To qualify as a vet internship volunteer you have to be either already a veterinary student, vet tech student, or a person wanting to become a vet. The vet only considers serious applicants to help out at a rural vet clinic in Puerto Jimenez, on the Osa Peninsula. The Osa Peninsula is a remote, rural, and economically challenged area.

As a volunteer on this project you’ll be working with the local town vet Dr. Ricardo Alfaro and his team. Currently the veterinarian on staff is Dr. Fallas. The vets are happy to train you so that you can even take care of some patients or assist with procedures and surgeries.

The internship would be great for a vet student, or someone interested in becoming a vet student – since you may be able to use your volunteer time in your studies as work experience time.

The vet clinic is the only one in a large rural area, and thus they are always very busy. There are plenty of dogs and cats (and other animals) to take care off on a daily basis.

The vet also organizes spaying and neutering clinics almost on a weekly basis, when he offers spaying and neutering for a cheaper fare and where assistants are always needed.

We also send dogs and cats to the vet that are from the local rescue “Osa Peninsula Rescue and Adoptions”. You will therefore also help out indirectly with the local dog and cat rescue program that GLV founded in 2013!

•       Help with the day-to-day tasks at the vet office and assist the vet with whatever they need
•       Assist the vet with incoming patients, weigh them, prepare them to be reviewed by the vet
•       Clean cages, feed dogs & cats, walk dogs, and general maintenance of the vet clinic patients and areas
•       Help to clean equipment the vet uses and needs during surgeries and during patient visits
•       Help in the pet shop part of the clinic selling, stocking and labeling products (only in cases there is nothing to do in the vet office upstairs).

To qualify as a vet internship volunteer you have to be either already a veterinary student, vet tech student, or a person wanting to become a vet. The vet only considers serious applicants to help out at a rural vet clinic in Puerto Jimenez, on the Osa Peninsula.  

Furthermore, Spanish on an intermediate level would be great, since the veterinarian and vet staff do not speak English (Dr. Fallas speaks a bit of English, but the rest of the staff does not). 

As a veterinary clinic volunteer you’re basically an intern to the veterinary doctor at the clinic. You’ll be helping with everything needed around the clinic and you’ll help in surgeries. Many volunteers have used their experience at the vet clinic as internship experience for studying veterinary sciences and for becoming a vet. A lot of universities would give you credit for doing an internship at our vet clinic.

Furthermore you’ll learn so much more than at a vet clinic in the states, Europe or other parts in the worlds, where you often aren’t even allow to touch animals until you’ve already studied for several years in the field. This is not the case at our vet clinic – where you can get hands on experience, are allowed to handle animals from day one, and assist in surgeries. This is a great opportunity for gaining a good insight into the veterinary field, and an amazing experience to prepare yourself for a future career in the veterinary field.

The vet clinic is located in Puerto Jimenez, on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica.

More info on location here.

The costs for this project are:

• First week’s fee: $ 449
• Every Additional Week: $ 149 (It does not matter many weeks you choose, this fee stays the same)

FEES EXPLAINED: Our organizational fee of around $249 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. Our weekly fee for additional weeks covers the costs of your host family or project accommodation and food, the local staff on your project, and a donation to help with the daily running costs of the program you will help on.

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.