Green Life Volunteers is looking for a veterinary student, vet tech student, or a person wanting to become a vet, to help out at a rural vet clinic in Puerto Jimenez, on the Osa Peninsula. The Osa Peninsula is a remote, rural, and economically challenged area. Unfortunately, this project is not open for people who are not studying, or planning to study veterinary medicine.

The vet clinic is the only one in a large rural area, and thus they are always very busy. There are plenty of dogs and cats (and other animals) to take care of daily. The vet also organizes spaying and neutering clinics almost weekly, where they offer spaying and neutering for a cheaper fare and where assistants are always needed.

As a volunteer on this project, you’ll be working with the local town vet. The vet is happy to train you so that you can even take care of some patients or assist with procedures and surgeries. The project would be great for a vet student, or someone interested in becoming a vet student – since you may be able to use your volunteer time in your studies as work experience time.

You will make a positive difference in people's and animals' lives, while having fun, making lots of friends, learning about Costa Rican customs, language and culture, and gaining invaluable veterinary experience. You will be taught by the vet and staff how to do the tasks, and are not expected to do procedures on animals immediately. You will be shown everything you need to know and learn as you go. 

Your university might give credit for doing an internship at our vet clinic, so make sure to check that during your application process. Furthermore, you’ll learn so much more than at a vet clinic in the States, Europe or other parts of the world, where you often aren’t even allowed to touch animals until you’ve already studied for several years in the field. This is not the case at our vet clinic – here you can get hands-on experience, are allowed to handle animals from day one, and assist in surgeries. This is a great opportunity for gaining a good insight into the veterinary field, and an amazing experience to prepare yourself for a future career in the veterinary field.

Project Background

Attitudes toward animals in the developing world as well as Costa Rica are very different from those that exist in more developed countries. In poorer societies, a great deal of dependence is placed on many types of animals for the completion of necessary tasks, particularly farming, where people do not benefit from the labor-saving devices that are taken for granted in many developed countries. Working animals are therefore valued in terms of their strength and speed, and people's livelihoods depend on them being fit and healthy. Many dogs are used for “guarding the property” and cats are needed to “hunt mice and rats”. Most animals fulfill a direct purpose in Costa Rica.

In many developing countries there is a much higher rate of animal neglect, due to poverty. Fleas are very common and almost every animal will have them. Ticks are also a common problem. Many animals will not be groomed nicely or bathed all the time. You will be seeing and handling animals that you may consider in a “bad state” to your standards, but they are actually in an “ok” condition in Costa Rica. You will see people treat their animals differently too – you may not agree with the way they teach/ train their animals.

Dog and Cat Rescue Project

The clinic where you will be working is very good, but it does not have the capacity or space to rescue animals or help with abandoned/ stray animals. Hence, there is the dog and cat rescue project, founded by Green Life Volunteers, in which we collaborate very closely with the vet. The vet helps out by giving many treatments for free or for a very low rate. In return, we take care of the animals and give them a foster home. The vet cannot keep any animals overnight, since there is no staff present. Therefore, in some cases, the vet may take the animal home themselves.

You are welcome to help out with the dog and cat rescue project – as you will also help out at the vet clinic where most of our rescue animals go at some point to get spayed/ neutered/ vaccinated/ checked etc.