A Sanctuary is Not a Petting Zoo!

As warmer weather approaches, sanctuaries that provide a permanent refuge for rescued farm animals are inundated with requests from people wishing to bring their young animal-loving children for a visit. Many envision taking their wide-eyed, excited child into a pen of loving, friendly animals who will let themselves be endlessly petted and cuddled and hand fed. This is, after all, the image they have seen in advertisements for commercial petting zoos. But a sanctuary is not a petting zoo. 

According to the Oxford Dictionary, a sanctuary is a place of “refuge or safety from pursuit, persecution, or other danger”, and “a place where injured or unwanted animals of a specified kind are cared for”. 

A petting zoo, on the other hand, usually buys young adult animals in the late winter or early spring, often from questionable sources with little regard to genetics or potential health issues. Then the petting zoo breeds them, puts them on display almost immediately, and lets excited kids with grabby hands stress both the babes and the mamas. Visitors are usually allowed – or encouraged – to feed them as well, regardless of how much the animals may have already eaten that day. Often the babes will be weaned and separated from the mother at the earliest possible age, in hopes that a second birthing will be possible before the end of summer, ready for the popular harvest money-makers like hay rides and corn mazes and pumpkin patches. 

Pumpkin patch?  I wouldn't mind visiting a pumpkin patch! 

And when the season is over and the money is no longer rolling in? The animals at most petting zoos are then sent to slaughter or sold - after all, by next tourist season they will no longer be babies that draw in the crowds, and feeding adults or youngsters through the winter months in order to breed them in the spring costs money. It's cheaper to dispose of the animals and buy new breeders the next year.  

Does that sound like a sanctuary to you?

Don't be a turkey!  That ain't no sanctuary!

At animal sanctuaries such as RASTA (Rescue And Sanctuary for Threatened Animals) in nearby Chemainus, the animals are residents who will live out their lives at a place that treats them with dignity and respect. It is a place that will not exploit or sell them, that will not breed them, and it is a place that will provide them with a safe haven for life.  

Garfunkel:  I hear strangers nearby - let's circle the wagon!

Tango and Romeo:  Why?  Is there food in it? 

Most of the animals have arrived at the sanctuary after pretty horrible lives – passed from home to home, or abused, or abandoned, deprived of appropriate veterinary care, and/or confined without companionship of their own kind or others. Many have significant health issues that require special diets and medications. Their food intake is carefully managed, in both quality and quantity, to ensure their nutritional needs are being met appropriately. This is not to say they don’t get regular treats – they certainly do – but not every time someone walks nearby. 

Excuse us!  We're having a snack!

Because of their varied and unfortunate backgrounds, some might bite or shove humans, some might have poor eyesight that mistakes a child’s hand for a treat, some might not have the dexterity to ‘take gently’ when food is offered. Even the scent of an unfamiliar human can make some animals who are normally friendly and even playful with regular volunteers retreat and/or become anxious.   

Help! Help!    There's a stranger in our house!

Oops, sorry, was that your finger I just chomped?

See these horns?  I'm really a gentle giant but if a fly tickles my tummy
and I swing my big head around to shoo it, you better shoo too! 

To be sure, many sanctuaries do offer tours at set times and days, nearly always by appointment only.  At RASTA, these educational tours (which include a presentation on factory farming) are restricted to very small groups on only one or two days a week so every person can be closely supervised and so the animals are not overwhelmed. 

Because sanctuaries give as much freedom as possible to their animals by allowing them to roam around with their animal friends in pastures or extra large fenced pens, safety – for visitors as well as for the animals - can be a challenge. Sanctuary volunteers have to make sure all visitors stay together, ensure no one sticks out a hand to an animal that might mistake it for a carrot, see that no one gets knocked down or left behind or wanders off, no one leaves a gate open or drops an inedible item in a pen. There can be no lollygagging to send a selfie to your friends while your group moves on to the next pen!

Oooh, looky here.....someone left the door open!

A plastic bag!  I found a plastic bag in here!

On an educational tour, discussion about the animals’ backgrounds and about animal treatment in commercial industry is not always suitable for young ears and may even upset sensitive adults. It is not a 'cute-fuzzy-wuzzy-let’s-go-feed-and-pat-the-animals' experience, though you may be lucky enough to be there when some of the more social animals wish to interact with you. But the decision is up to the animals, not you, and if Sociable Suzie decides she’d rather have a nap buried in the soft straw in her shelter, then Sociable Suzie gets to do just that.

No, thank you.  Not today.

 ^What she said ^ 

If you wish to take your kids or grandkids to the local petting zoo this summer, that is your choice. If you think your children are old enough and mature enough to visit a sanctuary, by all means request (well in advance) an appointment for an educational tour. But please don’t expect the same experience at a sanctuary as at a petting zoo. 

This is the animals’ home. This is their sanctuary, their safe space, their forever home. This is not a petting zoo. 

