Manor Miravalles Animal Sanctuary

26/05/2025

(versión en español a continuación)

One of our goals here with the sanctuary is to help our community by educating the public about what is appropriate (and what is not) regarding animals. Raffling a puppy as a fundraiser strategy is not acceptable. Even worse, this raffle is being managed by a local church, whose leadership clearly needs to understand that the days of treating sentient animals like property are over. Raffling a live animal is terrible optics, especially for a country as invested in protecting its flora and fauna as Costa Rica.

We borrowed this photo from a post about this matter that we saw on Facebook. The original poster has our unwavering support in standing against this type of irresponsibility when it comes to live animals. We don't believe the priest or the church members have evil intentions. But they are clearly not well informed about how progressive communities react to such nonsense. Informed people will never support or endorse this kind of thing.

There are many responsibilities involved in taking on the care of a live animal, especially a young dog. The questions that a potential adopter should be able to answer are these:

1) Can you afford proper feed and veterinary care for this animal, including all vaccinations on the correct schedule, administered by a veterinarian?

2) Will you have this dog (or cat) sterilized by the age of six months to prevent more litters and more strays and starving animals in the community?

3) How will you house and care for this dog? Do you intend to let it roam the streets or do you have a fenced yard that is big enough to provide enough exercise and entertainment appropriate for the breed and size? Or do you intend to tether the dog on a rope or chain, and if so, can you ensure that the tether is long enough to be humane and that the dog has access to adequate shade and water at all times?

4) If you decide you cannot keep the animal, what is your plan to find an alternate home?

We feel fairly certain that the managers of this raffle have asked participants NONE of those questions. This is shameful. Such ignorance and irresponsibility regarding live animals is a blight on an otherwise progressive and enlightened community. Such activities as this, along with the failure to sterilize household pets in general, creates problems that the community itself does not have the resources to solve. In other words, certain people make huge messes that they take no responsiblity for, then expect other people to clean those messes up without complaint.

That is not the way things work.

Rescuers are suffering from compassion fatigue. Shelters and sanctuaries are full to overflowing and underfunded. Yet the community still engages in practices like raffling live animals? No. This insanity has to stop. People need to be more informed, more concerned, more proactive, and more responsible than this. Please speak up loudly if you know the people running this raffle and let them know that it's creating extremely negative impressions of our town.

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Uno de nuestros objetivos en el santuario es ayudar a nuestra comunidad educando al público sobre lo que es apropiado (y lo que no) con respecto a los animales. Sortear un cachorro como estrategia para recaudar fondos es inaceptable. Peor aún, esta rifa está siendo organizada por una iglesia local, cuyos líderes deben comprender que ya no se trata a los animales sintientes como propiedad. Sortear un animal vivo da una imagen terrible, especialmente para un país tan comprometido con la protección de su flora y fauna como Costa Rica.

Tomamos prestada esta foto de una publicación sobre este asunto que vimos en Facebook. El autor original cuenta con nuestro apoyo incondicional en su oposición a este tipo de irresponsabilidad con los animales vivos. No creemos que el sacerdote ni los feligreses tengan malas intenciones. Pero claramente no están bien informados sobre cómo reaccionan las comunidades progresistas ante tales disparates. Las personas informadas jamás apoyarán ni respaldarán este tipo de cosas.

Cuidar un animal vivo conlleva muchas responsabilidades, especialmente un perro joven. Las preguntas que un posible adoptante debería poder responder son las siguientes:

1) ¿Puede costear la alimentación y la atención veterinaria adecuadas para este animal, incluyendo todas las vacunas al día administradas por un veterinario?

2) ¿Esterilizará a este perro (o gato) antes de los seis meses para evitar más camadas, animales callejeros y animales hambrientos en la comunidad?

3) ¿Cómo albergará y cuidará a este perro? ¿Piensa dejarlo vagar por las calles o tiene un patio cercado lo suficientemente grande como para proporcionar suficiente ejercicio y entretenimiento apropiados para su raza y tamaño? ¿O piensa atar al perro con una cuerda o cadena? De ser así, ¿puede asegurarse de que la correa sea lo suficientemente larga como para ser humana y de que el perro tenga acceso a suficiente sombra y agua en todo momento?

4) Si decide que no puede quedarse con el animal, ¿cuál es su plan para encontrar un hogar alternativo?

Estamos bastante seguros de que los organizadores de este sorteo no han hecho ninguna de estas preguntas a los participantes. Es una vergüenza. Tal ignorancia e irresponsabilidad con los animales vivos es una lacra para una comunidad por lo demás progresista e ilustrada. Actividades como esta, junto con la falta de esterilización de las mascotas domésticas en general, crean problemas que la comunidad misma no tiene los recursos para resolver. En otras palabras, algunas personas causan grandes desastres de los que no se responsabilizan y luego esperan que otros los limpien sin quejarse.

Así no funcionan las cosas.

Los rescatistas sufren de fatiga por compasión. Los refugios y santuarios están abarrotados y con fondos insuficientes. ¿Aun así, la comunidad sigue participando en prácticas como la rifa de animales vivos? No. Esta locura tiene que parar. La gente necesita estar más informada, más preocupada, más proactiva y más responsable. Por favor, si conoce a quienes organizan esta rifa, dígales que está dando una imagen extremadamente negativa de nuestra pueblo.

12/05/2025

Estrella says "Good Morning!"

