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Over the last two years, Sharman Saffier has brought great comfort to the special-needs animal residents of Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary. As a trained animal massage therapist, Sharman gives special attention to our disabled rabbits, turkeys and goats. Her on-hands compassion for the sanctuary’s most sensitive creatures is amazing and inspiring.
In addition to service at the sanctuary, Sharman risked her life to rescue Chandler the Duck who lying lifeless on a busy street in Stockton in early April. She then delivered Chandler to safety at the sanctuary. Not only that, Sharman recently connected us with Terry the Rescued Chihuahua’s adopter!
Sharman’s bravery and dedication is limitless. We are honored to know and work with her to promote animal protection.
Photo Credit: Ian Elwood.
Jules Veterinary Center in Tracy is a full service animal hospital with a deep commitment to animals in need. As frequent visitors of the hospital, we greatly appreciate the reasonably-priced vet services for our special-needs animals. Jules’ hardworking team work every day of the week to care for sick and injured animals in our community. The sanctuary’s rescued dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits and, yes, goats have all benefited from the expertise and sensitivity of the hospital’s doctors, nurses and technicians.
Our favorite experience at Jules was with Dr. James Burnett and Abe the Elderly Goat. Last October, Abe needed radiographs to monitor his leg health. When Abe arrived at the hospital, Dr. Burnett clearly guided frail Abe through the hospital. As a 21-year-old goat, Abe moved at “grandpa” speed. Radiographs were completed in no time with the assistance of several nurses. Abe was not stressed out by the foreign surroundings of a primarily small animal veterinary establishment. Abe was treated with the same level compassion that a dog or cat would receive. We applaud Jules Veterinary Center for caring for all animals with a high degree of professionalism and sincerity.
When a small business teams up with a small animal charity, good things are bound to happen. The Breakroom Cafe of Oakland has developed an inspiring, varied approach to supporting Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary over the last year. Donating delicious foods to our frequent bake sales, hosting a sanctuary benefit day at the cafe, catering our upcoming Barn Bash on June 3rd and fostering rescued rabbits are just a few ways the cafe owners help the sanctuary thrive. We have one piece of advice: Support this wonderful cafe. Eat, drink and be merry!
Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary is lucky to have dedicated animal advocates Roni Seabury and Dana Portnoy involved in the lifesaving work of our organization. Both woman are unstoppable in the face of extreme animal cruelty in factory farming. As committed volunteers for last year and a half, Roni and Dana have become devout supporters in so many areas, including emergency animal aid, major fundraising campaigns and direct animal health.
At the sanctuary, Roni and Dana each have special connections to two individual animals. Following the Emergency Turlock Rescue, Roni developed a strong bond with Natalie the Hen who was the last chicken saved from the manure pits at A&L Poultry. Dana has a profound admiration for Brandon the Former Force-Fed Duck who developed post-rescue mobility challenges.
To signify the unique beauty and importance of Natalie and Brandon, Roni and Dana recently made the decision to get arm tattoos of each respective bird. The tattoos of Natalie and Brandon are absolutely amazing and true to form.
Roni’s arm tattoo of Natalie the Ex-Battery Hen (Artist: Jean Chen):
Dana’s arm tattoo of Brandon the Former Factory Farmed Duck (Artist: Jean Chen):
We’re so excited to kick off Harvest Home Sanctuary Supporter Appreciation Week 2012 today. Let’s celebrate the dedication and compassion of the wonderful supporters of Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary during our inaugural appreciation week. We will spotlight the work of individual and business supporters throughout the week on our social media networks.
Stop by the Harvest Home Sanctuary table at BunnyFest 2012 tomorrow. At our booth, stock up on rabbit supplies and decorations, including recycled wine crate rabbit hideaway boxes and custom hand-painted rabbit glassware. Admission is free. Event Link: http://bunnyfest2012-efbevent.eventbrite.com/
Glamour shots of Foxy Brown, our newest rescued dog, are available for viewing and sharing. She is officially up for adoption now. To learn more about adopting Foxy, email rescue@harvesthomesanctuary.org. Photo link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/harvesthome/sets/72157629742750660/
Contact:
Lisa Franzetta, Animal Legal Defense Fund
Kim Sturla, Animal Place
Meredith Turner, Farm Sanctuary
Christine Morrissey, Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary
Modesto, Calif. – This morning, three non-profit animal sanctuaries—Animal Place, Farm Sanctuary, and Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary—filed a complaint in the Stanislaus County Superior Court, seeking justice for 50,000 hens who were abandoned this past February by the owners of A&L Poultry, a Turlock egg production facility. The sanctuaries are represented by attorneys at the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) and Schiff Hardin.
When the birds were discovered after two long weeks, the plaintiffs responded to A&L Poultry’s shocking and illegal cruelty by rescuing almost 4,500 surviving hens, who were all starved and severely dehydrated—and, in so doing, shouldered the egg producer’s legal duty to care for their animals. Today’s lawsuit seeks to place responsibility on the guilty parties who caused the suffering of tens of thousands of helpless animals.
The case centers on California’s largest-ever rescue of farmed animals. The hens were crammed into cages so small that they could not stretch their wings. Hens struggling to survive intermingled with the 20,000 hens who had already perished. Dozens of chickens had fallen out of their cages and struggled to avoid drowning in the giant manure pits below the buildings. Many were so sick that they could not stand, hold up their heads, or eat and drink. The sanctuaries provided emergency care to the emaciated and suffering animals, and have been nursing them back to health.
“After 48 hours of camping outside of the egg farm, Animal Place took in 4,100 of the starving hens to our two sanctuaries,” stated Kim Sturla, Animal Place’s executive director. “The highlight of Animal Place’s efforts is watching these hens experience daylight, grass, love, and affection for the first time in their lives.”
“We can’t begin to imagine what these poor animals suffered as a result of the defendants’ reckless disregard for their welfare,” says Bruce Friedrich, Farm Sanctuary’s senior director for strategic initiatives. “No remedy is severe enough, but at the very least they should be held fully accountable by the courts.”
“The lawsuit the Animal Legal Defense Fund is filing on behalf of the plaintiffs who rescued the thousands of hens left to die seeks to place the expense of dealing with the tragic aftermath of this act of cruelty on the owners of A&L Poultry, who blatantly violated California law and never looked back,” says ALDF executive director Stephen Wells.
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ALDF was founded in 1979 with the unique mission of protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system. For more information, please visit aldf.org.
Animal Place is one of the oldest and largest sanctuaries specializing in the rescue and care of neglected and abused farmed animals. Animal Place provides permanent refuge to hundreds of animals on 600-acres in Grass Valley, CA. Animal Place’s Rescue Ranch rescues and re-homes more than 3,000 chickens and other farmed animals annually at its 60-acre Vacaville, CA site. Visit animalplace.org to learn more.
Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, promotes legislative, policy, and individual lifestyle changes to help farm animals. Farm Sanctuary’s shelters in New York and California provide lifelong care for more than 1,000 rescued farm animals. For more information, please visit farmsanctuary.org.
Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary is a farmed animal rescue, rehabilitation, and humane education center in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The Stockton-based rescue organization currently operates a two-acre rescue facility that provides lifelong refuge for animals representing thirteen species. For more information, please visit HarvestHomeSanctuary.org.
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