And now you know. 

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today marks the start of the Year of the Rooster on the Chinese Lunar Calendar.  Bob, a resident at RASTA sanctuary, thinks he should be their poster boy.  Here's some of my favourite shots of him:

Hear ye! Hear ye!
Gong hei fat choy!

Bob doing his Celebration Dance

"So, when is the year of the turkey?"
"I don't think there is one."

"Really?  Year of the Turkey?  No comparison!" 

Sometimes you just need a little magic.....

One of the perks of volunteering at RASTA (Rescue And Sanctuary for Threatened Animals) is the opportunity to engage in one of my favourite hobbies - photographing animals.  Whenever the weather is appropriate, the camera is in my pocket as I scoop poop or fluff straw or clean the barn or fill the waters,  ready to appear when something - or someone - catches my eye.

Whose snout is that?

While I usually take the photos for my own pleasure, sometimes Lucie assigns me a task - preparing some images for a presentation, or capturing some pleading faces that we can use to promote our fundraisers, or - as was the case the past few weeks - taking a photo of a particular animal to give as a thank you to a local business who has taken on sponsorship of said critter.

Sanctuaries aim to find sponsors for their animals as a way to ensure the basic needs for care are met - the donation of a set amount monthly,  based on the species, to help cover  routine expenses related to food and shelter.  Most animals become sponsored by individuals, but some - like Harvie who is sponsored by Impulse Pizza in Chemainus, and Pirate, sponsored by Cafe la Vie in Duncan - are sponsored by local businesses. For those, we try to provide a framed and signed photo that they can display so their customers see how they give back to the community.  Good business for them, good exposure for us.

And most animals at the sanctuary are pretty easy to  capture on camera.  Harvie was:

The equines are:

Hai!  Wanna take my picture?

Theo isn't camera shy in the least.

Here, let me clean the lens for you!

Ducks and geese and turkeys and chickens and roosters have all cooperated when I wanted to take their photos.

Is this my best side?

 And most of the pigs are quite happy to play along.

Even Jacob, one of our most senior pigs, comes strolling out to say hello.

Except Pirate - our orthotic-wearing, quickly growing, full of mischief, Berkshire-Tamsworth farm pig who may one day weigh 700 pounds or more. You briefly met him, and his brother Prince, in this post back in September.  Pirate came to us as a babe, one rear leg far shorter than the other, with the joint fused at a 90 degree angle.  His spine was twisting as he attempted to move about on three and a half legs - and unlike dogs, pigs are not well-structured for life as a tripod.  Back then, when he first arrived, he was very timid.  He backed away from me, ever watchful, and this allowed me to get a few good shots.

Stranger danger! Stranger danger!

But now - now, he knows that people are his friends and often have food or at least an ear scritch or a bale of hay. And he was my assignment for the past several weeks.  Pointing the camera at him, especially if the photographer is squatting down to get a nicely framed shot, merely invites him to barrel toward the camera in the hopes that it is edible. Taking photos from further away, or while hidden behind the side of a building, means getting a shot with his snout doing what hungry piggy snouts do - rooting in the mud, rooting in the straw, munching the hay,  - but never looking at the camera.

Num num num num num...
I can't hear you!

Trying to capture a frame-worthy image of Pirate was difficult enough, but Lucie had specifically asked not only that Pirate's cute little face be looking at the camera, but that the orthotic on his hind leg be visible too - a good discussion starter in a photo, as fundraising for the $2000 orthotic will be an ongoing extraordinary expense for the next several years as he outgrows one and needs another, possibly six or more times.

And now you can't see me!

Any attempt to redirect his attention, by gently calling his name, either results in being ignored, or in being run over, or a combination - Pirate ignoring me while others, at the sound of my voice, rush over to see if they can help.  Or if I might be offering treats.  Most likely the latter.

Excuse me, Maggie May - since when has your name been 'Pirate'?

I tried.  I really tried.  For weeks I tried.  But every photo either showed the face head on but not the leg, or the leg and not the face, or the whole piggy but with snout buried in mud or straw or hay.

What?  Don't you think customers would like to see
this photo of me drinking from a mud puddle
while they sip their coffee?

Finally, the other night, I'd had enough.  And that's when I resorted to magic - digital magic.  I used that earlier photo of Pirate looking at the camera, back in the days when he didn't think it was something to eat, and with a bit of cloning, some overlays, some erasing, some frosting, and some colour touch ups, I added his orthotic from a more recent photo.  It's not perfect, but it's good enough.

I matted and framed it today and delivered it to Cafe la Vie, a wonderful vegan restaurant in downtown Duncan.  And now that's finally off my 'to-do' list.

Photographer: 1  Piglet:  0

But I'm quite sure Pirate will outsmart me and even the score sometime in the near future.  And let's face it, any sponsored piggy is a winner.


If you or your business are interested in sponsoring an animal at RASTA, please check out their website at rastarescue.org.  You'll find the information on sponsorships here .

