Goats. Goats is what I am taking from my time spent at River's Wish. The individual personalities and sweet demeanors warmed my heart every day. Look at these faces, how can you not smile?
Many years ago, Kit and Pete Jagoda were inspired by a rescue dog they owned who was sick; battling cancer heroically until the end of his life in 1999. With him in their hearts, they turned their 65 acre farm into a sanctuary for everything from bunnies to turkeys and everything in between! Rightly naming their new venture after him: River. Almost 20 years later and their dream is flourishing; offering sanctuary and a forever home to rabbits, dogs, cats, pigs, horses, ponies, donkeys, goats, sheep, ducks, chickens, turkeys...did I forget anything?
Coming to River's Wish is like coming home, and you are just a part of the family. A very happy family! I think that is the key to how their farm runs so smoothly. The sanctuaries that grow but still keep their close-knit feel are the most pleasant for everyone. Not only do they give forever homes to many animals, they also believe fully in educating the public. They created their own humane education program called "Compassion for Animals" geared toward ending the abstract notion and replacing it with first hand contact, faces and stories of the animals. I was fortunate enough to arrive when they hosted a free community event to educate specifically about horses. Because we all know that education is the most important part of solving our animal cruelty problem!
River's Wish also was home to a few ponies. Pictured here is S'more, him and the other seen in the background had been used for kid pony rides. Cruel in and of itself but especially for these two; S'more was born with one club foot and the other has a genetic spine deformity. If you look closely you can see. A local college is creating a 3-D printed hoof for him, however, and I look forward to seeing it next time I am in Spokane!
If you would like to meet these beautiful animals, now is a good time! July 9th they have their 6th annual "Art for Animals" event where you can eat delicious vegan fare while meeting them! In this short blog post I only mentioned a few but trust me there are many animals I can't wait to see again! Very proud of my hometown for having this wonderful place! Hope to see you there!
http://www.riverswishanimalsanctuary.org/events.html