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!