Interviews from The Brownble Podcast: Hava and Assaf of the Animal Love Rescue Center on Rescuing Animals, Pet Adoption and How 16 Friends Joined Forces to Change the World for Thousands of Animals

If you’re having a moment this week, this month, or this year, in which you’re losing your faith in humanity a little bit, this is the episode you need to listen to.

Hava and Assaf are two of the founders of the Animal Love Rescue Center, a no kill animal shelter in Costa Rica, which is now home to over 1,200 animals including dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, sheep and goats, and their story is one of a dream created by 16 lifelong friends from Israel, who one day packed their bags, their 80 pets, and created a one of a kind vegan resort, adventure tours, a fully vegan restaurant, and somehow, by the magic of circumstance, almost accidentally, became one of the biggest animal shelters I have ever had the pleasure to encounter.

We discuss so many things in this episode, from the story of how the organization got started, to how on Earth they manage to care for so many animals and do so with such great level of care. We also talk about dog and cat adoption, how to deal with some of the challenges that come with working with animals and the emotional burden it brings (both the hard and the wonderful).

They talk about how you can plan a wonderful adventure to Costa Rica that will go into funding the rescue center and have a fully vegan experience while staying at their hotel, but my favorite part of this entire interview, other than the story of Ralph, the dog that keeps on kicking it to cancer, and the dog who after being in chains began to trust again, is towards the end of the episode, when I asked Assaf and Hava, what the animals have taught them, and how they’ve changed their lives.  

They have helped thousands of animals through the years and have mostly been self funded through the activities of the hotel, restaurant and tours, but due to covid and tourism slowing down the shelter now faces a new situation and needs our support more than ever, and so we're encouraging any of our listeners who can, to please donate to help keep their organization going and these amazing animals in safe hands.

Make sure to also follow them on Instagram @animalloverescue, on Facebook as well as their adoption Instagram page @animallove_adopciones 

Our sponsor for today's show:

Etsy shop Green and Experience: Natural and Reusable Vegan and Cruelty Free Hemp Dryer Balls - get 10% off your purchase by using promo code: BROWNBLE10

For all the other links mentioned in today's episode, click here.