Our Hammock and Tales of The Naughty Puppy

At the beginning of November Jim and I were up in Monteverde with his mom Susy. Jim had been wanting a hammock for our place bad. In a small shop he found the one (I helped choose the color). It took a while for us to see our landlords and get their permission to drill holes (which they swiftly gave us the green light on as they had been meaning to do the same for ages) and then borrow a drill from a neighbor. Jim spent the first part of an afternoon getting it all set up and then the latter part reading and relaxing in it.

Now for a tale of the naughty puppy. The naughty puppy is our youngest, Lita (a.k.a. Litalu, Lita Lubeck, LuLu, Baby Hippo, Racing Pig, Blackie, Pero Negro y Cafe, and Monkey). So since we’ve been in Costa Rica both she and her sister, Sasha, have loved their freedom to roam the neighborhood and run on the beach when we take walks in the afternoon. At the beginning there were a couple times when Lita would go on one of her morning adventures and not come back when we would call her. But we had to leave for appointments in Jaco, so we left her, always finding her patiently waiting on the porch when we got back. She also would sometimes go swimming in the river behind our house, returning a yucky mess. Other times she’d eat all the cat food left out for the neighborhood cats at the guard shack or get fed human food (which is a big no-no in our house) by people and then vomit it up later (thank you tile floors). She also had been spotted by the tienda closer to the main road, in a neighboring community, and down the road toward the beach playing kissy-face with her boyfriend. We let all these things pass, forgiving her but then a couple bigger events occurred.

First, one morning I heard what I thought was two men yelling at each other. I found it strange, but let it go as it stopped after about five minutes. Shortly after that our neighbor (and H.O.A. president) Arlene walked up to the house with Lita trip-tropping behind her. I went out onto the porch to greet her and she told me that is would probably be best if I kept Lita inside for the day. I asked why and she explained. There was a guy (whom she had never met) working on one of the houses in our community. He had put his food for his lunch on the ground and Lita (being her curious, always hungry self) ate it. He had caught her in the act and had thrown a fit, yelling (it was only him I had heard, not two men) at her and threatening to hack her to pieces with his machete. Luckily Arlene intercepted.

Two weeks later she was escorted by one of our guards, Luis, back to our house explaining in Spanish (thank goodness for Jim’s sister Meg’s Spanish capabilities) that she was out by the guard shack and had run into the road when a man and his girlfriend were riding by on their motorcycle. The driver had swerved (in order not to hit her) and they fell, getting only a couple scratches but the bike got trashed a bit. Luis had gone out and explained that the dog belonged around here and to please not harm her. We asked him if he could ask the man with the motorcycle (who lives in the area) if there is anything we can do to mend their motorcycle and to please let them know we were so very sorry. The next day we found out the man requested that we pay for the repairs, which were going to cost $100. We gladly gave Luis the money, he gave it to the man who was grateful, and the bike was fixed in couple days later.

We may have mended that situation, but that was the last straw concerning Lita’s naughtiness. We had been keeping a close watch on her, not allowing her to wander anymore, but that wasn’t making her or us happy. When in town one day, Jim picked up some items from the hardware store and then created a pulley-system that allows her to lay on our front porch, drink from our outdoor water bowl, be in the grass, under the carport, and even walk to the end of our driveway to see people walking by. It’s a bit like a dog-run and I must say it’s working, even if she does wrap herself around the carport poll sometimes. She also still gets to run free at the beach with Sasha when we take our afternoon walks. Happy Lita and happy us. Look how cheerful she looks?

Bejuco Beach

The beach is just a short 6 minute walk down a dirt road from our house. We tend to go in the late afternoon when the sun isn’t too hot, hoping we can catch a glimpse of the sunset.

Lita is the sweetest little life guard to Jim. She’ll swim out as far as he is just to make sure he’s OK, but once he taps her on the head she’ll turn around and swim back to shore. Sasha will then wrestle her, letting her know she went out further than she’d like. They then joyously chase each other around the beach.

Sasha is warming up to the water. I think she now knows it’s not chasing her. She loves to wander off in the tree line to smell things as well as roll her body in the sand. Inevitably we have to hose them down after every excursion.

Jim will either jump in the water at the beginning or end of our walk, and plays in the waves for a bit. He’s itching to surf and I think we found him a board he can borrow from some friends. Most of our walks are 4 miles. Although we take a leisurely pace, the sand gives us some fun resistance.

Playa Bejuco’s sand is dark, due to much of it being volcanic, and soft. Not only are the waves and the sky beautiful to look at, but there is an abundance of shells. I am already looking forward to walking the beach and collecting shells with my mom when she visits.

There are also little hermit crabs, about which the girls are curious.

Playa Bejuco has been given the Blue Flag status, which is the highest cleanliness award for a beach in Costa Rica. I feel blessed that we can walk on the beach every day. I have always wanted to live in a place that allowed such a simple luxury.

Sasha and Lita’s First Time at The Beach!

Sasha and Lita’s Grand Adventure to Costa Rica

Continental had us drop the dogs off at their cargo office (up to 4 hours before you leave). Jim filled out lots of paper work while I took the girls out to pee and explore, followed by giving them lots of love in the warehouse. Jim thought I had to put them in earlier than needed and the thought of it made me burst into tears. I started saying bye to Lita like I’d never see her again. One guy then told us, it wasn’t time yet (THANK GOODNESS). I collected myself and got back to giving the girls scratches and such.

