Hi dear friends.

Yes, it is me again, your animal-loving friend, Arlene. I have decided to reach out only to those of you whom I know I can count on. I have prepared a little contest in order to compensate for the lack of a tax receipt for your donation. Here's how it goes: the person who donates the highest amount will win a gift of a fine bottle of wine (red, white or sparkling) or a bottle of single malt scotch, whichever they choose.

Donny, myself and our little rescue, Annie, spent the month of January this year in Costa Rica. My plan was to research and find a dog at a local rescue for my dear friend whose four-legged friend had passed away and was now ready for a new companion. I found Maya, a sweet, sensitive, loving, quiet dog who was rescued off the streets. After having her vetted and having all the paperwork signed, we were ready for our journey back to Montreal, which included an overnight stay in Quepos. As you can well imagine, with all our luggage and the two dogs in their crates in tow, Donny did the heavy lifting. I could never have done this without him. Maya is now happily united with her new people; they absolutely adore her and vice versa.

I am appealing to you, dear friends, to help support this rescue. Shirley (along with her daughter) has over one hundred dogs under her care. She places them in "casa cunas" or nurseries with different people in the town. Each casa houses fifteen to twenty dogs. Shirley is a lovely, educated woman with a good job who, like myself, is dedicated to helping those who cannot speak for themselves. Any extra money she earns goes toward the dogs as she tirelessly removes stray dogs from the streets and places them in one of the casas.

Costa Rica, like many third-world countries, has a plethora of stray dogs. It is partly a cultural issue and extremely difficult to resolve. I try to do my small part.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I sincerely hope that you will help out in any way that you can.

Arlene

P.S. Please share with anyone you know who you believe will help out (and wants to win the big prize :)