About Dogwood Farm Sanctuary

"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanuel Kant

What We Do

Dogwood Farm Sanctuary provides medical care, food, shelter and companionship to orphaned or abandoned animals, including horses, dogs, cats, and chickens.

Although we find wonderful homes for many of our dogs and cats, some are deemed unadoptable because of age, temperament and/or special needs. For these animals, Dogwood Farm Sanctuary can offer a permanent sanctuary.

Our Story

Dogwood Farm Sanctuary became a 501c3 in 2005. However, we have been doing rescue for more than 30 years of dogs, cats and horses. We were formerly called Canine Rescue and funded by one individual. We decided to become a not-for-profit when a friend wanted to make a substantial donation on behalf of the animals. Since then, we continue to raise funds to help care for the animals at our facility.

Most of the animals at our facility started as strays. We have many dogs and cats that would make excellent pets for a family: a family of one or a family of many. We work very hard to find appropriate homes for our dogs and cats.

If an animal is deemed unadoptable, they will receive lifetime benefits of top veterinary care, a comfortable home at the facility and a premium diet. They also have daily human interaction and are carefully monitored. Our goal is to emulate a home environment for our dogs and cats and provide the best care within a small farm environment for our chickens and horses.

Join Our Cause

We rely on the support of volunteers to help us care for our rescued animals. If you share our passion for animal welfare, we would love to have you join our team! Whether you want to help with animal care, fundraising, or outreach, there are many ways to get involved. Contact us to learn more about how you can make a difference for the animals at Dogwood Farm Sanctuary.

Get Involved

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Our Philosophy

What makes us different? We aren’t strictly an adoption agency for dogs and cats. We often take the hard cases and, when needed, offer a lifetime sanctuary, respecting the animal’s life.

We do not euthanize animals because of space constraints. While this severely limits our ability to take animals, it creates an environment of permanence and security for the animals and the caretakers.

We proactively treat diseases and chronic pain. We practice preventive healthcare. We feed premium food. The animals at Dogwood Farm Sanctuary live long, healthy lives with structure and with the people that they know.

Our Volunteer Staff

Dogwood Farm Sanctuary is managed by Elizabeth and Ben Niven. Our staff does not receive a salary. We do this because we want to help the animals and we are grateful that others help us provide for the many animals in our care. By receiving donations, we are able to help more animals and provide the facilities needed to do that.

We have a small volunteer staff who handle daily care, feeding and cleaning of the entire sanctuary population – that’s more than 75-80 animals. In addition, we frequently employ one student worker or intern who is paid to assist with cleaning and weekly chores for four hours a week. These are internship positions and we limit each worker to less than 100 hours per year.

Volunteer Director Elizabeth Niven: My first dog, Polly, was adopted from a shelter in 1973 and serves as the inspiration for my rescue work. While my career is in marketing and development, including four years as the director of public relations and development at an animal shelter, I spend most of my time in the company of formerly unwanted animals. What I know is what I don’t know. Each day, I get a lesson on tolerance, love and overcoming fear from the animals. I have been a trainer, behaviorist, equestrian, writer and designer on behalf of the animals but serving as the door opener and the lady with the food seems most relevant to them. I also have a degree in English literature, which doesn’t matter at all to them.

Volunteer Sanctuary Manager Ben Niven: Ben spent most of his childhood growing up at Litzsinger Kennel outside of New Melle on about 100 acres of dog kennels and lakes. His grandfather, Pete Litzsinger, trained sporting and retrieving dogs and boarded dogs. Ben didn’t want to train or breed dogs, but he enjoys caring for dogs at our boarding and rescue facility. Despite growing up with retrievers, he is most attracted to the underdogs: the big dogs of mixed ancestry, the bully breeds and the behavior wrecks. In addition to running our boarding facility, he is a musician with a journalism degree from Mizzou and an audio engineering degree from Webster University.

Our Volunteer Board

Marion Black: Well known in the philanthropic community, Marion continues to be generous with many organizations and institutions, especially when it comes to animals and animal welfare. Marion and her late husband Van-Lear Black helped us establish Dogwood Farm Sanctuary in the very early days. Marion is a huge cheerleader for us!!

Florence Shinkle: A former reporter for the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Florence lends a large dose of sanity and thoughtful good judgment to our organization, which is often needed. She continues to be a receptive listener who offers frank and clear evaluations for all sorts of emotional and practical decisions. Florence’s equine expertise is highly valued when it comes to determining priorities and finding resources.

Kenneth R. Mares, Ph.D.: Ken has been a great friend personally and has been very supportive of Dogwood Farm Sanctuary. We look forward to more sage advice and forever being our sounding board. He listens and asks smart questions. He also supplies tasty treats and and endless supply of paper towels and cleaning supplies from Costco.

Judith Stupp: Judith and her husband Philip have been long-time dog loving friends and have watched Dogwood Farm Sanctuary grow each year. Judith has a lot of experience with building projects and we look forward to her great advice as we embark on a new building projects.

Robin Brown Woll: A long-time friend and fellow horse and dog lover, Robin recently joined the board. She plans to lend support by growing our social media presence and adding her great positive energy and enthusiasm to the cause.

Virginia Busch: Ginny lends her extensive experience and expertise with animals and in business: in the non-profit animal world and the corporate animal conservation arena. For nine years, she served as the conservation ambassador for SeaWorld and Busch Gardens as well as president of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. More recently, she led the Endangered Wolf Center as executive director and CEO for a decade. She has an anthropology degree from Washington University, focused on animal behavior. Currently, Virginia runs her own business, Prost Wine, a boutique wine business.