As of October 2025, our Mission has changed!
FIXING OSA, OSA PENINSULA, COSTA RICA
What are we doing to do now?
Helping to balance our ecosystems through
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Our next endeavor will be to establish a high-impact, low-cost spay and neuter clinic in an economically challenged region, focusing specifically on communities that lie under the rainforests of our world. Acknowledging the average wage of approximately four dollars an hour in these areas, I understand the critical need for veterinary services to be either free or extremely subsidized, as a typical clinic's fees would be entirely inaccessible to most residents.
"I didn't stumble upon this mission; I saw a clear and urgent need. Where others see only despair, I saw an opportunity to bring sustainable change. That vision sparked a non-negotiable desire to act, and now, I am asking you to recognize that same need and join our work." - Debra Jo Chiapuzio - President / Emma Zen Foundation |
How are we going to organize
a spay and neuter clinic in another county?
Osa Jungle Cabins (Where, by the way, you should really go if you want a real adventure!) It is owned by Stephanie Taunton and is our on-site coordinator on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. Jessica, the cabins overseer, is our liaison for Fixing Osa.
We plan on involving and establishing such a position in every new area we serve. |
Working with local veterinarians and staff ensures funding to promote the local economy. Honestly, I have no idea how it happened; however, word gets around, and other areas of the Osa Peninsula have already contacted us.
While publicly funded, grant writing will be an essential part of our growth. |
Why is this a concern
that needs to be addressed?
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The overpopulation of domestic animals in or near a rainforest, often a result of expanding human settlements and associated agriculture, acts as a stressor that fundamentally alters the ecosystem. This influx of non-native species can attract native wildlife by offering accessible prey (e.g., feral livestock), but also introduces competition for resources and facilitates the spread of novel diseases to vulnerable native animals, leading to population declines and loss of biodiversity. For plants, domestic animal grazing and trampling can lead to overgrazing, habitat degradation, and the disruption of vital plant-animal interactions like seed dispersal, thereby hindering the forest's ability to regenerate and shifting the species composition. The ultimate consequence of this widespread degradation and deforestation, much of which is driven by land clearing for livestock grazing, is the reduction of the rainforest's capacity to function as a global "carbon sink" and a significant producer of oxygen, thus contributing to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, accelerating climate change, and impacting the stability of the entire planet's oxygen and climate systems.
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What happened to
the Pet Oxygen Mask Program?
For 15 years, the Emma Zen Foundation has provided life-saving equipment for pets to first responders. If you don't know what we did, all you really have to do is Google us to find out third-party information. It was THE BEST goal of my life, until now. :-)
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In October 2007, I adopted a dog from our local shelter, named her Emma Zen, and the rest is history. We worked together as a therapy team. We rode together on a Harley-Davidson for 13 years. And we placed over half a million dollars' worth of life-saving equipment for pets into the hands of first responders. Providing the equipment and training needed. In 2022, Emma Zen passed an old lady. I lost my flame. Not only did my joy for life dwindle, but so did my passion for pet safety. How many of us know that if you lose a pet, you lose yourself?
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