• Age requirement: 18+ years
• Dates: Year around.
• Working Schedule: 7 days a week for max. 6-8 hours a day. 
• Language requirement: English. Basic Spanish would be advantageous.
• Costs: A one week experience starts at $199. Each additional week has no cost to you – you only have to cover your own food. 
• Accommodation: Project Accommodation with Yamilet, the rescue manager. You will have your own room and bathroom. 
• Food: You have to purchase and prepare your own meals. Yamilet will provide help with showing you the supermarket and she has a vehicle which makes transport of groceries easier. 
• Location: La Palma near Puerto Jimenez, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.
• We provide: 24/7 emergency telephone support
• Optional: A letter of recommendation and certificate at the end of your volunteer time

This is a 24/7 job. The dog rescue volunteer is going to be the assistant of the main managers and other volunteers of the rescue project. The volunteer also has to support the project with office related tasks.  We also expect from the volunteer to help with cooking and basic household tasks at the volunteer house. The dogs are living with you. You need to feed them, make sure they get their medication, keep track of vaccines dates etc and make sure everything is clean and they have no fleas or ticks. The rescue organization is covering all costs for flea and tick medication, food, vet bills, and other dog related items.  Volunteers are welcome to go on an occasional day or weekend trip if another volunteer remains on site to take care of the property and animals.

We ask that volunteers:

•       give all dogs a lot of love and attention – lots of playtime
•       feed dogs twice a day, make sure they have water and they are clean and safe.
•       take the dogs on walks (depending on how many we have, not all of them at the same time)
•       make sure the dog beds are clean (you will have a washing machine)
•       take good photos of the dogs for our rescue page
•       bring them to the vet if there is an issue
•       fixing kennels or anything house related.

Other Duties include:

•       Connecting with Facebook dog lover groups in Costa Rica, but also USA and Canada – posting our stories and photos of your rescue cases
•       Finding homes for our dogs through social media
•       Finding flight escorts to Canada and the USA o within Costa Rica.
•       Coordinating dog transports to the two different airports in Costa Rica
•       Coordinating dog transports within Costa Rica – escort the animal if necessary
•       Coordinating travel paperwork with our vets
•       Booking the animal on flights / checking flight regulations for pet travel for different airlines
•       Proof reading (In English) for publications
•       Instagram/ Facebook: We do have a page, which needs to be filled with photos + stories and it would be great to have your help!

The volunteer should have a strong interest in dog care. They need to help walk them in the morning and to cuddle and play with them. This should not be considered as a part of their “duties”, it needs to be something the volunteer enjoys.

You should also speak Spanish on an intermediate level, since you’ll be dealing with local Costa Ricans, and not everyone speaks English.

Our rescue shelter is located in La Palma of the Osa Peninsula.

Check this here on google maps. 

The organization receives volunteers year around. Minimum time commitment should be 2 weeks. The work load won’t be more than 6-8 hours per day, 6 days per week.

They volunteer has to be available for quick consultations any day of the week, and has to be very flexible with days off. It all depends on how many volunteers are on site, as to how much time off you get.

The costs for this project are:

• First week’s fee: $ 199.
• Every Additional Week: FREE.

FEES EXPLAINED: Our organizational fee of around $199 is included in the first week’s fee and covers the “behind the scenes costs”, such as staff salaries, office space rental, transaction and bank fees, and more. Furthermore there is a donation for Yamilet and the dog rescue project included in the first week’s higher fee. 

NOT INCLUDED IN THE FEE: First and last night in San Jose in a hostel, travel to and from the international airport (airport shuttles are around 30$ each way to San Jose – We can set this up for you, just ask us during sign-up), travel to the project site (usually by public buses, which are from around 10-16$ one way), national/ International flights, travel insurance, visa costs, any additional food or snacks besides the host family meals, extra-curricular activities.