The pet culture in Costa Rica

I would say that it is more difficult to find a rental property if you have pets of any sort.
Know that you may have to go out of your way to find a particular brand for your pet or find that it may not be available in CR.

It may be more difficult to find rentals if you have pets.

But on the other hand it is VERY difficult to find a rental where you won't hear many barking dogs, and it's my observation that Ticos almost never make their dogs stop barking. Barking dogs are a plague here, in my opinion. And it's because Ticos either like or are not bothered by it; not sure which.

That said, many people - gringos and Ticos - are not bothered by barking dog noise. But if you are, good luck.

Luckily I bought a big property without any close neighbors so I'm okay. But if you live around a lot of Ticos, you're absolutely going to hear a lot of barking dog noise. And for that matter, if you live around a lot of gringos too, you're likely to hear barking dog noise. However I have also noted that - in general - gringos do sometimes stop their dogs from incessantly barking. But many do not.

This is a tough subject for me especially when it comes to dogs.  I've been in Costa Rica for about four years now.  Plenty of time to witness how dogs are treated.  I can only speak from my experience.  We brought our chihuahua here from the States.  She's family, she is greatly loved.  We care for her as we would any other member of the family.  If we are going somewhere for more than a day, we see that she will be cared for.  That's how we do it.  My neighbor who rescues dogs every so often and shouldn't is a different story.  Her take on dogs is very different.  Her dogs come to my house a lot.  So do a couple of other neighborhood dogs.  My neighbor's dog always looks like she is starved for affection and she's getting skinnier each day, too.  Lately, when she comes in to our house she acts like she thinks we are going to hit her.  She'll come in the door with her tail between her legs.  When we reach out to pat her she pees.  She never did that before.  She will settle down after a little while.  She's always thirsty and goes over to our dog's water dish and drains it.  That tells us something, too.   It seems that local folks let their dogs roam at large.  My dog goes out, does her business and comes back in.  That's the extent of her roaming.  I truly feel that many here have dogs for pets but they don't provide them the love that we do.  They are often left to get their own food and water.  Now, this isn't everyone however, it seems to be quite a few.

Hi:

We didn't bring our two dogs with us when we moved to Costa Rica almost 4 years ago (gave them to loving family members).

Here we have adopted a street dog that was not cared for, chained up and ate through the rope keeping her tied up.  She is really sweet and once we picked her up as she was being chased by three big dogs due to being in heat, we took her to the vet.  There she was given shots, grooming and two days later, spayed.

We have since adopted a puppy of a street dog as a companion for her.

As most of us consider the pets part of the family, we find that the culture here is rarely that.  Dogs mostly are meant to be property protectors and are usually not allowed in the homes.  There are many dogs and cats running around as castration is not highly undertaken by most Ticos.  It is a sad situation as there are so many unwanted dogs, puppies, cats and kittens.  Many get killed because they are allowed to roam free.

On the positive side, the veterinarians are superb!  Most in our area speak English which is really helpful, some board animals and the costs are very reasonable.  Our vet helps out at the regional castration clinics for a reduced fee.  We find the cost of veterinary care to be a lot less than we paid in the US.

For us, the fur babies are our children and are really pampered compared to so many other animals here.  But, they are still the best companions.

Gringos are also not good owners here, sometimes.
I know of a gringo who would lock up his dog in a shed with no windows for days at a time when it was in heat. Of course it barked nearly non-stop from its unhappiness.

Same guy would leave his dog for days at a time at home alone, with only someone coming to feed it once a day.

Ticos: I think many (most?) Ticos don't treat their pets as the kind of family members that Americans do. As someone said, they have them mostly to make noise!... when someone comes around, perhaps scare off intruders.

My friend's neighbor is a Tica and she has a dog that was so skinny it was clear it was not eating enough. She and her husband got mad and had words with the Tica about it.

A neighbor's horse I know of looks like it's never fed. It was trying to eat stuff that normally a horse would not eat (a certain kind of grass that only cows eat).

I know Ticos don't have enough money to eat well themselves, sometimes. But if that's the case they have no business having pets imho. That said, I knew a gringa when I lived in the USA who also had 2 dogs and could barely afford to feed them. However, in her case, she fed the dogs, and suffered to eat well herself.

Some of the dogs I've seen in Costa Rica would bring a tear to the eye of a dog-hater.  What people don't realize is that "Pura Vida" actually means "I don't care".  I don't care if my dog barks all night, I don't care if it has 1000 ticks on it and starving, I don't care if my kids are running around a restaurant disturbing other guests, I don't care if I stop on the road to talk to my buddy while there are 10 cars behind me.  I just don't care.

thewizz wrote:

Some of the dogs I've seen in Costa Rica would bring a tear to the eye of a dog-hater.  What people don't realize is that "Pura Vida" actually means "I don't care".  I don't care if my dog barks all night, I don't care if it has 1000 ticks on it and starving, I don't care if my kids are running around a restaurant disturbing other guests, I don't care if I stop on the road to talk to my buddy while there are 10 cars behind me.  I just don't care.

This is the truth, one thing for sure lots of the bad customs of Tica's are very similar to the bad customs of the US in the 1950s.....IE barking dogs, poisoned dogs, trash, choking acrid smoke from burning fields.

Its a beautiful country but it lacks in so many other areas. Dogs treated very poorly, Trash in the rivers, Tico/Gringo prices, Horrid electric prices and grid, Corrupt Gov (Trump could take a lesson from the 1% in CR) and endless bureaucracy, 8hp scooters with gutted mufflers that make more noise than a 100hp sportbike, Paying 42 thousand dollars for a 20 thousand dollar side by side ATV, driving on a one lane road at 30kph then when it becomes two lanes the traffic immediately speeds up to 80kph so you can't pass etc.

