The Sanctuary was founded on the belief that the animals in our community are in our care. That care means a responsibility for the safety, well-being, and quality of life for all animals.
Meet Some of the Sanctuary’s Wonderful Residents!
Charlie the Crow
Charlie is the perfect example of why Sara’s Sanctuary was created and what we strive to achieve with all the animals that find their way to our door. With patience, persistence and a lot of love, almost every one of them can have a very happy story, too!
Charlie came to us from a wonderful, caring rescuer in California who had been trying to raise him in his kitchen for over a year. Although, he obviously loved this crow, he knew Charlie needed more specialized care than he would be able to provide. So when he moved here, his rescuer brought Charlie to our Sanctuary for his “second chance” at a better life. Charlie had no tail or wing feathers. We called him “Bumble Bee” because he would try and fly, and would just drop back down, and land up side down. He couldn’t balance himself upright on a perch. We built a cage that would help to keep Charlie from continually falling on his back. As time went on, we added different sized ladders for him to learn to balance himself on. Eventually he was able to walk down onto the grass, when he was strong enough and finally conquered his fear of open spaces.
Charlie also had developed what’s known as “scissor beak”. This required his food to be cut into very small pieces and hand fed to him three times a day. He also needed supplements to help his feathers to grow back without breaking off. We massaged his beak two to three times a day to train his beak to move back into a normal position. We were sure that Charlie would remain in captivity for the rest of his life, but after two years, all of his feathers were fully restored and he was now able to eat completely by himself. Why? we don’t know. It was a little miracle to us. He was moved to a flight pen to allow him to gain his muscle strength in his wings to learn to fly. We had another crow that had been rescued and released on our property and he began coming to Charlie’s enclosure and continually tried to befriend Charlie through the enclosure wire. We cut a hole to see if Charlie showed any interest in flying free. One incredible day, after several months, Charlie chose to pair with the other crow and flew out of the enclosure to be free on the property. That was five years ago and they are both still together. Every day they come to remind me to put out the fresh food they have grown to expect. They, and their family, are wonderfully protective of the Sanctuary and show that by chasing away the hawks that frequently come here wanting to feed on other birds and squirrels living on our property.
After seeing the unbelievable and horrendous things humans either do or allow to happen to animals, this is the perfect story. This is exactly why we work so hard to provide everything possible to ensure a happy ending for all our animals and birds who have and will call Sara’s Sanctuary their safe haven.
Jack the Raccoon
Jack is a wonderful big boy, who will live out his life as part of our family here at Sara’s Sanctuary. Jack ended up with us after we received a call from a woman in California asking for help. She did not know what to do or who to turn too. Like too many people, she wanted to hand-raise a baby raccoon that could live with her in her house . When she found you could buy baby raccoon on the internet, she quickly arranged to purchased this little baby from a breeder. As most stories go with purchasing exotic animals, this tiny adorable little fuss ball grew up, and became very strong when he reached adolescence . He quickly grew out of control beng kept in a home inviroment, and she could no longer handle him. She was forced to cage him outside in a very tiny dog kennel. Jack is considered “exotic wildlife” as he was not born in the wild. Jack has settled in here now, and is a very happy happy raccoon. He resides in a large enclosure with lots of toys, a pool and lots of room to climb and play.
This is a good example why we the Exotic Animal Laws should be enforced. Please don’t by from a breeder, and please adopt a dog or doemstic cat. There are thousands waiting for loving homes. Please never think of purchasing a raccoon from a breeder which keeps these breeders in business of selling babies and creating situations like Jack’s.
Once humans provide food and familiarity to any wild animal, they lose their ability to learn to survive in the wild.
Toby the Raccoon
Toby also came to live here at the Sanctuary from a private owner who purchased him. Again, these people had always loved seeing the raccoons in the wild and when they found they could actually buy one from a breeder, they could not wait to buy! They quickly found that a growing, maturing, innately a wild animal would become very hard to handle and not be suitable to be kept loose in a home, even if hand-raised from a very small baby. Toby will spend the rest of his life here enjoying the most freedom he can have for captivity. We are often asked why not turn these animals out into the wild? Althoughthey were born in captivity, they lose the instinct to forage for food nor the capability to survive in the wild because of being raised by humans. So, although raccoons can be very gentle and sweet with humans in the wild, they are never a good option to buy and try and kepp as a domesti pet. We humans are only doing them a huge disservice by buying to be you pet, or taking out of the wild assuming they need your help.
