For our November trip to Serenity Springs Animal Sanctuary, a couple of new critters had come and a couple had gone on to their final resting place. Our task was to build a chicken coop for the birds, so they can be kept safe at night from the predators that come around after dark.  The design was simple, with a walkway for Terry, the director of the sanctuary, to gain access to feed the birds and check on them. They will be free to run and peck around the property during the day, and will be safely inside their coop after hours.  According to the latest census, Serenity Springs now has: 90 pigs, 11 cats, 6 horses, 3 mini horses, 4 donkeys, 7 dogs, 1 goat and 2 steer.  Oh, and one human, Terry DeGaw, who keeps the whole thing operational.  She maintains an “open door” policy, so feel free to stop by for a visit.

One of the new residents is a cute but somewhat shy little gray and white pig; adorable, but still a little people-leary.  And a new dog arrived, too, a part border collie with the whitest white and blackest black shiny coat, Josie Mae. She couldn’t get enough attention and was content to follow the visitors around the property as they worked. Like many of the dumped or abandoned animals Terry rescues, she was in bad shape when she was discovered, but you would never know it to see her today, with her healthy, happy demeanor.

A new program has been started to help with fundraising for the sanctuary. Anyone in Texas who has a Kroger card can take a printed barcode in when they next shop, and once scanned by the checker, a percentage of all purchases go to the sanctuary at no cost to the card holder.  When you are supporting over 100 animals, it all helps. Imagine the vet bills alone! Please download and print the bar code, take it to Kroger is you shop there, and help the sanctuary out at the same time.

Going back to the sanctuary and getting more and more familiar with the animals makes it harder to leave every time.  The fall weather was lovely, and all the leaves were every hue from gold to green to red and orange.  The pigs were starting to nestle down in their hay; the cats were hiding in their little plastic bins (each has a hole and each is filled with blankets, so the cats can stay warm inside).  When I approached, one after another little nose suddenly appeared, curious to see who was visiting them.  I went with our Meetup director Briggitte Dix to feed the pigs and horses some veggies she brought from home – mostly home grown and organic.  Brigitte went back to give all the animals their Christmas presents. Happy Holidays, Serenity Springs!

After contacting two animal rights organizations (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Friends of Animals) that were embroiled in a lawsuit over a primate sanctuary, I was confused by the conflicting information I received from both organizations.  I had been seeking a group that supported veganism rather than vegetarianism; that supported an abolitionist approach rather than pursuing the long-failed single-issue welfare track; and that was using their funding to help actual living animals rather than just espousing theories, controlling them, or worse yet, killing them.  After several headlines in the animal newsfeed I read, I became interested in the plight of sanctuaries and decided to make it my mission to visit as many as I could in the Texas region where I live. When I was invited to visit Primarily Primates, I could hardly refuse. The timing was a bit intense, coming exactly one week after my visit to Serenity Springs farm animal sanctuary in Forestburg, Texas.  Despite some misgivings about spending the time and energy to travel to this second sanctuary, I made my travel plans anyway. It meant getting up in the wee hours of the morning to arrive on time, but I am very glad I did. The day before I arrived, the lawsuit between the two animal rights organizations had been settled and the sanctuary was secure. Friends of Animals is the parent organization for the sanctuary, Primarily Primates; I would have a chance to see for myself what kind of condition it was in.

There was a nice straight road leading out of San Antonio into the hill country towards the sanctuary.  I had imagined it far from any signs of life and was prepared to be on a deserted road, but that turned out to be erroneous thinking on my part.  Sadly, the press of human population growth has moved ever closer to the sanctuary.  While it is still in the hills far from the city, I could see the housing tracts moving slowly closer to the hill country.  When I was leaving, I saw a doe walking about in the yard of a home as I descended the hills, looking so out of place as she foraged for an existence here among the homeowners.  We take their habitat and then consider them pests – hardly fair.