Not saying I hate CR, just stating its not the Pura Vida experience one would expect from so much of the available information on the internet.

I just love the posts from The Wizz and Bottlefed - it is so true!!!!  When you are visiting on a holiday people think it's so "nice" to see this laid back lifestyle but try living in it day in and day out.  Problem is where else do you go - Mexico????  Everything isn't "perfect" in CR, but probably much better than some of the other places expats flock to.

Nowhere you go in the world outside of the USA or Canada, will things be the same as in the USA or Canada etc.

Any country you move to you will likely have to struggle to get used to the different ways they do certain things, the different cultural values and so on.

Some people find this easier to do than others. You have to examine for yourself if you are a person who tends to be flexible or one who hates change or things not going as expected. The flexible people will do better moving here to Costa Rica. There is a saying and a book "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff - (It's all small stuff!)". If you are a person who can learn not to sweat stuff, not to let stuff get you upset, then you'll do well moving to Costa Rica.

If on the other hand, you are Type A and think things should be a certain way, things should make sense, things should be done logically and efficiently... Costa Rica may be difficult for you to adjust to.

That's why we tell everyone to rent here first before moving.

And I say, also , don't go for legal residency right away. Wait at least 6 months or a year then apply.**

If you plan to drive after you get here, you will have to leave the country every 3 months anyway to renew your license, so it's just 2-4 more trips out of the country if you wait to file for residency.

**(There is one caveat to waiting to apply for residency later: you will have to coordinate a way to get all those documents you need from the USA later when you do apply. )

I am tica and I can tell you first hand Costa Rican attitudes and culture with related to dogs is completely different than USA where it is well organized. Costa Rica dog culture is: I do not care. They are working animals used to protect homes. The government does not give priority to the dog population: street dogs nor housed. There is not infrastructure, policies, rules, regulations and most important there are not allocation of funding to tackle the millions of dogs that multiple on the street. Citizens do not care. The few rescue groups, independent rescuers, NGOs are not enough to address such crisis. In the meantime, Americans will visit, live and witness pure misery: street dogs begging for food at beaches, parks, by restaurants. Lots of dead or injured dogs on the side of the street, barking dogs asking for help. Pure Misery! The government, associacions and corporations do not care. It is very little that ticos can do at a large scale to make a real impact.

Sad to say... but Durankathia7 is right.  I will never understand Latin America and the willingness to be surrounded by the continuous, heartbreaking, neglected dog culture here.

Of course, there are those who love and care for their dogs!!!  That is a given.  But it is the exception and not the rule.

Of course, there is neglect and abuse in North America as well... but there is a whole culture in the north that is aware of this and DOING something about it; as best they can.

it's just different here... there's no 'shaming' nor peer pressure when it comes to dog neglect, abuse, or just general aloofness.   Everybody loves the 'puppy' until the puppy is no longer a puppy.  And worse... they push the dog aside where it lives out its remaining years, in dirt/mud, on a chain, and barely able to get shade from the TROPICAL hot sun, and shelter from the TROPICAL rain.  And they get yet, another puppy.

Yes... they have 'castration' clinics... I took my cat to one... there were over 150 people there with dogs and cats...  the village didn't even have that many people in it.   I was overjoyed; until I reminded myself that most people here have anywhere from 2 to 7 dogs. 

I have been in this village for almost 6 years now... There are no 'dogs' that I know of, that were here when I first moved in.  NONE.  Where did they go????    I've asked... "Oh... he got hit by a car, or he ran off, or we think a Puma or Jaguar came and took him in the night."  And of course... nobody lives without a dog here, except 1 lady that I know of.  She hates pets and kids.  I may ask her to marry me... but I have a dog and 2 cats.  I was adopted by a dog just 5 months into my life here.  She hit the jackpot; and so did I. 

One must prepare themselves for the dog culture here before you come ...  especially if you are a softy and your heart breaks easily. 

Also...  there are no rules.  If you get attacked, on the street, by somebody's dog THAT YOU KNOW... there is nothing that you can do.  Even if you need plastic surgery from the wounds... the court here will not make the dog owner pay squat.  They won't even get a fine.  My dog and I have been attacked 3 times... 2 of the three times by the same breed... Australian Blue Healers.  They are vicious. They are working dogs and need a job and will turn anything and anybody into a 'job'... get it?   One of the dogs ended up attacking half the people in town... the owner killed it.   He was mad at all of us.  ???

I'm sure, of course, that living in a nice neighborhood in a good town where neighbors respect each other and their and their neighbor's dogs; it is different.  But again, it is the exception.

I honestly think that the situation has gone on for so so long and that it has become a part of the 'culture' here, that it is too big to fix. 

I try not to think about it and HAVE voiced my opinion about it; but what can one person do if they don't have a $billion to fix it?   

Sadest of all...  The people here don't see it as a problem.  I lived in Nicaragua... same there but worse.  For some reason in warmer areas of the globe; people find it easy (or necessary??) to look the other way when it comes to the poor, the helpless, and the neglected and abused pets.  I had a student from Brazil once and I asked her what it was like to live 'well' when surrounded by so many poor people... Her reply left me dumbfounded... "My parents taught us to look away and ignore it," she said.

Whether it is ignored, or just assumed to be the 'norm'. it still ruins a little part of me every time I witness it.