About Us

After tragically losing my eldest son Adam in 2009, I made many attempts towards conventional healing, to no avail. At that time, I was asked to rescue a miniature donkey that was bonded to a wild Mustang. Who knew this would become my life’s calling. They allowed me to process pain, suffering, and grief, without judgement like no human could. Many times I would sleep outside in the barn, hahaha, it was actually just a tuff shed in those days. There, my healing began, and I realized that there were so many other mamas who had lost their babies that could benefit from this type of therapy. By word of mouth, the rescues began to show up. Due to financial difficulties, renting a home and property was the only option. This limited the number of animals I could take in. I held the dream of owning my own home and acreage to provide animals with a long-term retirement opportunity free of suffering. Then finally my dream became a reality, and I purchased three acres with a home. There, I was able to provide sanctuary for many senior and homeless animals that had been displaced. 

In 2020 during Covid, the animals provided so many with respite. I offered a no contact experience allowing people to drive by and feed the animals. There was a constant stream of cars! To this day, people are still talking about how the animals raised their vibe during such hard times. Our numbers of animals increased significantly during Covid as people were forced to surrender their animals due to lack of funds. 

After five years, I realized it was imperative to move the animals from the frigid conditions of 6,300 elevation. The many months of frozen conditions were much too hard on the elderly animals. 

In 2022, the whole game changed. I was able to secure 70 acres in a much warmer climate. Now I can reach the heights I had always planned for with the community’s support. Billie Jo does not call this just an animal sanctuary, because it is her intention to offer the property to special needs groups, schools, and other like-minded organizations. The continuity between animals and humans allows a synergistic healing to occur to all that visit the sanctuary.

To date the sanctuary has 99 animals! 100 if you count this silly goose.

· 5 donkeys

· 3 sheep

· 2 llamas

· 1 lampaca (half llama, half alpaca)

· 2 emus

· 1 ostrich

· 9 goats

· 4 pigs

· 4 cats

· 6 dogs

· 9 chickens

· 5 peacocks

· 6 pigeons

· 12 doves

· 3 turkeys

· 5 ducks

· 3 bearded dragons

· 2 canaries

· 7 parakeets

· 3 cockatiels

· 5 rabbits

· 2 turtles

The sanctuary is a tribute to my son Adam Mathew Stokes, whose sole purpose in life was to be a voice for animals and humans alike that couldn’t speak for themselves. He demanded equality for all beings.

I have managed to save this many animals on my own, image what I can do with the public’s help. Help me to help them!