Meet the animals
We are here for the animals and make every decision with their needs in mind. We recognize that companionship and human interaction are integral to the health of the animals – just as superior medical attention and premium food is necessary for animals to thrive. We have our dogs and cats divided in groups. With our dogs, we prefer that they all have a friend and try to pair them up whenever possible. Sometimes we have larger dog groups but these are groups that have more supervision and have a human as the “top dog.” All dogs spend one-on-one time with a caretaker when we are able to teach some house manners.
We also think space and exercise is important and recognize that density (how many animals occupy space) impacts the amount of stress that animals feel in a multi-animal setting.
So, for the health and well being of the animals that reside at Dogwood Farm Sanctuary, we are limited to the number of animals that we can care for at any given time. That dictates how many animals we are able to accept. In all, we care for more than 80 animals at a time, mostly dogs and cats but we also care for horses, ducks and chickens.
No. These dogs and cats have simply been abandoned by their owners, are lost or have fallen through the cracks at other animal organizations. We evaluate each animal from a behavioral perspective and determine what it needs and what type of home would best meet those needs. We are honest with prospective adopters. It doesn’t help the animal if we do not disclose all that we know and have observed. We do not adopt dogs that have a history of being dog or human aggressive.
Almost all of our animals have either been found on the side of the road or have slipped through the cracks in other animal organizations, deemed unadoptable and destined for euthanasia because they were too old, too young, too sick or simply the wrong breed. Each animal has information in its file: where it was found, how long it has been at the facility and medical and behavior history. All animals are up-to-date on vaccinations, spayed or neutered and on heartworm prevention. We also medically treat all animals and do not adopt out animals with chronic conditions or in the midst of treatment.
