La Playa Panama Dec 2013, Vol 11 | Page 12

P. 12 - LA PLAYA WWW.PLAYACOMMUNITY.COM DECEMBER / DICIEMBRE 2013 4 REASONS TO ADOPT A DOG By Kara Patrick O ne of the hardest things about living in Panama, for me, is that there are so many hungry, stray dogs roaming the streets. Coming from North America, this is not something I am used to. When driving the coast, you will almost certainly see a dog that has lost its life trying to cross the Pan-American Highway. There is not much we can do about the increasing traffic, but we can help with over-population by spaying and neutering our pets. We can also help by giving wandering dogs a human family. By opening our homes to pups in need, and not buying from pet stores and local vendors, we can help create a solution for the large number of strays in Panama. If you’re not yet convinced, here are a few reasons why adopting a dog is the right choice. with Spay Panama to spay/neuter and socialize abandoned animals before finding them forever homes. By adopting a dog from one of these organizations you create space in a foster home for another stray in need. 1. You will be saving an animal from an uncertain fate. There is an unknown, but extraordinarily high number of stray dogs in Panama. This year alone, Spay Panama sterilized over 10,700 dogs, many of which were strays. Organizations like Panama Animal League (PAL) and Spay the Strays work 2. Adoption is more cost effective. Buying a dog is far more costly than adopting one. Purebred dogs can sell for upwards of $700 dollars whereas adoption in Panama is a free and easy process. Dogs and puppies adopted from organizations like PAL and Spay the Strays generally come vaccinated dewormed and spayed/neutered. CHOZAS LAS Cabañas, Restaurante y Eventos Tan sólo a 5 minutos del areopuerto de Rio Hato 6714-2073 / 6609-5612 [email protected] www.laschozas.