A woman brought in a crate, similar to the size of the girls’, but all the openings were covered with a dark green mesh, disallowing one to see what was inside. The woman walked away to fill out paper work but another woman came up, and being curious, peeked into the mystery crate and then jumped back. I asked her what was in it and she told me it was a vulture! She kept looking at the bird and the crate started jumping. The woman who had come in with the crated vulture, who apparently was from the Denver Zoo, told her the vulture didn’t like to be looked at (I learned that from the moving The Last Unicorn) and then left. The other woman kept peering into the crate.

Jim finished up the paperwork, I took the leashes off the girls, gave them some love, put them in their crates (”Into your den”), gave them a treat, and left. I held it together. I realized it was out of my hands and we had chose the best option. We had to be with them in Costa Rica and this was the best way we knew how to transport them.

Luckily, we got to see them out of our window (both times)! They were put on the first plane (to Houston) with a few other dogs, including 2 yellow lab puppies. During our 3 hour layover they were then supposedly walked and and given water and food. None of their food was gone though, so we may send a note of disappointment to Continental.

During both flights I spent most of the time praying for their safety and happiness while Jim mentally talked them through what all the noises were on the flight. (We’re such geeks!)

After going through immigration, while we were waiting for our bags, I asked a man working there where “perros” were put. He pointed to the the corner of the room and we saw the two crates. Jim didn’t have to urge me much to go see them. They were so happy to hear my voice, yet seemed a bit hot and tired. I asked another guy for scissors and he said I couldn’t let them out until we went through customs. I walked back to Jim and let him have a turn. He came back (with Lita yipping at him not to go) and we pulled the last bags off the carousel and took our two carts over to the two dogs.

We were still waiting on our large box to come when a young tico with a large cart came over to help us transport the dogs. He explained we couldn’t take the small carts out of the baggage claim so we had to pile everything on top of the two crates. Thank goodness the crates are sturdy!

We had to put all the baggage through a large X-ray machine and then pile everything back on again. The poor guy helping us was sweating buckets. We then were instructed by the Dollar Rent-A-Car guy to go outside and wait for the van (which would just fit all our stuff).

Once getting outside I asked our luggage helper friend if he could get me scissors or a knife to let the girls out. He was happy to find me a knife and cut all the plastic ties off and pointing to a grassy area I could take them. I let the girls out and they were thrilled to get proper pets and love from Jim and I. I then took them to go wee. They were so excited to finally stretch their legs and sniff around.

When the van showed up, our driver asked at least 3 times if the dogs were friendly or if they’d bite his neck. We assured them they were friendly. We loaded up (with the girls not in their crates) and drove to get our car. Once we started to unload our driver told me where I could get water for the girls. I took the crates apart while Jim did the paperwork for our car.

When the crates had been collapsed and all the bolts put in the zip-lock I had brought just for this purpose I filled one of the girls bowls with cold water from inside. I have never seen either of them drink so much water with such fervor! Even Sasha was drinking like mad. I cut them off after 3 small bowl fulls as I know that Lita in particular can go overboard and make herself sick. Later that night they continued to drink water as much as possible.

Items Needed for Their Trip:

2 Crates that allowed at least 3 inches from the top of their ears to the top of the crate when they sit. They had to be the plastic kind that have a metal door. This meant we had to get 2 new crates (one we bought and the other was donated to us by our friends The Weinrauchs). When we brought the crates into the Continental Cargo warehouse one guy said they have to have air/ventilation holes on all four sides. The older one didn’t have them on the back, but he drilled holes into it for us. Cost: $70 for 1 crate

Absorbent Material for the base of their crates if they peed (Sasha did pee). For Lita we had the blanket that has been in her crate since she destroyed it as a puppy. For Sasha we had a towel. We also put a worn T-shirt of Jim’s in each of their crates so they felt safe. And I noticed afterward that Jim had also put a little stuffy in Sasha’s crate. (Who’s Dad’s favorite?) Cost: One peed on shirt

Attachable Food and Water Bowls for their layover. We practiced feeding the girls with these in CO so they’d get used to them. They’ve been great even since getting here as we haven’t pulled out their normal bowls yet. They don’t have to be attached to act as bowls. Cost: $28 for 4

Dog Food for both their transit (two servings each in small plastic bags taped to the top of their crates) and for the first week in Costa Rica (2 full gallon zip-lock bags stored in my carry on). Cost: 1 bag of dog food $35

International Health Certificate and Rabies Certificates are required to enter Costa Rica (and most places) with dogs. This required seeing our vet, getting a bunch of shots, waiting for the paper work to be up to the standars of the state vet, and then get their certificates stamped and signed by the state vet in Denver. Cost: $150 total for the vet visit and $300 each for the 2 Certificates.

Plane Tickets to Costa Rica plus the upgraded walking and feeding (that supposedly happened) during their layover. Cost: $776 total

Although it was a major endeavor to get them here, we feel it has been and will be 100% worth it. Would you leave your children behind to move somewhere for a year if you had no one to care for them? Even if you did find someone to care for them, could you leave them? Not us.