Who are we?

In 1996, the founder started work on the sanctuary with the purchase of a 10 acre wooded property in the pinon and juniper woodlands of the Manzano Mountains, some solar panels, batteries, a wind turbine, and cat fencing. (The cat population didn't need any work.) In 2000, a group of friends filed with the IRS to make the sanctuary non-profit. The original officers consisted of Lisa (a Santa Barbarian / Mathematician / Software Puke/ ???), Raymond (an Albuquerque Veterinarian hailing from England), and Deb Sue (the "Ninja Pet Nanny"). Raymond had been treating all of Lisa's critters for years, and said to her one day, "Why don't you start your own [pet charity]?" That may be one of those comments that keeps one up nights whilst muttering "be careful what you wish for."




The Manzano Mountains, although beautiful and pristine, turned out to be unsuitable for a sanctuary for various reasons. Late in 2001, we resolved to relocate the sanctuary to California and to sell the New Mexico Property. So the founder packed up the critters and moved them ALL to the Northern Mojave Desert of California. Three non-stop trips in a Jeep Wrangler with cat crates in the "cargo" area, up the back windows, and quilts and dogs riding on top of the crates. And there was excitement of the "aaaaaagh!" variety along the way, but I'll save that story for another time. We skipped around for awhile before another property was purchased and donated by the founder. 40 acres of clean Mojave desert from which to continue our mission of animal sanctuary and eco-friendly facility demonstration. We are also looking for donations and volunteers to accomplish this... so if you'd like to toss some donations or person-power in our direction, we promise not to throw it back.

What is a Tulgey Wood?

...
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
  The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the Tulgey Wood,
  And burbled as it came!
...


Lisa here... These lines, for those of you who have neither guessed nor recognized, are from the poem Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carrol. It is introduced in Through the Looking Glass. Alice wanders through the book puzzling over it occasionally, until she runs into a couple of other characters who define the terms for her. I can't remember who, although it is someone like the Walrus and the Carpenter, or Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, or Humpty Dumpty. Anyway, the poem has been in my head since I was four or five year old. And I've decided lately, that the blood thirsty references are in relation to internal demons, no cool dragony creature is being snicker-snacked, so it's all ok.

Why are we doing all this?

All this exploring of alternative shelter and energy is not meant to be a diversion of our time and resources, but rather a saver of those. The critters need buildings and shelter. So why not check out straw bale or earth-sheltering? The critters need cool water for drinking and warm water for bathing, power for lights (so their caretakers can see what they are doing), power for washing their bedding, and refrigeration for medications and special diets. They need heat in the winter, and cooling in the summer. It's all in the choices we make to do the things that have to be done anyway. And for each of these choices, the alternative choice seems to pay for itself by reducing or eliminating certain operating costs involved in maintaining shelter facilities. Which means more funds will be available to help more animals. So why not?



Of course, our main focus will always be the care of homeless pets and changing their plight through education, outreach, and neuter, neuter, neuter. However, we think that the rest of it ties into the main purpose for this reason: if human existence is seen as "them or us," i.e., the environment and our fellow travelers on this big rock hurtling through the cosmos vs. humans, the former will always lose. Humans may not necessarily want to sacrifice the environment to expediency, but the alternative is not mainstream, not familiar, and not visible. Without the demonstration of a lifestyle that is comfortable and attainable yet does not compromise the future of this big, blue ball that we all call home, nothing will change for the better.