Anyone Want a Puppy?

Traveling abroad as an Israeli can be challenging these days.

“Where are you from?” 

This is usually the first question we are asked. We have Canadian passports and come from Canada, but our true home is Israel. Do we say we’re from Israel? Or do we hide the truth? 

As violent attacks on Israelis and Jews are increasing all over the world, we are unsure how to answer this question. We are proud of our country and feel that lying about our homeland is a kind of betrayal, yet we also want to be careful. However, when abroad, we should be proud ambassadors and show others that we are not the negative stereotype that people believe about Israelis. 

Warily wearing our ‘Israeli ambassador hats,’ we started our journey in Costa Rica. We soon learned that most tourists, upon hearing the word Israel, barely smile back. They are cold, silent, and either change the subject or stop speaking with us altogether.

This is the polite reaction, but it is still chilling. No violence, but simply no discussion. I would have thought that people would be genuinely curious to meet real people who live in Isreal and ask us questions. But their minds seemed to be set and there was no going back. 

In contrast, Costa Ricans smiled at us upon hearing the word Israel, showing a warmer response than most European and North American tourists demonstrated.

We experienced a very rainy month in Costa Rica, but coming from a hot dry desert, we welcomed the feel of rain on our faces and were mesmerized by the thick green jungles that seemed to grow in front of our eyes. 

One day, the sky cleared for about three seconds and we jumped up and put on our raincoats and shoes and headed to a dirt road that led to a nearby lake.  

We followed a beautiful, gentle road that winds right through thick jungle. As we headed uphill, a rickety old car passed us. We noticed that the car stopped in the middle of the road. I assumed it had broken down and onward we walked until we caught up with it. 

A young Costa Rican woman was standing outside and beside her were three tiny puppies. It seemed as if someone had driven up the road, dropped off the puppies and took off.

We found out this woman, called Helen, was on her way to work at a home nearby.  I asked her if she could take the puppies to work then find a home for them. 

“No,” she said. “My employer has two big vicious dogs. I can’t bring them. “

We all stared at each other. I knew Helen was late for work, and I also knew that I had a flight out of Costa Rica in two days. We all stood in silence on the dirt road looking at the puppies and then at each other, our aching hearts locked together in worry for these helpless pups. 

It started to rain and then to pour. The puppies were shivering, hungry, and whimpering. We picked them up and they eagerly licked our faces, their little tails wagging. They sucked deeply on our fingers, thinking we were their mom and it was feeding time. 

We could feel their tiny ribcages and pounding hearts as they looked deeply into our eyes. They simply wanted love and comfort as every puppy should have. We knew these tiny beings would not survive more than a day in this dense, wet, and dangerous jungle. No one drove up this road and besides, who would take three puppies?

We had a flight in 48 hours, but in Israel, you don’t look away from someone who is drowning. If I had been home, I probably would have taken all three of them. Without a thought, we wrapped them in our coats and headed back.

This was a true Israeli response. When there is a need, be it an earthquake, or any emergency near or far, Israel steps in without waiting for anyone else to respond.  In Israel, when someone is stuck at the side of the road or needs help, people stop because they truly care.

Of course, we had no food for them and had no idea how to care for them, but we did know about offering warmth and love. We fed them wet rice and offered them water. We gave them a towel and put them in a laundry basket where they quickly fell asleep puppy-style, one on top of the other. 

We thought we could easily drop them off at a nearby shelter so they could soon have a home. So we started asking around if anyone knew what to do, but we honestly knew no one except for a few neighbors we had seen walking on the road.

One person suggested we contact Doris, a neighbor who takes in animals. Doris soon educated us into the sorry world of Costa Rican animals. We were shocked to hear that there are no animal rescue places or shelters that are run by the government or local towns. Unwanted animals here were simply ‘disposed of.’  

It is not uncommon to find young puppies simply abandoned, or worse, killed at birth, Doris explained.  She had been running an animal shelter all by herself out of her home for years, but her husband was ill and she was his full-time caregiver. She said she could not take them in and she suggested another local Anglo called Steve. She sent me home with warm puppy formula, puppy kibble, and food for thought. 

The puppies were voracious. They ate and played and ate and played, then slept like babies. We hugged them until they flopped into a sweet bundle of silky ears and soft paws. We were falling in love. 

Meanwhile, other Anglos heard about our plight and soon I got a message telling me about a place called Animal Love. 

“Animal Love? If you can take them there, that is the best place,” Doris, our resident expert, said.

We sent them a Whats App but had no response. The clock for our departure was ticking. We tried Steve and he said he already has 13 dogs but would take them if we had no other option. 

Doris thought they would never be adopted by people in this area so did not like the Steve option. She took one look at the puppies and said they had fleas and worms and were malnourished.  

“Animal Love is the best place, but you’ll be lucky if they take them.”

Morning dawned on our departure day with three tiny puppies eagerly wagging their tails, looking for new adventure and more kibble. We dragged our feet, looking at them sadly, cuddling them as if we wanted to pour our love into them to give them strength in the unknown. We wanted them to have a loving home despite our itinerary and looming flight time. 

