Catskill Animal Sanctuary

A Valentine's for Farm Animals
By Karin Edmondson

This is my third article on Catskill Animal Sanctuary in Saugerties (please visit www.catskillregionguide.com/articles/archive.php for the prior two articles). Some things have changed. The big main barn—a lively hub of squawking, grunting, shuffling, pawing activity—has a brand new sparkling green roof. There are several new wood plank mini-barns dotting the rolling fields of the property. Inside the main barn colorful, vibrant and large 4' x 4 'paintings of farm animals hang on barn walls, next to stalls occupied by various members of the same species. The giant willows that line the main road and border a meandering pond seem even more majestic, the ground around their trunks neatly weeded, grass cropped. And, of course, a number of the animal inhabitants have changed. Four coquettish and dashing mini roosters strut and preen and take fanciful promenades up and down driveways and through the big barn. A blind horse, BoBo, and her companion, Luna, graze peacefully in a field still green, almost verdant from unusually warm winter weather. A handsome pot-bellied pig by the name of Winston has recently arrived and is slowly learning to overcome his fear of humans. Dino, the forty-something year old pony who survived a Brooklyn fire in which 21 other horses died, still has his stall in the big barn but he also has a new friend—Ted, a 30-year old gentle giant of a draft horse. Dino and Ted live next to one another, a large window linking their stalls so that Ted may rest his head upon his friend Dino’s back at night before bed. But one thing hasn’t changed: the story that each of the animals carries with him, reminders—mostly grim—of humanity’s capacity for cruelty and selfishness. The other thing that hasn’t changed is the patience, grace, care and healing that these creatures receive at the sanctuary from Kathy Stevens, the director with a innate gift for deeply resonant animal communication, and from the staff of 80-plus volunteers who shovel stalls, haul bales of hay and offer treats of apples, carrots and apricots, and from that magical, wondrous, ethereal element in the air—L.O.V.E.



Catskill Animal Sanctuary rescues, rehabilitates and seeks to find warm, loving homes for abused (some severe) and neglected (ditto severe) farm animals. Horses, cows, pigs, sheep, rabbits, turkeys, ducks, goats—animals usually dismissed merely as food animals—that have been locked in barns and left to die, animals raised in narrow, confining crates, animals that most people do not find cuddly or cute and who are too easily cast aside, overlooked or viewed as commodities without feelings or the capacity to feel real pain. Catskill Animal Sanctuary has thus far rescued and rehabilitated over 1,000 farm animals and has found homes for about 850. In 2006 alone CAS welcomed 134 new animals, built four new shelters (including a 1200 square foot cow barn), two hay storage barns and a cottage for their animal care director to ensure that their animals have round-the-clock care, and fenced two additional pastures all for these worthy animals. The adoption process is rigorous. Volunteer “home inspectors” drive miles to interview potential adopters and to examine the property, the barns and pastures that will become the animals’ new home, and take the time to ensure a good match between animal and human psyches. “These are animals whose spirits have been broken,” Stevens explains. “People need to understand that.” Stevens says: “Humans recoil at the thought of deliberate animal cruelty. When we do large rescues of 20, 40, 60 or more animals that have been locked in a barn and left to starve to death (rescues such as this occur every winter), the outpouring of sympathy is overwhelming. Yet if we ask the same people who rail against ‘animal abusers’ to consider the lives of factory-farmed animals—animals who know nothing but terror and suffering from birth to death—we’re not likely to get the same level of outrage, the same moral indignation.” She goes on to explain that rescue work will always be at the heart of CAS: “that’s the joyful part, the part that warms the heart, but how to reveal the lives of farmed animals in a way that doesn’t judge people’s lifestyles (i.e., decisions about whether to eat meat) and instead encourages them to consider different choices—now that’s our greatest challenge.”

To this end, the other piece of Catskill Animal Sanctuary’s mission is education: a “teaching sanctuary” is how Stevens refers to CAS. It offers on-site programming such as tours, group presentations, films…even on-site vegan cooking classes. The sanctuary welcomes school groups, teachers, seniors, youth organizations, religious organizations and others interested in learning about farm animals. Each visit is customized to the ages, size and backgrounds of the group, and can be as short as 90 minutes. Customized educational experiences are often a full day and can include films, discussions, hands-on animal care assistance, vegan cooking classes and Q & A session with Kathy. The sanctuary also offers off-site programming and events. Indeed, during spring and fall, Stevens spends an average of a day each week in schools around the region. “But school visits are nothing like encouraging a child to lie on the ground and kiss the wet nose of a pig,” she says, smiling. Educating and gently informing the public comes naturally to Kathy, a former award-winning educator and curriculum-developer. Her book, Where the Blind Horse Sings, will be out in late spring and available on the sanctuary Web site and in bookstores. “Sure, it discusses my philosophy,” she says, “but mostly, it shows who these remarkable animals are and invites people to look at them in a new way.”



