Missions Minded

Only in Costa Rica. That’s all we could say about what happened to us this morning. We failed to see the humor in this incident at 5 a.m. But now - a few hours later - we clearly see that the story is not only blog-worthy, it’s destined to become an Orosi legend.

This blog’s readers remember: a few months ago someone abandoned five puppies in a cardboard box at El Jardin. We found homes for three of them; the other two live with us. (They’re sunbathing on our porch as I type, in fact.)

Well, at 5 o’clock this morning Amber and I were awakened by the “ferocious” barking of our watchdogs, Osita and Cafesita. Startled and half-asleep I stumbled out of bed to the front door. I was expecting to see a stray dog or a horse causing all the commotion outside. I opened the door. I didn’t see any dogs, horses, or people, for that matter. Then I looked down…

…and saw two tiny, black puppies timidly huddled together on our porch! Someone had stuck them in between the boards of our porch and left them there for us to find!

I looked down the street. “The culprit couldn’t have gotten far,” I thought. I saw someone way down the road about to cross the walking bridge. He peered back at me. I knew he had to be the guy, but he was too far away to get a good look. Seconds later he was crossing the bridge and gone.

Amber joined me on the porch. We stood there in disbelief. How could someone do this? Again! And to stick the two puppies on our front porch with no box or blanket or anything! What nerve!

We decided to hurry up the road to see if anyone had seen the guy. As we approached the bridge we could see that there was no one else there. He was going to get away! And we were stuck with more puppies to take care of! Just as we were throwing our arms up in desperation, frustration, and disbelief, we saw a small cardboard box laying beside the road. Our dogs must have startled the man, and in his rush to get away from the house he tossed the box down. On top of abandoning helpless puppies, the man was a litterbug to boot!

Here comes the twist.

Amber picked up the box. There in clear print on one side of the box was a man’s first and last name, address, and directions to his house!

We looked at each other. Could he have been dumb enough to leave a box with his real name and address on it? Surely not. We decided to take it as a sign that these puppies were not destined to live in the animal shelter…or with us! We picked up the box, put the confused little puppies in it, and began hiking up the mountain towards the house on the box. The directions clearly said, “The house across the street from the school in Arraya Heights.” There wasn’t a lot of room for misinterpretation.

It’s not an easy hike up Arraya Heights. It’s very steep and very rocky. But we were on a mission. We pressed on and got to the little elementary school. Three ladies came outside to greet us. We showed them the puppies, the name and address on the box, and repeated the story.

“Que pecado,” they said, which means “what a sin” (a common expression in Costa Rica). Sure enough, the women knew the man on the box, his house was right across the street, and yes, he had a dog that had just had puppies.

We took the box over to the house and rang the doorbell. We could hear voices inside, but no answer. We tried a few more times, but it was obvious that they weren’t going to come out. Ticos are not big on confrontation. We decided it was all for the best. We placed the box with the two puppies inside on their doorstep and walked away.

We talked to several other neighbors to confirm that we had the right house. Yes, they all agreed. Everyone thought the story was hysterical. When we got to the punch line about the name and address being on the cardboard box, the neighbors cracked up with laughter.

So the story ends. The little puppies are back at their house. Hopefully their owners will do the right thing now - either raising them or finding homes for them (the right way). Whatever they decide to do next, I am sure they got a BIG surprise when they opened their front door this morning! And I’m sure they got an even bigger surprise when they saw their name and address on the box they used! Hopefully we’ll all share a laugh about it one day. Only in Costa Rica.