About us
What started as a hotel is now a rescue
Halfway Home Animal Shelter is a volunteer-based non-profit in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. We provide timely rescue, veterinary care, and shelter to wildlife, domestic, and livestock animals that have been abused, injured, or abandoned — and we work to give every rescue a path back to health and a loving home.
Our mission
We operate with the intent to give our rescues the support to adjust back to their natural habitat or find placement in a new home with adequate care. Halfway Home began because so many homeless and abused animals were brought to the local clinic that overcrowding reached crisis levels — and something had to change.
Today we're run entirely by volunteers and supported by donors and partners who believe every animal deserves a second chance.
From rescue to forever home
1. RescueWe take in animals that have been abused, injured, or abandoned across Guanacaste — often straight off the street.
2. HealWith Hospital Cavallini, every rescue gets veterinary care, vaccines, and spay/neuter until they're healthy.
3. RehomeWe match each rescue with a loving forever family — and welcome fosters and volunteers along the way.
What we do
Rescue & Veterinary Care
Timely rescue and medical treatment for animals that have been abused, injured, or abandoned.
Spay & Neuter Campaigns
Low-cost spay and neuter clinics to humanely reduce the stray population in our community.
Education & Community
Teaching proper dog and cat care, wildlife needs, and responsible pet ownership across Guanacaste.
Reforestation & Recycling
Promoting recycling and reforestation campaigns to improve the health of the natural Guanacaste region.
Our veterinary partner
Dr. Cavallini & Hospital Cavallini
Every animal we rescue depends on expert medical care. Hospital Cavallini in Villareal provides our rescue care, spay and neuter treatments, and weekly check-ups right at the shelter — making sure each dog and cat is healthy, vaccinated, and ready for their forever home.
Dr. Cavallini and the clinic team are the medical heartbeat of Halfway Home, and we're endlessly grateful for their partnership and compassion.
How to adopt
Make an appointment to visit the shelter
Fill out an adoption application
Choose your next best friend
Pay the adoption fee & visit the vet for paperwork