When I pulled into the sanctuary, I was surprised at all the cars parked along the dirt road.  I had not realized how many animals lived at PPI (about 450), nor how many caretakers, and even a veterinarian would be onsite working.  The day I arrived, a group of Boy Scouts was busy building some climbing and shelter structures, replacing the basic existing ones for a luxury model. These Scouts were very much appreciated by the staff; the sense of community was wonderful to witness as the boys and their leader invested in this beautiful place. The sanctuary is private, which affords the animals some serenity, so my visit was a bit disruptive for them.  To soften the intrusion, I was allowed to bring a large bunch of grapes to share.  A small group of us wandered through the acreage, Stephen Tello, the Executive Director of PPI; Priscilla Feral, President of Friends of Animals; Kaz Sephton (President) and Jack Olmer of the San Antonio Vegetarian Society. I was fortunate to also meet the sanctuary veterinarian and primate specialist, Dr. Valerie Kirk, before we started off from the sanctuary office. The grounds are very green and forested, with most of the large housing structures grass-bottomed, keeping as close to natural habitat as possible. Here were over four hundred animals that one organization was helping to save from death or worse.  The enormity of the task of feeding and caring for so many animals suddenly struck me; no wonder there were more than a dozen cars parked out front, permanent staff to maintain the grounds, care for the animals, and support the sanctuary. It is a seven-days-per-week activity.

The sanctuary is 78 acres of rolling green with mostly shady areas. The housing areas are not  simple cubes, but structures several stories high which allow for climbing and swinging.  Some have large cargo nets, swings, and tubular climbing devices. Most have connecting upper-story tunnels that go from one housing structure to the other, giving the primates more territory to explore. Some even have rooms with air conditioning where they can crawl out of the hot Texas sun.  Although it was a warm August day,  I was surprised at the temperature – with all the trees, it was much more comfortable than I had expected. Despite the comfort, I did feel a bit guilty to be able to walk about freely when they were confined, but I knew their confinement was for their own protection. They appeared active and healthy and seemed to enjoy the small group of people walking through their home. We were both diversion and entertainment.

The first primates I met were a couple of gibbons.  I was standing back several feet from the edge of the housing, but one recognized a rookie when he saw one and grabbed me by the hair – hard! I was surprised by the telescopic abilities of those arms, but the strength of their tails surpasses it, I was told. Once he let go of my hair, he grabbed me by the arm.  While I appreciate direct communication, I couldn’t tarry, because there were 78 acres to see and I had to move on.  I wanted to get to know them as much as they wanted to check me out; those two did grab my attention — literally. I left some grapes in a feeding tray before I moved on.

The chimps have so many stories – some were “pets” whose owners grew tired of them, some were used in labs, some were removed from unusual circumstances, like the one removed from a drug dealer. Like humans, these primates also show signs of neurotic, repetitive behavior when their formative years are traumatic.  The sensitive methods for rehabilitating the animals when they are new to the sanctuary provides a segue to their new life and aids in their adjustment.  Stephen, the man in charge of their care, knew all of their stories and habits.  Like the father of a large and somewhat dysfunctional family, he was aware of the troubled primates and seemed empathic towards them all. The teen chimps made a lot of noise, banging against the bars and demonstrating their importance – like teens everywhere, trying to establish a sense of themselves during their identity-formation stage of development. All male animals that can reproduce are given vasectomies so that reproduction is not possible; the goal is to provide sanctuary, not to increase the number of confined animals.  There is a huge aviary, so large that birds can fly within it – it requires daily checks to keep out racoons and snakes.  There are macacques, lemurs, lions, wild cats and a couple of animals that looked like members of the macropod family. I was able to feed a macacque, something I was told was unusual. My knowledge of these beautiful animals is minimal, so I paid attention to all admonitions — especially after the hair-pulling incident. (One group of chimps had a couple of know feces-flingers – I stood way back. I didn’t want to provide too much entertainment!)

The lemurs are sociable and so gentle. When feeding them grapes, many would gingerly take a grape out of my hand with their soft, dark little fingers.  Others wanted me to put the grape directly into their mouth. They looked right at me with those big, beautiful golden eyes and oh so tenderly would hold out their hands.  Their noises were reminiscent of a small kitten, correspondingly  soft, pleasant noises. But watch them climb – what strength and speed! In some housing areas, it was important to feed the dominant animal first, so the others would get a chance for  their own grapes.  Heirarchy, just like at work! I felt right at home.  The beautiful spider monkeys will grab your heart – Their ability to transport through branches, swing, and climb is inspiring.  So much spirit!

Not only has PPI rescued dozens of animals, they have also saved many humans from the consequences of their own poor choices. Whatever leads people to be enchanted with the idea of exotic pets, the end result is almost always disastrous for all concerned. (A recent news article highlighted how one family pet became an attacker, something that can happen when the animals are not understood). One of the chimps was self-mutilating before being brought to the sanctuary, when his human started leaving him home alone for long periods of time. The damage resulted in circles of red, raw flesh. Some have been raised solely with fast food and would not even eat bananas or other healthy food; it took a good deal of patience to introduce them to sanctuary life. All animals are originally rehabilitated and monitored before being put into habitats.  Compatible groups live in some of the larger enclosures, mimicking what takes place in the wild.  Of course, all of the animals are non-native and due to the diverse backgrounds from which they come, it is challenging to help them adapt to their new home and fellow primates.  Phoebe, I was told,  was getting ready to move into a habitat with Logan and Harley, so they could all adjust together. Imagine knowing over 400 names, stories, and personalities! The serene appearance belies the thoughtful and somewhat complex methods behind each animal’s adjustment period, allowing them to be on equal footing, to keep the sanctuary a haven rather than a horror.

Jordan was the last lemur I met before I headed back to the airport; he let me scratch his back and put grapes right in his mouth. It is amazing that these animals would ever trust a human being after what so many have been through. I began thinking about the tremendous financial commitment to these animals. With chimps living into their fifties and some of the other primates into their thirties, this a a long-term commitment to hundreds of animals, many of whom are traumatized and have suffered physical and psychological damage. They are dependent on humans because we have used them in sad and sadistic ways, and neglected them as individual feeling beings. This sanctuary, like most of the sanctuaries I am learning about, have to fight for their very existence by remaining ever vigilant, fiscally responsible, and watchful against all threats to the preservation of a peaceful place for these animals. What a shame that hundreds of thousands of dollars had to be diverted into a legal defense rather than towards improving the sanctuary. Whatever shape the sanctuary was in over the past several years, it is a beautiful place now.  Of course, ideally the animals would be living in their native land in natural habitat; sanctuaries would be unnecessary.  Meanwhile, with all the billions of animals that suffer and are slaughtered, vivisected, used for entertainment, neglected and abused, it is helpful to know that dozens of compassionate people are working to maintain a place for these few hundred animals to survive and flourish.  I am all for that.

To see what is going on at PPI these days, check out the stories and many videos below:

Primarily Primates website

Primarily Primates videos

]]> http://veganacious.com/2009/09/12/primarily-primates/feed/ 2 http://veganacious.com/2009/09/04/serenity-springs-sanctuary/ http://veganacious.com/2009/09/04/serenity-springs-sanctuary/#comments Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:35:19 +0000 veganacious http://veganacious.com/?p=2976

Meetup director working at the sanctuary

On twenty-five wooded acres in Forestburg, Texas is an animal rescue and sanctuary called Serenity Springs.  Forestburg is steeped in old west history; but there are lots of untold stories right in the sanctuary. Our vegan meetup goes out periodically to try to render some assistance, so I had perused their website prior to my first trip out to see the animals. Despite the website photos,  I was ill-prepared for all the animals (well over one hundred) and their amazing guardian, Terry DeGaw. Terry has been at this game of tending her flock for nearly twenty years now. She is a compassionate woman whose kindness has allowed many animals to survive and flourish in a peaceful setting when others tossed them aside. Many of the animals had been abused and neglected, or nearly slaughtered, prior to coming to Serenity Springs, so Terry truly offers them a second chance. It also means her days are long and hard, but you will never hear her complain. There are dozens of water troughs and bellies that need to be filled, and animals that need grooming, nursing, loving, spoiling.  Terry does it all.

