Land of the Strays

A Costa Rican paradise founded by a former teacher, Lya Battle, shelters close to 2,000 dogs who have found solace roaming free across the tropical mountain land

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Lya Battle’s life calling was revealed to her in the beautiful eyes of a stray dog. she has now established “Territorio de Zaguates” or “Land of The strays”, to house and care for close to 2,000 stray dogs in costa Rica. she not only has a heart full of love for animals, but also a life of activism to speak for the stray dogs who are being left behind by the current system. “I was the weird little girl at school who always did things differently than others, and who grew up with a love for animals,” says Lya. Daughter of a British-canadian biologist and a costa Rican psychologist, her parents fuelled her soul and mind. The weirdness she speaks of is due to behaviours she had since childhood. Toads, snakes, spiders and insects were her favourite animals because she thought those were the ones that received less attention and love. as she grew up she realised that people didn’t love all dogs equally and thought the way they lived on the street was unacceptable. Even though other people could ignore this, she wouldn’t. It was this way of thinking, her empathy for animals, and a bit of destiny that eventually got Lya into rescuing dogs.