Each time I visit the sanctuary, for instance, I learn something new not only about the animals but about humankind, about nature, about life. Take, for example, my visit with Helen, a four month old blind calf. She arrived at the sanctuary four days before my visit. “The only time she’d ever been handled was when her prior owners lassoed her to get her onto the trailer to bring her here,” Stevens explains. “Initially, she ran in frantic circles. No one could get close to her.” But Stevens’ decision to take the calf was based on three questions: 1. Could she have a full life? 2. Did we have a suitable “seeing eye cow” for her? 3. Could we train her to follow our voices? Stevens’ answer to each question was a resounding “yes,” and within days after her arrival, the frantic calf follows human voices, licks faces, chews fingers…and snuggles with her buddy Rudy, a calf rescued from the now defunct Catskill Game Farm. On my next visit, I’ll likely find Helen devotedly following a human of her choice through his or her daily chores.



Then there is Winston, a pot bellied pig who is still learning to trust humans. His former owner repeatedly kicked Winston in his flank so that the miserable pig took matters into his own hands and ran away from home, seeking refuge in shrubs outside the home of recently transplanted city folk. Pigs are generally very curious and trusting creatures, yet even after nine weeks at the sanctuary, Winston is still tentative with humans and whips around if approached from behind (although when I stayed crouched down on the barn floor for a few minutes in order to snap his portrait, Winston quite boldly shuffled up to me to closer examine my camera). And finally, there’s Ted—a seventeen hands tall draft horse who has had more career incarnations than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ted pulled a carriage in New York City, then pulled a plough for the Amish, then was a logging horse for a long, long time before being sold to a third-rate riding camp where he was ridden to exhaustion and kept in a narrow, 3-foot wide stall until a kindly lady rescued him from auction. This horse, the one CAS was told “was terrified of humans” and “vicious with other horses” is now a 2,000 pound love muffin who dotes on Dino, his 300-pound equine pal. That’s the kind of place CAS is: it draws the best out of those whose lives it touches.

CAS employs a staff of seven, only four of whom are full-time. It relies heavily upon a brigade of faithful volunteers (including a renowned vegan nutritionist and author) to assist with its day-to-day operations, and looks to the community for donations of funds, materials, expertise and time. In the past year, two new hay barns, another cow barn, additional duck, rabbit and chicken areas were built and fenced. The goal for 2007? “A Visitors Center,” Stevens says, emphatically. “We’ve grown to the point where we can’t do without one.”



There are a number of ways to support this joyful place, and to ensure that it continues to bestow the grace of love and compassion on these deserving creatures.



1) Volunteer. People are needed on a daily basis to muck out stalls, feed the animals, and generally spend some time with them so they learn to trust humans again. Farm work-challenged folks can help with a variety of administrative or event-planning tasks.



2) Membership. CAS eagerly welcomes new members, and its 2007 goal is to increase its membership to 5,000. Annual membership begins at just $30 for individuals and $50 for families, and includes free weekend admission and a quarterly newsletter. As board member Gretchen Primack explains, “Half of our operating budget comes from a devoted membership, and as the farm grows, so does our budget, so we invite animal-loving folks to sign up!”



3) Sponsorship. This is a great way to help out on a more personal level. Every animal is available to sponsor on a monthly basis—from $10 for a chicken to $100 for a horse. Your monthly check or credit card deduction is put toward your animal’s feed, bedding and daily care. You will receive a photo and history of your animal, and are encouraged to visit him or her.



4) Adoption. Placing CAS critters in loving homes opens up space for other needy animals. Adoption requires ample land, a warm barn or other appropriate shelter, food, water, love and care. Potential families are interviewed and potential homes inspected, both pre- and post-adoption, by volunteers who drive a multi-county area searching for “exactly the right home” for each animal.



5) Donations. CAS needs all sorts of donations, from money, of course, to tangible items like lumber and hay, to office supplies and veterinary medications, to actual time and professional expertise. Here is the current Wish List:

For the Barn:

• Hay Wagon

• Gift cards to: Accord Feeds & Needs, Lowe’s,

Mac’s Agway (Red Hook), Tractor Supply Company,

William’s Fence, Barn Yard Feeds

• Energy efficient refrigerator

• Push brooms & corn husk brooms

• Recycled paper towels (such as

Marcal, Seventh Generation,

or Green Forest)

• Environmentally friendly dish soap

and all-purpose cleaners (such as

Ecover, Method, Seventh

Generation, Dr. Bronners, or Ecos)

• First Aid supplies (triple antibiotic,

peroxide, rubbing alcohol,

medical tape & gauze, vet wrap, etc.)

• Nylon horse & cow halters

• Bagged shavings

• Salt and mineral blocks

For the Office:

• Panasonic Toughbook (laptop)

with wireless networking, capable

of running Windows XP

• Gift cards to Staples

• First class and post card stamps

• Cases of 24 lb recycled paper

• Tri-fold display boards

• Color laser printer

For the Visitors’ Center:

• Folding chairs

• Folding chair storage rack

• Multi-level display case for

tri-fold brochures

• Three (3) 3' x 4' cork boards

• USA wall map

Services:

• Farrier

• Web programmer / designer

• Horse trainer

• Grant writer



Catskill Animal Sanctuary is located at 316 Old Stage Road in Saugerties. Please visit www.casanctuary.org or call 845 336 8447 for more information. CAS will be open for tours and educational events starting in April, with visiting hours of 11 am to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free for members, $5.00 for the general public. For the safety of their animals and yours, no dogs please. To program an educational outing that’s right for your organization, please contact director Kathy Stevens at 845 336 7430 or e-mail eks@casanctuary.org.