Man Creates Sanctuary For Abused Farm Animals

• Christopher shares with his late mother the same love for animals.
• Her words before she died inspired him to open a no-cage, no-kill sanctuary to honor her name.
• Now he runs it with his husband who is also an animal lover like him and they are now both vegans.

---

Whenever Christopher Vane remembers the things his mother Ursula used to say before she passed away, he would always fight back the tears.

She said: “When I die, I’m going to have a barn up in heaven and I’m going to have all the animals and they’re going to stay with me.”

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CDRgSBApjK_/?utm_source=ig_embed

Inspired by her words, Christopher started a no-kill sanctuary for domesticated animals 6 months after her mother died. To honor her name, he named it “Little Bear Sanctuary” because her mother’s name “Ursula” in Latin, means “little bear.”

“She was my biggest supporter,” Christopher, 58, told Today. “She taught me compassion. She always loved animals. I know she’s looking down on us.”

Since the opening of the Little Bear Sanctuary in 2017, they have rescued over 150 animals. Currently, they are taking care of 29 sheep,  74 pigs, chickens, cows, goats, and a tortoise named Keisha. The animals in the sanctuary are mostly rescued from slaughterhouses and during hoarding situations.  Now, they enjoy living in peace in the no-cage, no-kill 30-acre sanctuary.

The animals have developed quite a lovely community among themselves. And while Christopher says the doesn’t do favoritism, he clearly is especially fond of Willy, a 300-pound pig, and the first one the sanctuary has rescued.

“He’s quite the character,” he said. “He greets everybody and he loves his belly rubs.”

What’s special about Willy is that he was trained like a dog by his previous owner and he knows dog tricks like “sit” for treats and when the other pigs entered Little Bear Sanctuary, he taught the same trick to them.

“Two weeks later they were all sitting for their treat,” Christopher recalled. “I’ve heard that pigs teach each other stuff, but to see that in real life was pretty amazing. It just kind of cements their intelligence.”

Pigs are intelligent and Christopher wants people to know that before they go on surrendering their pet pigs to them when they get bigger.

Christopher ‘s husband Randy Sellers, also works in the sanctuary with him. They are both animal lovers and are now vegans. “He’s a great support,” Christopher said. “I don’t know what I would do without him.”

They are planning to expand the sanctuary soon so they started a GoFundMe page for that purpose which was recently tagged as GoFundMe Hero.

Among all the jobs he’s done — being a physician assistant, veterinary technician, and a realtor in the past — managing the sanctuary was the hardest but the most rewarding. 

“Every day when I walk outside the house, it just makes me smile,” he said. “You can’t be depressed here. These animals just change your day.”

Source: TODAY.Com