From All of Us at Catskill Animal Sanctuary, Welcome!
From All of Us, Welcome!
Above, from left to right:
Walt Batycki, Animal Care
April Harrison, Farm Manager
Lorraine Roscino, Animal Care
Karen Lockrow, Volunteer
Me and my pal Paulie the Rooster
Volunteer Jane Sarcona
Alex Spaey, Farm Maintenance
Foreground: An uncharacteristically stoic Murphy, Director of Canine Pursuits
If you love animals,
If you want to know them more deeply,
If you want to feel part of a community where distinctions between “human” and “animals” are meaningless,
If you want inspiration for giving up meat,
Then I hope this blog will feel like home.
I founded Catskill Animal Sanctuary in 2001. Where the Blind Horse Sings, available online (blindhorsesings.com, barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com) and in most bookstores, tell much of the story. Suffice it to say in this brief introduction that we have saved over 1,200 abused, abandoned, or discarded animals--horses, cows, donkeys, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys, and rabbits. We've taken in large numbers from hoarders, and animals from "animals rescues" closed by police for cruelty. We've taken in a pony shot in the head, another one who was set on fire, a chicken stuffed in a mailbox, a dozen rabbits found in a dumpster. Many of our cows, horses, goats, and sheep were discovered locked in barns in the dead of winter without any food or water whatsoever. Nearly all our potbellied pigs were abandoned by their humans. Our current residents include Helen the blind calf, Blake the one-footed duck, and Rambo, the greatest sheep who's ever lived. Yes, it's a cast of characters! But how resilient they are, and how forgiving. We hope, among other things, that you'll visit our special sanctuary, where healed and happy animals have a lot to teach us.
View image
Above: Helen, the blind calf.
We love what we do. We believe in this work. To the credit of many special human beings and many special animals, CAS is a magical place. I invite you to see for yourself. I invite you to learn from these animals who, allowed to thrive, become so much more than one could believe possible.
From all of us at Catskill Animal Sanctuary, welcome.