Hi yes, I would say vet care in Costa Rica is pretty good. There are plenty of vets available as Veterinary school is pretty popular. Most city vets own a pet store and offer emergency care. In the central valley where the capital is you will find plenty of pet stores in each town. If you need more specialized care and equipment like CAT scans there are pet hospitals available but the more far away you go from San Jose, the harder are to find. There are pet hotels available too. I dont know where you are planning to live but I bet that if the population is above 5000 then you will find a couple of vets and stores around.

Keep in mind that like with everything else in Costa Rica, imported goods will be 30-50% more expensive than in the US. This goes for imported dry and wet food and all the accessories you will need. You will be able to find most popular brands easily but for quality brands (Acana, Orijin, TOTW, etc) you need to go to a petstore to buy them. Supermarkets just sell Purina and Pedigree brands, and Costco (called Pricesmart here) sell Kirkland.

Medical care on the other hand is reasonable in my opinion. Vet checks and visits hover around 50 USD, neutering/spading will cost you 80-100 USD, grooming around 20 USD.

We are becoming more a pet friendly country as people are starting to have more pets and less children. More and more pet friendly restaurants and places show up each month. Most malls are pet friendly now and some of them even encourage you to bring your pet in their ads.

Stray dogs on the other hand are still an issue, although you will see that most look healthy and even well groomed LOL I dont know how they manage!

Here is an article about 24 hour emergency veterinary hospitals in Costa Rica. Apparently there are five. Most are in the San Jose (capital) area: https://news.co.cr/veterinary-servic...ta-rica/63776/

Here is a similar article in Spanish that may have more information: Hospitales veterinarios de 24 horas van en aumento - La Nación

He's a better motivator than any trainer for sure...he's got me doing 10,000 - 15,000 steps a day with his "come on let's go or I'm gonna be cranky" attitude !
That's my Piper, too, especially the pestering part!! I've not lost weight, though (congratulations to you, no mean feat losing 35 lbs!) I love colder weather which is a good thing since it's 4 degrees in southeastern Wisconsin and will go lower tonight. But that's just way too cold for Piper and me--and most everybody!!!

Great news, I am own my way to Costa Rica right now. I am constantly watching dash cam videos of Costa Rica at https://videos.digitaltravels.net to see what it is like. The dash cam videos give you a street view of what the small cities and towns look like. Pictures are great doing a virtual tour gives you a much better idea and I have to admit I love Costa Rica. The only thing I wasn't sure about was vet care for my babies. Thank you for giving me some peace of mind.

I love this post. Your list is priceless.

You are coming in a great weather time plus traffic is less than usual! If you need more advice just let me know! This is a small country so I can recommend you stuff in the central valley if thats where you are going to settle down. Feel free to PM me.

My Husband was like, I don't want any of them little ugly yappers! I brought Macie home and I guarantee you he fell head over heels in love that night! They are precious!

First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR to everybody!!!

It was a cozy year end for our Otto, stayed at home, lots of treats and xmas gifts!

He was more than happy to spend these days with his siblings that came to visit!

Also, as the weather has been cool and breezy, my wife decided this was a good time to dress up Otto. He has being going butt naked until now. We bought what we call here a "mameluco", sleeveless shirt for him but it is difficult to find his size (M), looks like most dogs here are either S or L, so my wife decided to make some clothes for him!!!! We saved money too, typically costing 14-20 USD, we spent around 4 bucks in fabric for him and a couple of hours in front of the sewing machine.

Take a look. I still need to convince my wife for more "manly" designs, looks like a little baby for now. Its hilarious to see him growling at the bigger dogs in these clothes lol :D

Great outfits, very unique, very cute. Ask the lil Mrs. to see if she can find some camouflage fabric, same style but fabric can make it more macho looking. My guy is also in-between sizes. I have a sewing machine just no time to sit down and put something together for him. Otto looks just so sweet, lucky boy to have found such a loving family.

The camouflage idea is great! I cant wait to see him on his walks dressed as General Otto =)

Lol, General Otto, cute.

I posted in a another thread that my Otto thinks he is a human first and a German Shepard second.

Well this picture might explain it! This was before we adopted him, in his previous home.

