Our Philosophy
An animal sanctuary is a permanent home for animals that would otherwise face certain death. Animal sanctuaries do not buy, sell, trade, or breed animals, and they are closed to the public. The physical and psychological needs of the animals are held paramount, and no expense is spared in their care.
We are proponents of the no-kill movement in animal sheltering, but we go a step farther than the traditional no-kill philosophy in that we believe that no companion animal should be killed for any reason other than in a legitimate act of euthanasia for the relief of an untreatable, unmanageable, and unbearable medical condition. No behavior issue should ever warrant the killing of a dog.
We believe that relationships with companion animals -- domestic dogs and cats -- are a vital component of being human; dogs and cats are not luxuries or a privilege of the wealthy, but rather, animals with which we share a symbiotic relationship that has developed over thousands of years. Interaction with companion animals is a necessity and a component of the human need for love and connection.
We believe that sentient animals have an intrinsic value that transcends their ecological or economic niches; they are not disposable and are worthy of the respect and consideration of human beings. Additionally, animals are not morally or ethically responsible for their actions; it is inappropriate to impose onto them any human morality or ethics. For these reasons, it is wholly unacceptable to kill or punish an animal in response to its behavior, regardless of how difficult or inconvenient the care of that animal is. Punishment is defined in terms of the law as imprisonment, torture, and death, and in terms of behavior as any effort to discourage a behavior in a manner that is unpleasant to the subject.
We believe that wild animals, regardless of their temperament or their adaptability to captivity, should remain wild; they should only be kept in captivity when it is absolutely necessary for the survival of their species, as in legitimate captive breeding programs that release animals into their natural habitats, or for their survival as individuals, as in wildlife rehabilitation programs or sanctuaries for animals that are not releasable. A wild animal is any species that can be found living in the wild in a state, not altered by humankind, as well as hybrids of such animals, and such animals that have undergone minor changes in captivity, such as the development of 'designer morphs' for industries like the fur trade or the pet trade.