Animal Shelter
and Yoganity Dog Hotel
We are building an animal shelter for puppies and kittens on our land in southern Nicaragua! On this site you find all the information about this project and how you can get involved!
Overview
The dream
Big open air animal shelter, connected pet café and independent boarding facility / dog hotel for financing the shelter
The reality right now
A two-parted building, one side for puppies, the other for kittens, both with outside spaces.
Location
El Oro, San Juan del Sur, Rivas, Nicaragua
Know-How and material
The shelter will be made from a material that is won from 100% recycled plastic. It's durable (lasts about 1.000 years...), easy to clean, water resistant and a step to keep plastic out of Nicaragua's vast landfills.
Dog Training
Katja is on her way to becoming a certified dog trainer, being able to give the shelter puppies a higher chance of adoption.
Future Dream: "Dog Deck" and "Catio" Pet Café
At some point we would love to create an integrated space where the San Juan community can interact with the shelter animals. This doesn't only benefit the socialisation of the shelter animals, but also increases adoption rates.
Further dreaming: Dog Hotel and Retreat
In the long run we would like to establish an educational facility with retreat where locals as well as internationals can learn about animals, sustainable living and overall well-being. Furthermore we'd love to run a Dog Hotel for people who want to travel and leave their furry friends in good hands. The profits from both would sustain the animal shelter.
What has happened so far?
August 2021:
We started our fundraiser at Givebutter. Go ahead and donate!
100 % of your donation to SOS Shelter goes into the realization of the action plan mentioned above!
No bureaucracy, no administrative costs! We personally do not take a penny from this!
June 2022:
It took a long time, but we're now owners of one manzana (ca. 2 acres / 7.000 squaremeters) of land in El Oro, close to San Juan del Sur.
November 2022:
After finishing our management positions at Hush Maderas we now live close to the land and finally have the time to get started on building! Only the rains have to stop first...
December 2022
Dry season is amongst us! We've cleared the land, have build a first fence along the perimeter and broke ground for a first structure!
Important Note
Our Shelter will be a "no kill" and "no abandonment" shelter.
We are straying from the "classic" shelter design that most US-american shelters have (lots of concrete and isolation). There are large open spaces and fresh air, surrounded by nature.
The animals get plenty of chances to interact with each other.
Resources
Some of the many recourses that we found useful:
- The Humane Society of the United States: Shelter Design – https://humanepro.org/sites/default/files/documents/hsus-shelter-design-packet.pdf
- Association of Shelter Veterinarians: Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters (2010) – https://www.sheltervet.org/assets/docs/shelter-standards-oct2011-wforward.pdf
- ASPCA: Shelter Care Checklists | Putting ASV Guidelines Into Action – https://www.aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/aspca-asv-checklist-2014_0.pdf
- UCDavis Koret Shelter Medicine Program: Facility Design, Shelter Animal Housing and Shelter Population Management – https://www.sheltermedicine.com/library/resources/?r=facility-design-shelter-animal-housing-and-shelter-population-management
- The Humane Society of the United States: Not your mother's animal shelter – https://humanepro.org/magazine/articles/not-your-mothers-animal-shelter