If you have been a supporter of Unity Farm Sanctuary for a little while, you probably know that we get a lot of calls about animal surrenders every week, sometimes every day. For example, in the summer there are a dozen requests to surrender roosters every week.
Some folks say “we want to donate our animal to you”. You cannot donate a living creature - (only supplies and funds). Instead, sanctuaries will accept surrenders, the same way a dog or cat shelter will accept a cat or dog.
For those of you who know about Unity Farm Sanctuary, you already know we are at capacity, and always near to that same number of rescues over time. All our rescues are here for their forever life: their final home. Sometimes we have an open space if we have laid a beloved rescue friend to rest. We don’t rush to fill that spot, but we know that we will have a call coming our way that will have an urgent and appropriate need for surrender.
We make a lifetime commitment to a rescue, so the space and the funding for that rescue has to be planned for. As an example, accepting an extra dozen horses without having the stalls or funds would be a terrible thing for the horses already here and the horses added. We will never do this, and you our supporters can rest easy knowing this.
We always have a clear transfer paperwork for ownership on a surrender as well. We would never accept a rescue that was brought here illegally, or a rescue whose prior home was unclear. We work with local animal control as well to make sure we are working with law enforcement. Recently, folks called to ask us to try and capture a bovine loose on a golf course in a nearby town. A little sleuthing by chatting with the golf course manager led to the town Animal Control Officer (ACO), who quickly brought us up to speed about the ownership and the work in progress. They promised to reach out to us if our help was needed. We always offer help, but we don’t attempt to take possession of an animal that is owned by someone else seeking that animal
If you have a cat, dog, hamster, parakeet, horse, goat or any animal that you are unable to keep - there are answers for you. Sometimes, local humane societies and food pantries have ways to help you feed your cat or dog, or horse, if you just need a little help. Sometimes, you may need to surrender an animal. You never need to abandon an animal or let it loose. There are always places to go and safely surrender an animal. (call or email us and we can help you figure that out)
If you are on social media, you might have read our post about the Quaker Parrot that was handed to us in a box, with the owner walking away and vanishing. Not ideal, but we are glad the parrot did not just get released! (check out the Brooklyn Parrots!)
Lastly - did you know that Unity Farm Sanctuary is structured to go on long after the founders pass? You see, just like a tortoise or a macaw might outlive you, we have to plan for how long a rescue here might live. Thankfully, with all your support, we are able to give them a true forever home.
(photo is of Levi the red holstein male calf and his freemartin twin Jude, fostered temporarily here at the Sanctuary Quarantine Barn before they head to another local sanctuary. They want their bottles!)
