Our sanctuary is dedicated to domestic species, although with discretion, we will provide supportive care for wildlife that needs rehabilitation through a transition to release. We do not accept any surrendered animals from the public, instead working exclusively with Costa Rican nonprofit rescues to house and care for special needs dogs. We keep a few cats on the farm to control vermin, and they are all cared for as sanctuary animals although we do not currently accept cats into our program. Space is limited for livestock, but the farm is currently home to several large-species animals.
With the exception of several dogs we foster for Costa Rica nonprofit rescues, the animals at Manor Miravalles Animal Sanctuary are not for adoption. By the time they get here, they’ve been through enough. Enough change, enough uncertainty, enough hunger, enough fear. Once they arrive, they are home. You will notice that our turnover rate is not very high. That’s because rehoming is not our goal and this is reflected in our nonprofit mission statement.
Our reason for sharing photos and bios here on our website is because we want you to get to know our fur-family. Whether you follow us on social media, drove past our farm during an ATV tour around Volcan Miravalles, or saw our signs posted somewhere near Bijagua de Upala, you might be curious about our residents. Well, here they are! Manor Miravalles Animal Sanctuary is not yet “open to the public,” but we do welcome visitors by appointment. Feel free to contact us if you’re planning a trip to Costa Rica, or if you’re in the Guanacaste area and want to meet some of our superstars!
Please Note: All of our dogs, all of our cats, and all male livestock animals are sterilized. We do not let anything but the chickens reproduce. We do not breed animals, sell animals, or otherwise contribute to the problems we work so diligently to solve.
DOGS
We have three sub-packs here, although each sub-pack is often divided into smaller play groups. This structure is fluid, and some dogs (like Cerise) flow seamlessly between each of them. Cerise, for example, is a confirmed Bed Sleeper with The Insiders, can play tackle and tug with the best of them in the Active Headbangers group, and sometimes is content to just chill with the Mellow Fellows without making any of them feel overwhelmed by her energy. Thus is the secret sauce of our sanctuary; we are with these dogs full time, every day, every night, and we get to know them well. Like family. It’s why we don’t call ourselves a “shelter,” or even a “rescue.” We’re a group home for dogs, community living for canines at its finest. To learn more about them, click HERE.
Cats
Manor Miravalles Animal Sanctuary will probably never accept cats into our program. Cat colonies are difficult to maintain and highly prone to disease. Unlike dog diseases that are mostly spread by direct contact or fomites, many cat diseases are airborne and can wipe out an entire colony in days.This is especially true for unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated cats. We do, however, include cats in our efforts to fund and support sterilization in the community. We also have a few in residence…cats who, despite our best efforts to avoid them, found us anyway and declared with awe-inspiring generosity that we can remain on the farm with them and abide together in peace. To learn more about these cats, click HERE.
Livestock and Large Species
At this time, we are working with several large species of animals, including horses, cows, pigs, and goats. Our space is limited so we won’t be adding herds of any type, but we do employ several grazers to maintain our pastures. We do not under any circumstances slaughter animals for food. “Meat” animals like pigs and cows are safe here. A dairy cow might be milked, but she would never have her calf taken from her before she’s ready to wean it and she would live a rockstar life. To learn more about our farm animals, click HERE.
Birds of a Feather
We can accomodate almost any kind of feathered friend, but you will never see ostriches or emus here. After a harrowing personal experience thirty years ago, our on-site director has a phobia. Chickens, guineas, ducks, geese, and hopefully some day a peacock or two–now those we definitely welcome and you’ll see them here in abundance. We gather eggs as a protein source, but only from chickens who abandon them in the nest boxes and show no interest in brooding. Our flocks free-range and sleep in the barn at night, in a secure enclosure they can access at any time through a “creeper” entrance underneath the barn floor. To learn more about them, click HERE.
The Wild Ones
Two very beautiful but downright diabolical Amazon parrots call this farm home. We don’t cage them or restrict their movement in any way. They come and go as they please. One of them is sufficiently flighted to claim the entire basin as her territory, from the cone of Volcan Miravalles all the way to the Canalete River. The other is less confident and stays closer to home. Both of them usually come in at night to eat the food we provide and sleep safely under an open-air porch. Sometimes they don’t come home but sleep in the trees, occasionally trees that are quite far from the house. We hear them calling us terrible names until they fall asleep in the dark, then we hear them yelling threats of bodily harm outside our window at daylight. They do attack us. Random air strikes from any tall tree in the yard near our house could happen at any moment, and they usually result in bloodletting (ours, of course.) These crazy birds hurl insults at passers-by in a language they have invented that is part Spanish, part English, and part gibberish. Their murderous tendencies notwithstanding, we love them to bits. To learn more about them, click HERE.