Magic Moments (Sanctuary Sitting, Part III)

One aspect of animal care that I have always treasured is what I call those "Magic Moments" - the times when I, the casual observer, catch a moment in the life of one or more animals that makes me inhale deeply, smile broadly, and be thankful for the blessings living with animals brings.  I experienced Magic Moments when I fostered twelve piggies on five acres several years ago, I experienced Magic Moments with each dog I have fostered, and I still experience them often when I am out on a hike and see wildlife in its natural habitat, or with the dog and cat with whom I currently share my home.

Sitting the Sanctuary was no exception - amid the feeding, the pooper-scooping, the hay-wrestling, the animal shenanigans, and the cursed falling gate, was a kaleidoscope of Magic Moments.  They often began at sunrise as I watched the sanctuary awaken, and ended when I said my final goodnights to the cats while the rest of the sanctuary slumbered. And they occurred all through the day.

Some were simple pleasures, like seeing specific animals who had previously been somewhat aloof or shy learn to trust me as I became became part of the fixtures (and food trucks) in their lives.  Or hearing the donkeys bray noisily as soon as the food appeared, or roll around in the dust, their long legs sticking up in the air as they wiggled with delight and tossed their heads from side to side.   Or watching the ducks and geese take their baths - in water, not dust -  meticulously washing each feather, each body part, then splashing and rinsing before hopping out of the pool to shake themselves dry.

Sergio:  "OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MOOORRN-INNG!"

Sarah:  "He could have at least cleaned the tub!"

"Why does the littlest one always get to bathe last?"

Some were quiet whispers in time, like seeing Simon, the always-in-motion, always-in-your-face goat, nodding off beside the fence, head bobbing up and down, unable to keep his eyes open any longer in the warm afternoon sun.

 "I'm....not.....tired....."

Some made me chuckle, like the time I left the hose filling a water dish while I cleaned the next one, and glanced over to see a pig drinking from the nozzle like a little kid on a hot summer's day.

Slurp Slurp Slurp! 

Or when Simon used the wheelbarrow to reach the elusive but tasty leaves of the fruit trees, and the look on his face when he lost his grasp on the elusive branch. And, finally, when he figured out a way to reach those branches after all!

S t r e t c h !

Stretch more!

Oh phooey!  

That's better!

Some were more subtle moments of magic as I watched squabbles break out and get resolved, or watched ducks and donkeys and cats greet my little dog Mitzi and accept her as one of their own, or as I looked around the pens and pastures at so many animals of so many species living cooperatively,  many sharing shelters and bowls and pools by choice. We humans have so much to learn from them.

Odd Bedfellows

It was magical - and often amusing - to watch Bob the Rooster with hens Natty and Cher, Sergio with Sarah, and Splash with 'the girls' (Splash fancies himself quite the ladies' man - er, duck's drake?).  The males were ever attentive to the whereabouts of their female friends, calling to them if they wandered too far, keeping others away if they were nesting quietly.  And yet there was also an independence among the females, as they ignored the call of the males and went, or stayed, wherever they chose. Each farmbird had his or her unique personality, strong personality, and a full and fascinating social life.

Bob and Natty, Sergio and Sarah, Athena and Splash

And some, well some moments were so magical they felt like gifts from Mother Nature, and they made me smile from deep inside my soul.  Like this little interaction between Sergio the goose and one of the pigs:

Sergio and a pig (not sure which one this is) were lying side by side for much of the afternoon, with Sarah not far off.

Sarah got up and said something to Sergio, upon which he got up.
I'm betting she told him to quit being lazy and get to work on that honey-do list! 

Sergio meekly followed Sarah, but as he went past the pig.........

"Hey, we're going now!  You coming?"

It was only a gentle peck.  I started chuckling and the camera shook so the next photo in the series was just a blur.  But the piggy did get up and follow them for a bit, before becoming distracted by some tasty grass.


And lastly, there was the Magic Moment with Cher and her ever-so-fancy topknot of feathers, as she tried to enjoy a cool drink of water:

Well, here I go.......

Glug...glug....glug..

Flip.....drip....splash

I hate that! 

That's the price you pay for vanity.

It is all too easy, in everyday life and in animal rescue,  to see the glass as half empty - there are always more horrors to hear about, more animals to be saved, more tears to shed, more 'what ifs' to worry about.  But those Magic Moments, they provide the balance.  There are few things more wondrous than when something beautiful catches the eye and you find yourself standing completely still, muscles relaxing, deeply breathing, and you whisper 'Wow!' - so thankful to be alive, to be witness to the amazing world of nature, of animals, of these richly diverse and incredibly intelligent beings with whom we share this earth.  It is the Magic Moments that make the glass seem not just half full, but overflowing.

I'll close this series on Sitting the Sanctuary with collages of some of my favourite photos from that week - many of which reflect more magic moments: