Sara’s Sanctuary is a Federally Licensed 501 (c) 3 non profit Animal Rescue Facility & USDA licenced.
Fed. ID# 91-2047487 and USDA # 91-C-0094

Quick Links to Reference:

• Emergency Vet Care Information
• Sponsor an Animal or Donate
• Sara’s Wish List has other ways to help
• Volunteer
• Sara’s Angels

This should not be someone’s PET!

WE ARE NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. We are often asked, “Why Not?”

The answer is: Sara’s Sanctuary is NOT a zoo. We are a rescue facility that was created to provide animals in need a quiet, predictable. safe and loving home, something many of them never known before.

Because of their backgrounds, many of the animals that are here can be unpredictable and reactive negatively around humans they don’t know. Many of animals were illegally purchased, abandoned and subsequently confiscated by city or county agencies before they were brought to us. They are innately wild animals and many need to be protected from the stress of further human exposure and interaction.

The animal’s daily care and well-being has to be our number one priority. We hope that you will be able to better know who these wonderful and deserving babies are through the information and pictures on this website of our many wonderful babies, and that you will better understand our mission for the animals that come to us. 

Babies are back!

Very soon, there will be many baby critters out there, trying very hard to survive with nature and us HUMANS. There will be  many squirrels, cottontails,”wild rabbits,” raccoons, and fawns (baby deer), which might seem like they have been abandoned.  Please stop – before you make that decesion to pick them up. Usually, the situation is OK, and the mother has just been scared off by humans or other animals, or typically they are off feeding themselves. They are probably waiting nearby to continue to care for their babies until you go away! Please resist picking them up!  If you truly think they are injured or orphaned, only then – pick them up and intervine, and then you MUST take them to a licensed rehabilitation facility.  Please read the Baby Cottontail Information located on our “Contact Page” before you try to make that determination.
 
If you feel they are in danger, call PAWS/HOWL Wildlife of Lynnwood for help with baby birds & wildlife: 425-787-2500, ext. 490, and their website is www.paws.org. Thank you. 

Obviously, being free for any animal is the best option, if only for all exotics & wildlife, but usually, because of human involvement, that option is impossible for many. Most people don’t know that many of the species of creatures we have cared for here at the Sanctuary these past 14 years are illegal to own in the state of Washington.  They are bred and sold every day into private ownership – from servals to bears, primates to foxes, deer, raccoons, squirrels, skunks and even the often misunderstood little opossum – basically any animal, bird or reptile you can think of.  It is very disheartening to see the sad and filthy situations many of these animals are left in after being forced into human hands, totally dependent for even something as basic as clean water.  Trade in birds, of all types, is the most prolific. The main need a bird has is to fly and be free, and yet so many of them will ultimately end up sitting in a small cramped cage in someone’s home or garage with no attention or care.

We believe all creatures deserve the same care and quality of life, no matter what size or shape it is.  Providing that has always been our first priority. 

Meet Some of the wonderful critters who have found their way to our doors… 

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Maynard loves his toys!

 This new website  has been dedicated to Maynard!       

 A serious situation developed at our Redmond location of Sara’s Sanctuary. One of our neighbors filed a formal complaint against Sara’s Sanctuary. When King County Animal Control responded to the complaint and conducted an  on-site inspection, they found NO code violations with our sanctuary.  ONLY because of this neighbor’s persistent threats and efforts against us, our case was transferred to King County DDES.  This neighbor then obtained a petition against us. This petition action resulted in an investigation of our property. King County is  now questioning  our animal enclosures, in proximity to the  property lines/and the property line set backs laws.  The set back laws for a private farm or a Sanctuary for animals,  is 10′. We are a Sanctuary for animals, not a shelter. A shelter, is a temporary housing facility, which adopts out animals.   Because we are a Sanctuary the setbacks are “10 ft” . King County now wants to change our classification to a shelter instead of what we are a  “sanctuary”.  This will change our set backs to 50′ for any animal enlcosure and even our pasture grazing area.  There is No grandfather clause for buildings for a shelter.  Although, this property was bought for the sole use of the “Sanctuary”, our barn, that was built over 20 years ago, (not by us) is not safe from the Neighbors and the County. Because of the neighbors threats, the County now say’s it’s too close to the property lines.  Our barn is 48′  from our surveryed property line, but we have been told to tear it down. Just one of many enlosures where our babies call home.      

We are USDA licensed and exotic animals do not fall into the the same  laws of domestic animals. Maynard, was not an issue  – he was protected as an exotic endangered species. Sadly to say, many of  any of the other animals living at the Sanctuary were not protected by this same act because they were not exotic.  The  injured little dove, an abused and injured goat, or the goose that was shot in the head, are not protected  because they are not exotic endangered species. We are working with King County to try and resolve these property ”set back” issues. Sara’s Sanctuary needs your support now more than ever. Throughout the 10 years we have existed at this location, we have always had the community’s support, including King County. We believed that support  included our neighbors, it is very dis-heartning to find out they do not support us and our mission.  We will continue to fight  to be allowed to continue our mission of helping animals in need at our Redmond, King County, location.       

If you believe in what we are doing here and want to help us to continue our mission of offering a lifetime home to animals who have nowhere else to go (and you are a resident of King County, WA), please click on the button above and sign our petition to show King County that we have our community’s support. We have made it through many hurdles over the years, and we will never stop fighting to provide the highest quality of life for the animals that find their way to our door. We will continue our love and dedicated care to these incredible creatures no matter what obstacles are thrown in front of us. Sara’s Sanctuary is here for life!  It is now up to King County whether we will be allowed to continue to operate out of our Redmond location. Please help us protect the animals that have come to find a safe and happy home, here in Redmond WA.

Maynard the Gibbon

We are a Sanctuary, not an animal shelter. An animal “Sanctuary”, is a no-kill, “Lifetime Haven”, where animals are not bred, sold, traded or adopted out. We should not be forced to break this commitment to any animal we give refuge to.

Sara’s Sanctuary’s policy & pledge to any animal in our care is that we will give them the best life possible.  If there is a situation where an animal needs to be relocated, we will only relocate them if we can find a home that will give them as good, or better quality of life than we can give them here.

One of our neighbors, literally threatened Maynard’s safety and all the other animals living here at our Redmond location. Because of this one man and his legal postures against us, we are no longer operating out of our Novelty Hill location. Prior to this neighbors threats against us, we had been aggressively looking for a new home for Maynard. Ultimately, we were looking to find a female Gibbon who could be his life long partner. Placing a Gibbon in a primate sanctuary is an extremely difficult task. We have had a skilled team of primate specialists searching for a new home for Maynard.  

We give every animal that comes to us a safe, peaceful and happy life. We always done everything in our power to ensure this happens. Although this is not the freedom that they ultimately deserve, we believe that if they must be kept captivity, these wonderful creatures should have the best that we can possibly provide. Unlike many zoos and shelters, we do not sell, breed or trade these animals. We rarely relocate animals to other sanctuaries and we do not believe in uprooting established animals from the happy home they have found here.

We  have made it through many hurdles over the years, and we will never stop fighting for the highest quality of life for animals. We will continue our love and dedicated care of these incredible creatures. no matter what challenges are presented to us!

This neighbor states that if Maynard remaines here at the Sanctuary, he would file a class action lawsuit against us, and we would lose our property - home of the Sanctuary.  This man claimed that Maynard sings 24/7.  This was absolutely is not true!  If and when Maynard sings, it is usually somewhere between 9:00 am, and 4:00 in the afternoon. He does not sing in the early morning and never sings in the  evening. Maynard does not usually sing during the winter months unless he is startled by a passing cougar.

When we learned that several of our neighbors were upset with the Maynard’s singing, we immediately changed his daily routine and lifestyle.  We have felt the need to keep people away from Maynard’s area so Maynard will not be encouraged to sing.  This is a loss for the visitors who cannot enjoy his antics and a loss for Maynard, who so enjoys the company of humans.

The Sanctuary grounds are very quiet

People who visit the Sanctuary, tell us that the grounds are so peaceful and serene, and that they can tell how happy all these animals are by their quiet contentment.

This neighbor also claimed that the Sanctuary has depreciated his neighborhood.

Sara’s Sanctuary adds value to our community, it does not depreciate it. When the Sanctuary moved onto this piece of property, it was in terrible condition, and we have  worked tirelessly to make major property improvements to transform these grounds into a “haven” for these deserving animals.  This is now is a  maintained piece of property, it is completely fenced with a security gate at the entrance. These Sanctuary animals would not be known to the outside world without this negative attention that this one neighbor has brought to us.

Sara’s Sanctuary’s top priority has always been our animals, but we have never wanted it to be at the expense of our neighbors. We have always made every effort to think of our neighbors concerns.

Why was Maynard here?

When people in our state illegally buy and own exotic animals, many times they end up being confiscated by Animal Enforcement agencies or abandoned by their owners.  Maynard was victim of such a fate.  He was purchased very young for the purpose of being someone’s pet.  Maynard should NEVER have been born in captivity and sold into private ownership.   Only after Maynard was situated at the Sanctuary, did we learn that the options for his species of primate and placement, were very, very, limited.  Maynard is now suffering the  consequences of being captive born and human intolerance.