05/05/2025

It makes us very happy to report that, not only do we now have a very fine camera to take photos and videos of the animals with, but we have some awesome things to take photos and videos of! Remember Estrella? The thin, weak, depressed mare in need of so many things that we didn't know if we could ever provide them all for her? Well...check her out now! She still has a ways to go with bulking up muscle mass, but we've covered the bones! We think she looks great. And she's clearly very happy. Being pain-free is a big deal. Just look at the difference it has made for Estrella!

26/04/2025

And we thought our dogs are weird.... 🤣
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BdeiGDQSv/

22/04/2025

16/04/2025

We have an urgent need this morning. Our dear, sweet Holly, rescued from Upala by very kind police officers some months ago, began running a high fever and showing signs of pain over the weekend. We took her to Dr. Ivannia in Upala, who discovered that Holly tests positive for ehrlichia and heartworm, with resulting internal inflammation including an enlarged spleen.

Holly has a past filled with trauma. She grew up on the streets, uncared for, and was then struck by a motorcycle. That incident left her unable to walk for a time, but with our care, she eventually made a full recovery. Still, stress from the accident caused her to miscarry litter of thirteen puppies, which cause further trauma to poor Holly. Now this. She has really had a tough go of things.

We want to give her the very best supportive care that we can, but we need your help. Her prognosis is good, provided she receives the proper medication in the weeks, months, and years to come. Our vet bill from yesterday was the equivalent of nearly $200 USD. We've raised part of it, but we still have a ways to go.

You can find PayPal and Venmo donation links here: https://manormiravallesanimalsanctuary.org/index.php/get-involved/ . Or, if you're in Costa Rica, you can donate directly to the veterinarian, Dr. Ivannia Madriz Zuniga, through SINPE at 8545 0006, caso Holly.

All help is greatly appreciated.

07/04/2025

Mercer County West Virginia, U.S., has a problem.

The solution proposed in the following screen shot is the solution that was also proposed in Morocco. No need to waste time going down that rabbithole, but it's a fact that can be verfied by research. It's not a "first world" solution to the problem and the mere fact that Americans living in Mercer County WV have devolved into thought processes that parallel those going on in actual third world countries...well, that says a lot.

What's worse? The Mercer County commissioners have proposed a mandatory kill date for every animal in their taxpayer-funded shelter who has been there more than the five days required by West Virginia state law. What great optics for Mercer County, right? If I were a business or corporation looking for a place to invest, I'd definitely go for the town trying to kill every living creature in it that has become an inconvenience. What's next--killing the geriatrics and the homeless and the handicapped?

It's no coincidence that Central Appalachia has the highest concentration of nursing home residents (throwaways, mostly--the elderly whose families can't be bothered) of anywhere else in the United States. Yes, this is backed up by peer-reviewed studies and research. No, we won't waste time citing the claims. They're online. People can research it for themselves.

At any rate, this is why Costa Rica is such a welcoming place for us run a sanctuary. Sure, we battle lack of education in the communities, but what we don't battle are politicians hell-bent on killing every animal that isn't on a leash or penned in someone's back yard. The locals themselves are not calling for mass extermination. That is unthinkable here, an abomination. Yet America is supposed to be "great?" It certainly doesn't seem that way looking in from the outside. It seems like a banana republic with bloodthirsty citizens and county commissioners who think killing is the right answer to anyone or any vulnerable thing who inconvenience them.

28/02/2025

We have a happy update about Estrella, the mare we took in a few months ago who turned out to be quite sick from anaplasmosis. Our veterinarian recommended a course of treatment that has had some very positive results!

01/02/2025

We respect all life. Even bugs. We "rescued" this poor fellow from the puppers a while back and released him far from the house.

28/01/2025

Our project to rehabilitate Estrella has been a bit daunting, but we are definitely making progress. She has noticeable improvement in muscle mass along the topline, no longer shows signs of pain in the joints, and definitely has more energy. But we are not out of the woods with her yet.

The next procedure she will need is a dental procedure known as "floating" her teeth. There is visibly uneven wear of her molars, creating an inefficient chewing mechanism and irritation to the inside of her cheek. This uneven wear is clearly visible in one of the photos below. We've gotten an estimate from our beloved veterinarian Dr. Samper, and it's extremely reasonable especially given the distance he has to travel. He is rescue-minded and also does the local spay/neuter clinics in Bijagua. He definitely "gets it." He will charge approximtely $200 USD for both the farm call and the procedure, which is a very fair price.

MMAS is a sanctuary that works only with rescued animals. Estrella has a long and sordid backstory of abuse and neglect over most of her lifetime. Even after a family of good-hearted people saved her from abysmal circumstances, she still languished in ill health due to undiagnosed anaplasmosis and other conditions of previous neglect. We're on the road to her recovery now, but we need help and support from animal lovers all over the world. Who will give a little to help us cover the cost of Estrella's dental procedure? It's a chance to be part of something truly exciting on an international scale. Wouldn't it be exciting to see photos and videos of Estrella in prime health someday soon, and maybe even come visit her on our farm here in Costa Rica? And to know that YOU played a personal role in making her sound and happy again? What a great way to contribute!

28/01/2025

If you wonder what happens with money donated to us for dog food, well... they say a picture is worth a thousand words! This bag was donated through our regular sponsorship initiative where people pledge to buy one bag of dog food for us per month. It can be set up as a regular withdrawal through PayPal or Venmo. This is the bag that always helps so much here at the end of the month. Every single penny of the donated amount is spent directly on food. Would you like to participate? You'd be doing these Costa Rican puppers a great thing indeed!

Shaddai is our local go-to animal feed supplier right here in . They have everything we need, from dog food to horse food, goat, pig, and chicken food. Always service with a smile. Thank you, Shaddai!