From bottom up:

Bottom: Thiago, Otto´s dad
Middle Right: our beloved Otto (little tooth showing) :love:
Upper Left: Teddy, his brother (archrival and the reason we got to adopt Otto as they wanted to kill each other)
Top center : Vera, Ottos mom
Upper Right: stepbrother German Shepard!

What a beautiful pack, Garoto1973!

Yep that's a yorkie for ya, small dogs with big attitudes lol

Beautiful family of fur butts, Otto's momma is a lil cutie.

I havent posted on a while so I wanted to give you an update on how Otto is doing.

He is doing great!!! He celebrated his 2nd B-DAY last week, and shared a bday cake with his brother Thiago, see picture below!

Well, that is not the only news around the household. Check out Lola , his new stepsister!!!! Yes we decided to add a new family member! It has been lots of work but the most rewarding thing I have done in a while! Lola is 10 weeks old and although Otto was a little jealous for a couple of days , now they are inseparable! Lola is quite a character, lots of energy and loves to tease Otto all day long!

Lola is such a sweetheart and already learned how to use the potty pads!

Let me know what you think!

Congratulations on the new baby! Lola is a real cutie, and Otto will love having canine company as well as his human family. Our pack of three tussle and tumble, and occasionally get on one another's nerves; but when we return from a trip to the grocery market we find all three cuddled in the same pet bed! ;)

Congratulations, beautiful photos, Lola is just adorable, puppies are a lot of work but so much fun watching them learning and enjoying LIFE. Otto has a BFF oh what fun is in store for him and your family. I am sooooo happy for you.

Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know that Otto and Lola are doing great! Lola is now 5 months old and turns out she is of silver color lol! Turned to that color upon her first grooming. They have become best friends, I would say inseparable!!!

Lola is very active and has a different personality than Otto. Otto is calmed inside the house, teddy bear-like, while Lola is a crazy girl that just wanna play and annoy Otto! Poor Otto is being followed all day long and has to play tug of war constantly!

Lola's housebreaking is coming along, boy I didnt know it was such a challenge, I would say she is 75% there on potty training. All vaccines are done and is eating well. Otto as you recall, came already potty trained and is very obedient. I have no idea what technique they used to train him but he goes under chairs and beds to sleep so I suspect he was crate trained?

Coming back to my very original post, Otto has now been officially with us over a year , we celebrated and also celebrated Lolas vaccine completion with a trip to the beach which was awesome! If you want I can post some pictures and even a video of them running around the beach.

I can honestly say this past year has been a life changer in a very positive way, and adding Lola to the mix has been a blessing as we love them both and they keep company on each other so we dont feel bad when we go out and can not take them, we know they are playing or sleeping together.

Here are some pics I took today!

Adorable......just adorable. Wish I had two.

What a cute pair! Although more yorkies certainly equal more work, there is nothing like watching them play, wrestle, snuggle and love each other with such devotion. Congratulations on having found the perfect playmate for Otto! I 'm glad that everything is working well for your pack. :)

Lola is just adorable, 5 month old babies just wanna play and play all day and being a wild child lol. Happy to hear lil Otto has bonded with her and now has a BFF. So much fun watching them playing and enjoying life. Thanks for sharing the photo's they are just to cute.

I can only imagine what a circus it can be around your house with the two of them! But what fun to watch them play and bond.

Thank you for posting the update and the pictures. Adorable.

This is the BEST thread. With each new post, I so enjoy going back and reading the first series of comments. Good for the heart. --KatysMom

They look so happy! And we would love to see the pics and video of the beach!

:yorkiesar

Thanks!

There is a bittersweet side to this story. Although my wife and I work most of the day, Otto was never alone bacause my father in law was around the house and they kept each other company. 3 months ago we brought Lola in and he helped us keep an eye on them the first crucial weeks as Lola was tiny and Otto was a little bit jealous. Lola became very attached to my father in law, napping with him and getting into his shoes.

Sadly, my father in law passed away 2 months ago, it has been hard for us . However, we have managed to never leave Otto and Lola alone more than 3-4 hours at a time as we both work close by. They were very sad the fist few days after my father in law was gone, they definetely miss him. They still go into his bedroom looking for him from time to time.

Thats very kind of you to say!

Video coming up!