Buddy abandoned

Behind the beautiful serene setting and the happy and healthy animals, lies tragedy and suffering.  This is a photo of Buddy, a beautiful little miniature horse that was left by the side of the road with no way to care for himself.  But once in the care of Terry, he quickly filled out and today is a sweet and feisty young gelding.  Some of the animals came to Serenity Springs because their people got tired of them, or had to move, or felt they could no longer afford their care.  For Terry, this is a lifetime commitment.  The only day off she has had in the past nearly twenty years was to take two days off for surgery.  She does not do just the bare minimum, either. When we joined her in feeding the animals, it was not a fast process, because Terry chats with each one and checks anything that seems amiss.  To sponsor Buddy or one of the other animals, go here.

Buddy today

Gyro

Terry DeGaw

The Sanctuary is a 503c non-profit organization, but Terry is not receiving much help.  She does offer sponsorship for the animals and a few do have sponsors. The sponsors send a monthly check to provide for their animal and often send treats to make that animal’s life extra special. When I arrived and approached the Keystone Klan, a group of farm pigs, they started nibbling on my shoes and chatting at me; I think they were scolding me for not bringing them the oatmeal cookies their sponsor usually provides. Next time I will know better than to come empty-handed!  Terry has a large family to feed, and the recession has not helped out much since, like most non-profits, donations are down. There are always vet bills as you might imagine, and the feed bills, and then the bills the rest of us have to pay just to keep a roof over our heads. Terry has to deal with those as well.  To make ends meet, she takes on another job in the evenings, at the local hospice organization. Comforting others til the very end of a very long day is typical of Terry.

Along with numerous farm and pot-belly pigs, there are cats, dogs (including a three-legged dog that can run and keep up with the others), a peacock, several chickens and roosters, cows, horses (including a blind horse), two miniature horses, donkeys, goats, and a variety of fowl that live at the sanctuary.  Some of the horses are in large paddocks, others roam around the property, always staying near other animals or humans.  After grooming the horses and delivering hay to animals staying on a nearby property, it was feeding time. This is a long process, because there are so many animals to feed.  Terry knows each and every one by name and will proudly tell you their personal history, no different than any proud parent.

Potbellies

Keystone Klan

Calypso

Chacka and Kia

Jazzy Joe

Pig barn

Bogart

The sanctuary is aptly named, for there is a sense of peacefulness that permeates the area. There is so much Tender Loving Care that you can tell just by walking about that the animals are loved. The pigs have igloos, barns, and shelters along with water troughs, feed troughs, and swimming pools.  There is an area looks like a pig spa where several pigs seemed to enjoy splashing about. One little character was walking around with his igloo on top, doing a good impression of a turtle. There are lots of trees and shade from the sun in each paddock and pen. It is very clean and well kept, despite the lack of help.  The dogs roam about freely and the cats own the back porch, where they have multi-level housing.  Some of the cats are not very sociable, so Terry just gives them their space.  All of them, though, as with all of the animals, were so lovable and deserving of their lives.  I think the only animal on the property that is not getting enough attention and care is Terry herself.  Let’s change that if we can!

Ways to help

Even if it is not possible to sponsor an animal, please consider giving what you can.  A $10 donation from several people will really help with vet and feed bills.

Click here to donate via Capital One:

To vote for Serenity Springs to receive part of a $25,000 grant, please go here.

To donate to the sanctuary using PayPal, go here.

For more information about donating or volunteering, contact Terry DeGaw:

email her at  serenitysprings@wisewb.com or call (940) 964-2318

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