taking refuge Animal sanctuaries around Ohio let visitors get nose to snout with once-neglected pets and other wildlife. STORY AND PHOTOS BY WENDY PRAMIK
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full-figured pig named Baby lounges, unruffled, in a puddle of mud at Sunrise Sanctuary in Marysville. A lone duck waddles past, oblivious to the prodigious porker to its left. As the afternoon sun breaks overhead, more and more animals emerge from the grounds’ timeworn structures — a red barn, a small house, a rickety flatbed truck. Here, such nonchalance is not only widespread among the denizens, it’s a welcome sign of contentment. Sunrise Sanctuary is a permanent refuge for more than 170 discarded farm and companion animals, a collection that includes rats, bunnies, cats, dogs, pigs, goats, sheep, llamas, cows, horses, donkeys, chickens, ducks, peacocks, and turkeys. “Our babies are all unique and special souls that are loving, thoughtful, and funny individuals,” says Sandy Horvath,
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the animals’ primary caretaker. “They’re not just numbers. They are special beings deserving of our love and respect.” All around Ohio, animal sanctuaries provide respite and relief for misfit animals, whether they’ve been abused or neglected or simply moved on to greener pastures after their working days ended.
All kinds of styles Ohioans can pay many of these fine friends a visit — sometimes by appointment, as visitation and admission policies vary. Some sanctuaries and rescues allow animals to remain for life. Others rehabilitate wild animals and release them back into nature. Others socialize animals and prepare them for adoption. Mindy Mallett founded Sunrise, a nonprofit charity, in 2001 to provide a dash of dignity for animals that had been forgotten. Here, they freely roam the spacious