At three years old when he came to the Sanctuary, Maynard was immature and had not begun to vocalize.  Mature Gibbon’s communicate by singing.  Gibbons  sing, because they are happy.

The next question we always are asked is, Why did  Maynard come to live here, and not in a zoo?

There is a huge misconception about zoos.  They very rarely take in a non-papered, owner- confiscated animals.  They are just not in the rescue business. We asked all of our local zoos if they would consider taking Maynard in, and they all said, “No”.  We asked 25 other Zoo’s if they would take Maynard in, again, they all said “No”.  Operating with our U.S.D.A. license, we are licensed to care for exotic animals. We provided a great home for Maynard, but we recognized that he needed a home where his singing would be accepted by all.  We do not want  any of these  wonderful creatures to be harmed because of a neighbor, who has an intolerance with what we are trying to give back to animals.

Placing a Gibbon Ape in a  primate sanctuary was not an easy task.  We had had a  team of primate specialists searching for a new home for Maynard. Gibbons are monogamous, and cannot be housed in multiple housing enclosures. This made it even more difficult to find a home for Maynard.

Again, Maynard was protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), at least legally.  Therefore, he was protected from any and all Human kind. There is a minimum $50,000 fine and jail sentence that can be imposed for any harm to any endangered species.   Not only for the love of Maynard and any other animal in our care, the ESA laws,  are bound to protect them to the fullest extent.

After ten years of hard work to build the Sanctuary into a safe, secure and permanent home for animals in need, this one man has managed to threaten the fate of far too many rescued animals.

We will continue doing everything in our power to resolve this situation with the County, because of this neighbors complaints.

We were called to help with a Serval that the owners could no longer care for. This little girl,  was being kept in a back yard in a busy crowded neighborhood.  Her enclosure was a very unsecured small pen, put together with small zip ties and wild bird netting. The owner told us that this cat probably had an abscess and that they had done nothing to treat it. When we first set eyes on her, she was huddled in a corner gnawing on a growth on her leg. It was obvious that it was not an abscess, but a very large tumor.

Prepping for surgery

She had not received any medical care for this very painful,  long-time growth.  This owner knew it was illegal to own this type of exotic cat in the State of Washington without a USDA license.  Probably one of the reasons that he did  not seek medical help for her.

When we picked this serval up, we immediately took her to our vet and had her health issues assessed. The tumor was removed the next day and the pathology report came back. This is a very aggressive form of cancer.  Although she is in no pain now, we will have to wait to see if she will be able to keep the leg, or even survive this cancer. Because this tumor was left for such a long time, it might have already metastasized to her lungs.

The tumor is finally out!

She is a very happy kitty now! She is experiencing things everyday that are new and exciting – especially with the other animals around her.  Only a few days after surgery, she is climbing on platforms, to levels of 15′.  She want’s to pounce on her prey and she is getting the diet that she  has needed all these years.  Jess is already a different serval compared to when we first met her. These cats so deserve to live in the wild, not  be somone’s pet in their powder room or garage.

Charlie

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, he brought him to here to our Sanctuary.  Charlie had no tail or wing feathers. We called him “Bumble Bee” because he and would fly straight up and drop back down, he couldn’t balance himself upright on a perch.  We needed to build a cage that would help to keep him from continually falling on his back. We added different sized ladders for him to learn to balance himself and to eventually be 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 grow back without breaking off. We massaged his beak twice 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 able to eat completely by himself.  He was moved to a flight pen to  allow him to gain enough wing strength to learn to fly again.  Another crow that had been  rescued and released on our property began coming Charlie’s enclosure and eventually 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 weeks, he finally chose to pair with the other crow and flew out of the enclosure to be free on the property.  That was two 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. 

Bob and Al

Bob was rescued from a padlocked 8′ x 10′ cage in which he had lived for fourteen years. He had never been outside that cage in all those 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, who examined Bob, held out little hope for his survival. This veterinarian thought Bob would not 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. We dedicated many hours to his rehabilitation. Against all odds, Bob survived. Not only did he survive, he is now thriving.

We believed that Bob should be given that chance in life to feel grass under his feet.  Bob  fully recovered and has been thiving on acres of open ground, like any normal emu should be. It took many months of rehabililiation to get him what he deserved. Bob is very old now, past his life expentency. But every day that Bob is with us, we feel so very lucky to have given him this opporunity to thrive in love, peace and freedom from being caged. 

Happily, Sara’s Sanctuary has become Bob’s forever home. Consider sponsoring Bob, knowing that you are helping a wonderful animal live his life in a natural, comfortable and caring environment.

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.  To sponsor one of our wonderful animals at the Sanctuary, click here.

Please, teachers and parents – animals should not be in a class room and used for a school project!

To sponsor one of our wonderful animals at the Sanctuary like Spinner, click here.