Project McKee Jaco whose mission is to find homes for stray dogs and cats along with a program of neutering and castration to help control the growth of “street” animals. The project headed up by Katja Bader a Jaco resident via her German roots. Katja is a fierce animal lover and her passion in this project has resulted in almost no street dogs here in Jaco. As little as four years ago, it was not uncommon to see packs of dogs ranging from 2 to 8 and even more when there was a female in “heat” roaming around Jaco and the beachfront.

Today, Jaco is not only a better place with the reduced stray animal population but the care of the local animals has increased through her advocacy and osmosis in the community. Katja makes it her business to make sure all animals are de-wormed and continue to receive parasite treatment each month. As a whole, the local Jaco population receives the benefit from this by eliminating the parasites in these animals who would carry these worms into our homes or infect our kids. Kids playing in the sand, at the playground or even the cute licking of the face by a dog are all methods of transmission for parasites.

Through Katja and the McKee Jaco project parasitic canine infestation is becoming a notion of the past. But it is with diligence and eventual education of the local community that help keep this momentum going. As a result, Katja bore the idea of having an animal advocate go to schools and teach student about the care of animals in our social lives. Another method of continuing this momentum is through the Golden Paw award which is awarded twice a year to a member of the local community who has proven their compassion and service toward animals.

On December 16, 2009, the award was presented to Rossy Quesada Gomez, the owner of the popular Cafe del Mar, located on the corner of the street that leads to Canciones del Mar hotel. Katja explained that Rossy helps all animals who pass by her restaurant or her house in Jaco Sol. She feeds them when they are hungry, makes sure that they get fixed and fosters them until they get adopted. All animals are welcome at Rossy’s places – she has 3 cats and 9 dogs of her own, with many others that are just “visitors.” Some of them she found injured on the street, others just came to her place and never left – and why would they when they receive a 3 square meals a day and plenty of table scraps from the customers eating at the cafe?

Thank you Rossy, for all the time and love you give to those furry little friends who need your help.

If you would like to donate and/or support the efforts of Katja Bader and McKee Jaco project you can visit their site here: http://www.mckee-jaco.com/

Related posts:

1. McKee Project in Jaco meets Success
2. Animal Rescue Fundraiser at Jaco Taco
3. Jaco and Hermosa Receive Blue Flag
4. AyA Water Results Released – Jaco Beach is Clean and Safe
5. CENPAC President Reflects on Jaco Development