Most babies found in the wild have not been abandoned but are temporarily separated from their mother who has been scared off and will return for her baby when people leave. If a baby is truly abandoned because it’s mother has been hit by a car or killed, the only good option, with a good outcome, is for it to be taken it a licensed wildlife center in your area where, in most cases, it can be rehabilitated correctly and returned to the wild to live the life it was born to have.
Bob the Emu
Bob was rescued from a padlocked 8′ x 10′ cage in which he had lived for 16 years. When he was rescued, he was deep in his own feces. His body was plastered with dried feces, he had open sores on his belly, edema in his legs, and a respiratory infection. He could hardly stand and was literally at death’s door.
Bob was taken from an horrific environment. A local independent zoo veterinarian, examined Bob, and held out little hope for his survival. This veterinarian thought Bob would never regain the use of his legs and advised us to put him down. This was not an option; he deserved our best effort to get him walking and ejoy life again. We dedicated many hours to his rehabilitation. Against all odds, Bob survived. Not only did he survive, he has been thriving for years!
We believed that Bob should be given that chance in life to feel grass under his feet. Bob fully recovered and has had acres of open ground to live and vegetate on. It took many months of rehabililiation to get him what he deserved. Bob is very old now, but every day that Bob is with us, we feel very lucky to have given him this opporunity to thrive in love, peace and freedom without being caged.
Sara’s Sanctuary has become Bob’s forever home. Consider sponsoring Bob
Milly the Mallard
Milly is a sweet little mallard hen who is the queen of our flight pen. In 1990, we were contacted about a little duck in desperate need of help. She was found in a garbage can outside of a restaurant. She was missing her eyes. She was brought to the Sanctuary and where her wounds were healed. She now gets around with the help of a chicken who was also had severe injuries by her former owner. Milly has thrived and has reached the age of 21. She loves to swim in the pond and sit in the sun. She’s our little warrior, and we love her so much!
Pierre The Duck
Pierre was rescued as a baby and came to the sanctuary because he was slated to be killed. He couldn’t stand or walk because he had some sort of neurological damage: he would flip over, and his head was twisted unnaturally to one side. Terri constructed a special support device similar to a baby’s Johnny Jump-Up for Pierre that allowed him to stand upright, be fed upright, and start moving his legs so that his muscles could start developing. After four months of continuous therapy and muscle stimulation, Pierre was able to remain upright on his own and started walking.
He is now completely recovered and even has attracted the attention of a lovely female duck. This is truly a miraculous recovery. Sponsoring Pierre will allow him to live out his life at the sanctuary in comfort and happiness.
Spinner The Chicken
Spinner, a chicken with seizure problems, was a former kindergarten pet who was dropped on his head. Spinner, who needs to be held several times a day to reduce the incidence of seizures, loves to have his feet massaged!
Please, teachers and parents - animals should not be raised in a class room and used for a school project!
Jane The Pigeon
Jane, the pigeon was found on the Microsoft campus with two broken legs. Our vet was on vacation, so we needed to use another Vet for the emegency situation. This Vets immediate reaction was the bird was not worth saving, and he wanted to destroy it by ringing its neck at that instant.
That was not an option, it was only broken bones. This bird deserved a fighting chance. Terri tended to the bird’s injuries– and nursed it back to health. Jane is now flying, walking, and perching normally and is happily living in the Sanctuary. (12 years now)
This was the Beginning a Better Life for This Wonderful Serval. We were called to help with a Serval that the owners could no longer care for. This serval was being kept in a back yard in a busy crowded neighborhood. It’s enclosure was a very unsecured small pen, put together with small zip ties and wild bird netting. The owner told us that this cat had an abscess , but they had done nothing to treat it. When we arrived, it was on the ground gnawing on a growth on it’s leg. It was obvious that it was not an abscess, but a very large tumor.
This Seval had not received any medical care for this painful, long-time growth. The owner knew it was illegal to own this type of exotic wild cat in the State of Washington without a USDA permit. We can only assume this is the reason they did not seek medical help for it.
When we picked this serval up, we immediately took it to our vet to have it’s health issues assessed. The tumor was removed the next day and the pathology report came back, it was a malignant tumor – (Chondrosarcoma). Although this serval is in no pain now, we will have to wait to see if it will be albe to survive this disease.
Such a happy serval now! Experiencing new things everyday that are new and exciting . Only a few days after surgery, he is climbing on platforms, to levels of 15′. He is getting the diet that he has needed all these years. These cats so deserve to live in the wild, not be somone’s pet in their powder room, garage or back yard kennel.