Spring 2025
Winter didn’t slow us down at Sweet Sanctuary!
We worked away on projects over the winter and we are gearing up for even more now that the weather is nicer. One of our major accomplishments for the animals was installing lights and electrical outlets in all of our new animal shelters. Having dedicated outlets for heated waters and bright lights through the short days of winter made our homes even safer for the animals.
What’s next?
We are busy raking and cleaning up our paddocks, seeding and reseeding pastures, and making plans for the animals’ veggie gardens. We’re putting the shovels, and snowblower away (always a happy event!), washing all the winter blankets, taking out all our fly sheets and masks, and getting the tractor ready for summer grass cutting.
Resident spotlight: Beyonce
I got a major home upgrade this winter! My home is of course the entire Sweet Sanctuary grounds, but I love spending most of my day playing in the hay loft and pouncing on baling twine. I also really like to go exploring in Pig Paradise–the pigs are my favourite since they enjoy sleeping and sun bathing as much as I do.
Anyway, my sleeping quarters did get upgraded to get ready for winter. I have my own heated room to access with a cat flap. I spend each night in the heated room curled up in my fluffy bed. I sleep there peacefully and in the morning Pablo and Sarah or Steve come to wake me up and serve me breakfast. It’s quite the luxury! Playing all day and then getting dinner and breakfast in bed–the perfect life for a rescue cat!
Before coming to the sanctuary, I used to be an indoor cat and was taken to the vet to be euthanized for my excessive aggression and biting. But now that I’m here and I have all of this freedom and space to do what I please, I love all of the people that come to the barn and soak up all the scratches and attention. I am one happy cat to call this place home!
The springtime sunshine brings many changes to our routine chores!
As the days get longer, our animals start to spend more time outside. During the winter, the pigs choose to spend almost all of their time indoors–they really dislike the snow! The pigs are all thoroughly enjoying the warmer weather and sunshine. They are busy alternating between rooting, grazing, mudding, sunbathing and napping. All of our small animals continue to come inside overnight for safety, but our turn in time has shifted to later in the evening so everyone can enjoy as much time as possible outside.
Special fly protection for our herd.
In addition to fly sheets and masks, we have introduced fly screens! These special screens were custom made for all of our outdoor shelters to help keep them free of flying pests. The animals have all learned to walk underneath them, and they absolutely love them. The best of indoor-outdoor living!
Medical updates:
Last year, Mamma Bear underwent surgery to remove a mammary gland tumour. After initially biopsying a lump and finding cancer, removal was the best course of action. Thanks to the quick action of her caregivers and the skill of her veterinary team, Mamma Bear recovered well, and continues to be cancer-free. Her resilience is a beautiful example of the dedicated, lifelong care that all of our residents receive.
With so many senior animals at the sanctuary, we rely greatly on our medical fund for our ongoing and unexpected surgery costs like this one.
Get ready to squeal with joy—meet Charlie!
Sweet Charlie was found wandering along a rural Quebec road one night when she was just about four weeks old. Lucky for her, she was spotted and cared for in a nearby barn until a sanctuary home could be found.
Charlie moved into Arnie’s Acres this winter (after a brief stay in the house during those bitter cold months), and she is thriving! This loveable little girl is settling in beside her new best friend, Lola, and the two already share their rescue stories and synchronized happy grunts.
From cozy straw‑bed naps to rooting around her paddock, Charlie now has a beautiful, lifelong home where every day is a pig‑ture‑perfect celebration of second chances.
2024 in memoriam
Being home to so many senior animals we’ve had a year of significant health challenges that have taken up much of our time, attention, energy, and funds. In 2024 we said goodbye to four very special senior animals. Supporting the animals in their senior years, as they age and face grave illnesses and obstacles, is a very hard part of what we do. Everyone who finds their way here is set for life – whatever they need, for as long as they need it, we ensure they can live their very best, fullest, happiest life. It is also our job to recognize when we need to help them pass peacefully.
Remembering Austin
One year ago we said goodbye to sweet Austin Powers, our very first rescue goat at the Sweet Sanctuary. Austin Powers arrived in 2017 and he was incredibly special to many.
He battled cancer and lived with a lifelong disease causing infections in his lungs, among other challenges, which progressed each year. Losing Austin Powers and saying goodbye to him was more devastating than we can put into words.
We are grateful for his long and beautiful sanctuary life, and thank his amazing sponsors for being a part of giving him this wonderful forever home.
We will forever cherish his playful, one-of-a-kind spirit, love of jumping boxes, and his ability to jump perfectly over fences. As a social butterfly he spent time living with almost all of the residents here – the horses, pigs, even in our house, and of course as the leader of Goat Mountain.
Remembering Sparky
Sparky arrived here in 2019 with his best friend Roxy. Already in their senior years, we weren’t sure how long they would be with us. Sparky passed peacefully, surrounded by love and with Roxy by his side at the age of 16.
Sparky lived with a lifelong disease that caused severe arthritis, among other challenging issues. He received daily medications for most of his time here, and he was the first goat that our vet clinic had ever treated with laser therapy to ease his painful legs – a treatment that gave him an extra year of good quality life. Sparky’s illness worsened to the point of not being mobile, and started affecting his breathing. We made the very difficult decision along with our vet team to ease Sparky’s passing.
Thank you to Sparky’s amazing sponsors for helping him have five wonderful sweet sanctuary years. It was an honour to care for him.
Remembering Hugo
Hugo was one of our lovely senior sheep that arrived from Big Sky Ranch in 2023.
Hugo was totally blind and used his front leg to explore his surroundings with caution. He settled in amazingly fast and loved to spend time sleeping with his flock in our new sheep shelter alongside the donkeys.
Hugo quickly became a favourite–he loved getting scratches and being one of our sweet seniors, he especially loved his extra meals morning and night to help keep his weight up. Sadly, on August 19 2024, Hugo passed away peacefully in his sleep.
Though his time with us at Sweet Sanctuary was short, we are honoured to have provided him with a wonderful home to live out the rest of his life. We won’t forget Hugo’s sweet personality and joy for life despite his challenges.
Remembering Arnie
With the heaviest of hearts we said goodbye to our larger than life, gentle giant, sweet Arnie.
Arnie arrived here in July 2020 in terrible condition and extreme pain. With round the clock care he made a miraculous recovery, and spent over four amazing years with us living the good sanctuary life.
In December 2024, Arnie became paralyzed in his hind end, unable to walk. He was not a candidate for surgery or a wheelchair, and his alternative therapies did not work. We soaked up all the time we possibly could together, and made his final week as joy-filled as possible. Helping Arnie pass peacefully was the only decision we could make for him, but it was incredibly heartbreaking.
Arnie’s Acres will forever be a part of the Sweet Sanctuary, and so will Arnie. May he pave the way for many more lucky pigs to find their second chance here, and may we all remember him, his kind eyes, his love for life, Lola, cupcakes, and pumpkin pie, and his giant smile forever and ever.
Thank you, Sweet Fam!
We could not provide this level of care and this wonderful life to so many animals in need without your generous and ongoing support. Whether you sponsor an animal, support Loca’s Legacy Fund, or provide general monthly donations, you are a key part of the team to fulfil our mission to provide the animals with a safe, loving, forever home. We are especially grateful for your support during our time of expansion and growth, as it really meant a lot to us to be able to offer support to our friends at Big Sky Ranch and take in their animals when they needed a new place to call home.
We look forward to sharing more news and updates with you in our summer edition!