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- "Atenas Today" (= e-newsletter for the
English speaking community) 26. JUL 2007
- Interview with Roxana Gonzales and Fred Ball
- Members of the Foundation for Helping
Abandoned Animals in Atenas
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.........................
- AT:
Do we have a big problem with homeless animals in
Atenas?
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Roxana: You
wouldn’t believe the number of dogs and cats that are abandoned
everyday in Atenas. If we had the ability, the seven or eight
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members
of our group could each take in five animals every day.
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- AT:
How many animals do you have?
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Fred: Right now we have ten dogs, including this little
puppy that was fished out of a trash can, along with his five siblings.
- AT:
He is so cute and so loving. How can people do something like that?
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Roxana: I am a
Tica, and proud of my country. But people here do not have the same
sense of responsibility toward animals that you find in
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other
places.
- .
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Fred: I
think it’s also a matter of economics. Most people here cannot afford
to pay the food and vet bills. The obvious solution is limit the
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population of
dogs and cats by having them neutered, but that costs money.
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- AT:
Do you both have backgrounds in animal care?
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Fred: No, I
am a semi-retired marine biologist and airline pilot, and Roxana is a
botanist. We just like dogs.
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- AT: How did you end up in
Costa Rica?
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Fred: I was a pilot for Eastern airlines and was familiar
with the advantages of life in Costa Rica. When Eastern went bankrupt
in 1991 there
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were
few jobs for pilots, so I decided to go back to my early profession of
teaching marine biology, and I chose Costa Rica. It was at the
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University
of Costa Rica fifteen years ago that I met Roxana.
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.
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Roxana: Until I
married Fred, I worked as a botanist in Costa Rica. I was born in
Alajuela, and my family is still there. Now I take on contract
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work.
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- AT: What kind of things does a
botanist do in Costa Rica?
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Roxana: Well, I
have worked on projects for the natural history department of the
National Museum, and have taught tour guides throughout the
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country
about the natural history of Costa Rica.
- AT: Where have you lived
other than Costa
Rica?
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Fred:
After we were married, we spent five years in the Marshall Islands,
where I worked as a pilot under contract to the military.
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.
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Roxana: And I
worked as a botanist, creating a botanical garden and helping the
native people develop plants for food and medicine. We enjoyed
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our time
there, but were glad to return to Costa Rica. Our daughter is now 13,
and this is where we wanted her to grow up.
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AT: How did you become so involved in helping abandoned
animals?
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Roxana: I can’t
stand to see animals mistreated. Someone once said you can tell a lot
about a country by the way the people treat their animals,
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and I
believe that. My whole heart is in this project.
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AT: Who else is involved in this effort?
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Roxana: Many
people. There is Dora, who lives near the Atenas dump where many
animals are abandoned. She has 16 dogs and cats. There is
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Tammy in
Sabana Larga with 14 dogs, and Isabel in Los Angeles with 15 dogs, and
Virginia and others. All together we probably have
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seven or eight
people who have provided homes for sixty or seventy dogs and cats.
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.
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Fred: We
also get support from several of the veterinarians in Atenas, who will
neuter animals and give shots at greatly reduced rates. Lleana,
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the vet
near the feria, and Fernando Carvajal, the vet next to Roes, have been
particularly supportive.
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AT: Are you looking for monetary contributions to help
with the vet bills?
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Fred: We
are in the process of creating an official non profit foundation, so
that we can solicit contributions. Until we get this status, we have
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to ask
people to give money directly to the vets. But most of it is coming
out of the pockets of group members. The support we really
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need is
for people to adopt the animals we have saved.
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.
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Roxana: Yes.
In fact we are having an Adoption Fair in the central park of Atenas on
Sunday, July 29, beginning at 8:00am. There will be many
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dogs and
cats of all types and ages who are looking for permanent homes.
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.
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Fred:
Even if you are not thinking of
adopting an animal, please come. We will be holding a Patio Sale and a
Food Bazaar to raise money to
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help with
the vet bills.
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source:
http://www.atenascatuca.com/En/atenastoday.html
