Help the elder animals at FRIEND

We’d like to talk to you all honestly about our situation here at Friend farm animal sanctuary.

We are a long-established grassroots animal Sanctuary. We offer a lifelong home to our residents, we now have a large number of older residents.

We are facing the stark realisation that many of our numbers are at the Twilight of their lives and in need of exceptional care and support to ensure that we meet all their needs until the very end. Our Vet is here helping us with care and assessments, and when we've done everything we can, she is here to ensure our residents pass with the utmost care and dignity.

We haven’t taken in as many new residents or held as many events as we used to because our focus has been on caring for our elder animals.

They deserve that from us.

We are facing many obstacles that we are determined to overcome

We have huge medical bills this month, and we sadly believe this will continue as they age, We need to be prepared.

We need your help more than ever.

Financially we are struggling; our monthly donations are down dramatically and we've not been able to make that up with events etc.

We understand that everyone has been hit hard by rising costs and the uncertainty ahead.

But we must ask you to help our oldest and most vulnerable animals.

How can you help?

We are asking for help to pay our outstanding Vet bill of £3278.94

This is for July/August only !

Who is this for?

Our vet regularly comes out to visit to assess our residents. Many are on pricey but vital medicine to keep the effects of arthritis and other age-related conditions at bay.

We have preemptive plans in place; these are regularly reassessed so no one has to suffer. That is our most important goal.

End-of-life care is all about managing a natural process with foresight, intensive care and ultimately dignity.

Here at FRIEND, when it is time, when we have done everything we can, our Vet comes, and we are able to lay with them with love, in peace as they cross over. We have lost some wonderful souls recently.

This is the hardest part of our work.

Zoe, our Veterinarian, was here again this week and had some grave concerns.

Poppy, our sweetest and beloved pig, has become very lame.

After an initial assessment and a course of anti-inflammatories, she has become worse. This was unexpected. Zoe is concerned that there is a new swelling in Poppys' knee, which is moving up to her shoulder. This may signal something much more serious.

Poppy will need X-rays and a biopsy as soon as possible.

This will require sedation and two vets taking the X-ray here as we cannot safely move Poppy right now.

We hope to get some answers. But it's expensive.

Early detection of symptoms is always a challenge. Most of our animals are prey animals, which basically means that they hide their symptoms until they are very unwell. Through our close relationship, we are able to notice subtle changes and respond quickly and with the help of our Veterinarian, we are responding faster and more effectively than ever

It is now clear that many are indeed showing signs of needing a lot more care.

We need your help to give that care.

Our original cow herd are all over 20 years old most of those years spent together as family here at FRIEND. They too are inevitable showing signs of their extraordinary age. We are anticipating that they will need much more care moving forward into Winter.

We are full of admiration and love for these extraordinary beings that have been the reason we exist. Each and everyone with a story, each and every one unique with personalities that have been allowed to unfold through the years they have spent with each other in freedom. We are so very honoured to be able to be a part of their lives.

We are also sad and overwhelmed.

This is as much our role in the sanctuary as nursing the babies, and yet it's something we don’t talk as much. But we believe that should change in order to honour them and their lives.

We are going to be sharing all their stories as they unfold moving forward we owe them that.

Thank You for reading this far.

Please give whatever you can for the Elder animals at FRIEND