Territorio de Zaguates, or “Land of the Strays” in English is the world’s largest no kill dog shelter located up in the mountains of Heredia in Costa Rica.
The shelter is run by a Costa Rican-American couple who has taken in hundreds of street dogs to help them find homes and to also educate the Costa Rican citizens about the importance of castration, treating dogs as pets and how to take care of them.
Their shelter has grown immensely and is home to around 1000 dogs.
**This shelter is planning to open to the public once again sometime in 2025, May or June if all goes well. Check their Facebook page to stay updated.**
What Does Zaguate mean?
In Spanish, zaguate means street dog, stray dog or mutt. Sadly, Costa Rica has a huge problem with street dogs.
All the dogs in the shelter were either abandoned or were born street dogs. The shelter takes them in to nurse them back to health and put them up for adoption.
Unfortunately in Costa Rica, you will see stray dogs everywhere, especially in rural areas. Many locals still see dogs as just guard animals and tie them up all the time. Or they don’t believe in castration and let their dog roam the streets, which leads to a huge overpopulation of stray dogs.
Additionally, many locals think purebred dogs are better than mixed breeds so unfortunately, many street dogs are looked down upon as pets.
Territorio de Zaguates Open Walks
To find out when they will open again to the public, check the Territorio de Zaguates Facebook page.
How to get to Territorio de Zaguates
Territorio de Zaguates is one hour from San Jose. There is no bus there since it is in a local neighborhood up in the mountains.
Photos
Here are some photos of the walk we did at the shelter. It was pretty amazing to be surrounded by so many happy dogs!
Territorio de Zaguates Donate/Adopt/Volunteer
Territorio de Zaguates is a US non-profit and you can donate via their Facebook page or their website.
If you’re interesting in adopting, you can message them for more information on how to do so. They also really need fosters. Some dogs they receive are in terrible shape and while they receive vet care, these dogs would heal much faster and better with personalized TLC.
Read about other fun things to do in Costa Rica below.
Donna Jacobs says
Hola – vamos a viajar a Tamarindo por un mes en febrero. Sabes si hay las excursions para ir a la “Land of the Strays”?
Sammi says
No, ellos no estan abiertos al publico, hasta mas tarde de este año
Kathleen Hecker says
My dog loving friend and I are staying near San Jose and really hoped for a visit or to volunteer for an afternoon. Pleas, please tell us that we can before we leave on 9/24/24. Your sanctuary is the main reason we came to CR. We want to adopt as well and of course donate. we sincerely hope to hear from you soon. I have some phone numbers for a Marcella
Sammi says
Hi Kathleen, I recommend to reach out to the Territorio directly. We don’t work with them or are affiliated with them.
leanda calvert says
Can you tell me what their Facebook page is called?
Sammi says
Same name: Territorio de Zaguates
kris says
I saw this on Saturday morning on Jack Hannah and he featured this place about 3 months ago. They said the dogs all get along and no issues rarely! Better than people getting along for sure!
myra mayfield says
Do they speak English over there because I’m bad a speaking Spanish.
Sammi says
The wife of the owner is American I believe so she speaks English. They have changed their website and Facebook page entirely to English and many of their volunteers speak English.
Stacey says
Does anyone know how to contact TZ in order to visit? I have read you should contact through facebook but have not received a reply.
Sammi says
They only do contact through Facebook, they have announced the rest of the public walks they’re doing for the rest of the year, you need to check their posts which is where they announce them.
northierthanthou says
Looks like a lot of fun. I wonder how well the dogs get along with each other.
Sammi says
Seems pretty good!