We packed up our suitcases and put them in the car. Next came the three gorgeous puppies somersaulting over each other in their laundry basket. I sat in the back seat with them and with heavy hearts we started to drive. 

And just then our phone lit up. It was Assaf from Animal Love.

“Sorry I did not get back to you sooner. I’m in Israel visiting family and am in a different time zone. I will give you a number to call.  We’ll help you.”

Israel? A guy called Asssaf? An Israel connection in the jungles of Costa Rica that takes in animals? I could feel my heart swelling with pride. 

As I sat in the backseat with the puppies watching them tumble about, the phone rang.

“This is Animal Love. We’ll take the puppies. When can you be here so we can be ready for you?”

We were now on our way with a comforting destination for our furry, helpless balls of love. It would be a three-hour car ride, but we did not mind. We knew we had a loving home for the puppies and this was all that mattered.  

The driving made the puppies drowsy, and they had a nice puppy nap. In La Fortuna, they woke up and started to whine so we pulled over and let them frolic in the grass. 

Cars passed by filled with tourists en route to some bungee jumping experience.

“Anyone want a puppy?” We shouted our new chorus, holding up a few puppies. They looked at us in disbelief then quickly turned away.

It was a long drive and finally we turned off the main road and made our way along a narrow jungle road that wound up and up. We passed some horses, ducks and a guy walking three dogs, then arrived at a hotel. I heard a cacophony of barking and knew this had to be the right place.   

After a few minutes, a woman met us. “I’m Hava,” she said, looking lovingly at the puppies. Taking the puppies, she asked if we wanted a tour of the place.

We then then learned the beautiful story, a tale of Israelis, newcomers to the country, seeing a need and helping. Helping beyond belief. 

About 20 years ago, a group of 16 Israelis, all close friends, vegans who believed in sustainability, arrived in Costa Rica. They had a few pets with them and would take in a few animals when people left the country. 

Fast forward 20 years, this sprang into a much-needed organization that is home to 500 cats and 600 dogs, as well as a few geese, goats, hens, horses, and ducks. 

Hava took us from one room to the next, first to the cat kingdom. There were many tall, large, caged areas filled with blankets and pillows and climbing tunnels and cozy boxes. Each cat had its name and a medical or case history on the outside. We walked through a few cages, and the cats came up to us for a cuddle and a tickle behind the ear.

Next was doggie world. Again, Hava knew the names and history of the dogs. She said many people simply dropped off dogs outside their door on the middle of the night. 

“This one was left in a bag tied with a rope. His paw was badly wounded when he came to us.” Hava explained that they had to amputate the leg. Then another two dogs who looked identical mysteriously appeared.

“We knew they all had to be brothers,” she explained. “One was adopted but we kept the third sibling to be a companion for the amputated dog. We knew he would never be adopted with his handicap. All animals who are not adopted are here for life.”

And then she showed us an area just for handicapped dogs. These were dogs who had lost legs from injuries or were born with defective limbs. Some wore diapers and others had their own doggie wheelchairs nearby.

“We take them for walks twice a day, and all of the dogs get to go out. They also get an hour of free time each day in an open area.”

And then Hava took us to the physiotherapy room, complete with an underwater treadmill. A worker was there with a cat that refused treatment and was happliy lying there as the attendant tried to move her limbs. 

Hava took us to their office that also served as the drug dispensary for the more than one thousand animals that need care. It looked like a hospital with all the cupboards and drawers and clipboards. Of course, a few cats dozed on the counters while dogs trotted underfoot. 

“We have workers 24/7. As it takes so much money to keep this place running, we bought the hotel to keep this this place afloat,” Hava explained.

Lands in Love Hotel and Forest Resort has 38 rooms set in a cloud forest. As the original group of friends who came here were vegan, the hotel has a vegan restaurant and lots of adventure tours. It offers zip lining, white water rafting, and even has two specially designed rooms for handicapped visitors. Proceeds go to support those sweet animals who live right there. 

The hotel almost closed when tourists stopped coming during Covid. But they somehow survived. Animal Love is now the second largest animal shelter in Costa Rica—and it is run by the open and giving hearts of Israelis.   

This strengthened my pride in being from Israel. I was sure to tell this puppy tale to everyone I met and to mention that our puppies were finally taken in by a place run by Israelis. This is true tikkun olam, a place where Israelis are repairing a small and broken part of the world in real time.

As we continue on our journey, we will proudly wear our Israeli ambassador hats. This is a serious job that should not simply be about making political speeches and defending negative headlines. Israeli ambassadors who venture abroad see the weak, care for the vulnerable, and fix issues head on as opposed to turning away. 

We since received a Whats App that one of our puppies was adopted. Hava sent us a video and photo of a woman holding one of ‘our puppies’ in her arms and beaming as the little guy eagerly licked her face and wagged his tail. 

Puppy love. Instant happiness.

This is called spreading the love. Thank you, Animal Love. Toda raba raba.