy pictured in the “Jaco Pits” story below is now full grown and, we are happy to say, is being well looked after. Here is Arno walking big Bubu down our road this morning.Bubu does not notice me taking his picture because of a cat that has his full attention.Take care of your Pit!
Jaco Dogs 
This was the day that Rubin was supposed to die.
When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the Sherlock Holmes classic “Hound of the Baskervilles” he portrayed a giant satanic canine creature with glowing eyes that would tear out the throats of innocent travelers who traveled across the English Moors at night.
To Jacosun readers;
