Animal Sanctuary and Family Crisis Support

We support community based assistance to families in crisis who need help caring for their pets through volunteer coordination, assistance with basic necessary animal expenses, and rehoming and transition assistance.

What we can provide:

· Grants for animal care expenses, such as veterinary care, food, rehoming expenses and volunteer pet care

· Network referrals for animal rescues, re-homing and sanctuary

· Network referrals for local community support addressing human needs

· Volunteer recruiting and coordination including mileage reimbursement to assist with animal care during the crisis

Advice and networking for community members who are helping friends in need.

We are a fiscally sponsored project of 501(c)(3) Chappy & Friends, thus donations are deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Click to donate now!

How we started this work

We got our start helping an elderly horse breeder care for her herd when she was no longer able to and her family was ready to give up. A group of horse women stepped in to help her. We knew the road would be long and hard, and we kept our eyes on our commitment to the welfare of the animals. We picked up with animal care, assembling a team of volunteers to stabilize animal care while we developed a strategy to rehome the horses. It was not easy but we stuck with it, eventually finding homes for all 29 horses. Then we provided a sanctuary for her four cats when she had to move to assisted living. She passed from this world knowing her animals were safe and in loving new homes, spared from the trauma and uncertain fate of shelters and the auction pipeline.

We are continuing our work to step in and help when we can and where we can. Crisis can strike a family at any time and it can be overwhelming and feel like there are no options to keep pets safe. It can feel unsolvable if someone is facing it alone.

We hope you will support our work! If you are feeling especially generous, please consider supporting our animal welfare partners:

https://travellersrestfarmsanctuary.org/

Our Volunteers

Animal care team

Current

Becki is a retired military officer and animal lover. Her first year in retirement was spent caring for our first animals in crisis, a herd of 29 Arabian horses. She is delighted to provide sanctuary for two horses and four cats from that herd.

Julie is a veterinary technician, dog groomer and boarding professional. She breeds and shows Rottweilers, and more recently has turned her efforts to rescue. She helped care for our first herd, provides sanctuary to one of the horses from the herd and continues to provide help to families in need in her county. Her family Ryan and Araiah help her work with Kindred Souls.

Past

Lana, Jordan, Tucker and Carolyn graciously provided their time to help our first herd out of a love of horses and desire to help their neighbor. We are eternally grateful for their willingness to step in and help a neighbor in need.

Debi provided marketing support for our Arabian herd. Rehoming horses takes a special understanding of the market and breed for horses and Debi assisted by reaching out to her network, providing in depth information about the horses and helping coordinate industry specific sales agreements with the owner.

Community members like you

Our vision is to provide assistance where needed. These situations and people who need our help are identified through friend and family networks. Friends and family stepping in is how we got our start. There are many organizations that provide this kind of help. If you are aware of a family in need, currently helping someone or want to know how to help, please contact us!

What we do

We provide animal care including feed, water, health monitoring and veterinary visit support. We prepare animals for rehoming when appropriate including veterinary exams, spay/neuter, vaccinations and veterinary care when necessary. We can assist with transportation and transition to new homes.

❤️Bella❤️

Meet the horses

Bella

Bella is an aged mare who has Lyme Disease and EPM. Because of her conditions, she struggles to maintain muscle tone. Her owner could not afford to pay for her medications and care so we partnered with Traveller's Rest Farm Sanctuary to give her a safe landing. She is currently on medications for her conditions and on the rebound. Kindred Souls is her permanent foster home through Traveller's Rest Farm Horse Sanctuary, but we would like to make her our first permanent sanctuary horse and free up a spot at Traveller's Rest for another needy horse. Her care costs include:

medications, complete feed to help her maintain body weight, boarding expenses, veterinary care and farrier care.

Bella was very bonded to another mare in the herd dispersal, similarly aged and unlikely to find a home through traditional channels. We are fundraising to make her our second sanctuary horse and help meet Bella's social needs.

Meet the cats

Our current recipient was recently hospitalized, and we have added her cats to our care list. Eek, Dash, Minoit, Meep and Tuxy are currently under our care. We hope she will return home soon where she can be reunited with her cats!