Until recently, dogs were not part of most families in Costa Rica, nor was there any pet culture at all.

Now, almost everyone has one or more pets at home. Some years ago, people were complaining that in their condominiums,dog owners wouldn’t clean up the poop their dogs leave behind.

This reminded me of a vacation Dany and I had in Las Vegas in 2011. We went to Lake Mead on the Nevada and Arizona state lines. There are several campgrounds right on the lake. This is where I found this Pet Waste Bag pole, something unheard of in Costa Rica in those days.

Now we have pet parks in many places (Escazu has 3), and they have poop bags and water faucets, a playground for dogs, and they’re well-fenced.

Unfortunately, there is still so much difference between a pet-friendly culture in other countries and ours. I see that many people are still unaware of what is necessary to enjoy your pet and have a happy one. his blog is another attempt to explain the cultural differences you will find when you move to Costa Rica that you will need to adjust to...