Several experienced animal activists have undertaken the daunting task of creating a sanctuary for senior animals, according to Jean Grace.
Willow Branch Animal Sanctuary will provide senior horses (30 years or older), all breed of dogs (seven years or older), and cats (10 years or older), a safe and loving home-like setting in which they can receive personal attention, food, medical care, exercise and love.
The sanctuary will be “for senior animals regardless of medical condition, as well as for those needing hospice care,” according to Grace. Willow Branch will also offer a safe home for animals of hospice human patients undergoing treatment.
“Part of our mission is to actively promote foster care and suitable adoptions of the animals in our care. We have a lifetime commitment to all the senior animals that come into our care. They will either live out their lives with us at the sanctuary or will be adopted into a wonderful, permanent home,” Grace said.
In her capacity as the leader of the volunteer group organizing the Willow Branch Animal Sanctuary, Grace explained that although the sanctuary will be located in Patrick Springs, it will provide a home to elderly dogs from Patrick, Henry and Carroll counties, and plans to work with rescue organizations in Floyd County.
The sanctuary is expressly “for older animals that are not wanted or that have been mistreated, neglected or, for whatever reason, no longer have a home,” according to the group’s mission statement.
Grace explained the grassroots effort to establish the sanctuary is being led by several former members of the Patrick Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in Patrick County.
“But their focus is on taking dogs in and adopting them out,” Grace said, and explained that she spent 11 years as animal control officer and also worked on animal abuse cases in the Attorney General’s office.
“My exposure and what I learned there is that there really is not a large focus in the U.S. on helping our older animals. There is nothing in the state (Virginia), and nothing in the U.S. that helps supports animals that languish in animal shelters,” she said, adding that many shelters have an 80 percent euthanasia rate.
“My mission is to open up a sanctuary for older animals,” Grace said.
Willow Branch is filing the documents for its nonprofit status, and plans to develop 18 acres of donated land that is located just off of Spring Road that will serve as the initial home of the sanctuary, she said, adding help is being sought to clear the land.
“By this fall, we will have a barn there,” Grace said. “If we bring in animals that are not adoptable, that’s where they will live out the rest of their lives.”
There also are plans to create a cemetery on the property and to buy more land. The group is holding various fundraisers, writing grants and researching other potential forms of revenue to pay the estimated initial costs of $30,000, she said.
“We need people in the county to step up with (donations of) building material, labor, people who have experience in building barns, a person who can assist us in building the barn, and we need that right now,” Grace said. “We need construction expertise and someone who will offer their services to help us clear the land.”
When operational, the sanctuary will be a “mirror image of Best Friends” Animal Society in Utah, Grace said.
In the interim, the group also needs foster families to take animals, Grace said.
The group also plans to contact the Tidewater Equine Rescue Association in Virginia Beach to offer assistance once the sanctuary is operational, Grace said.
“A horse’s life expectance is probably 40 years,” Grace said, adding the sanctuary will “prevent them from being slaughtered, essentially, and that’s where they would head.”
Horses at the sanctuary may be used by other agencies, for instance, “when state has a need for horses for wellness program where horses can come heal,” Grace said.
The animals selected for those ventures will be among the healthier, she said.
“Some will be adopted, but some animals can’t be adopted out, so they’ll live out their life here at the sanctuary,” she said.
The group is holding regular monthly fundraising events, with the next one slated to be held in March. Check the Community Calendar of Events and the group’s Facebook page for more information.
The site of the future Willow Branch Animal Sanctuary, which will be used to house senior animals regardless of medical condition. The initial facility will be located on Spring Road in Patrick Springs.
