love & life | q&a
Living on the
BY ALLISON ROORDA
Wild Side
Tammy Thies found her passion in rescuing big cats and has dedicated her life to that mission.
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Northern Minnesota is hardly the place you’d expect to find jaguars, cougars and tigers. But more than 100 large and small cats have found their home at The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minn. Tammy Thies founded The Wildcat Sanctuary in 1999 as a place for wild cats to live out their lives after being rescued from illegal exotic pet trade or other captive situations. “We have over 100 cats that come from all different walks of life and different species,” Thies said. The Wildcat Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, no-kill big cat rescue that provides a place for cats of all kinds, from lions to bobcats to lynxes. The Sanctuary focuses on bringing light to and ending the captive wildlife crisis, in which exotic animals like big cats are captured and kept as pets illegally. Thies says she would love for a time to come when the Sanctuary is not needed at all. The Wildcat Sanctuary is not open to the public, but it does accept volunteers and interns in programs. Volunteers can help by putting up fencing, renovating structures or helping to clean the prep room or tool shed. Interns can work at The Wildcat Sanctuary in three different programs: animal care interns help
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JULY 2013 | savvy.mn
cock’s] “The Birds,” and she started a sanctuary for retired entertainment animals. I met her in 1999. She really inspired me that we needed to change the laws and provide sanctuary for these animals. What do you love most about what you do? The biggest thing is we’re making a difference in the lives of animals and humans. We want to prevent future animals from needing sanctuaries. To know we’re creating less tigers who live in basements. We’re actually here just for the animals. We do accept volunteers for events for people to keep animals in the heart not the home. They need time just to be wild at heart. Describe your best day at work. Sometimes it’s as simple as a donor calling you and saying how much they appreciate what you do. Another day it could be watching the cougars — like one who’s come in just under the weather, finally run across the enclosure and lay in the sun. To see them finally at peace is pretty amazing. How would you define success? Our definition would be to put ourselves out of business. That sanctuaries would no longer be needed, and these animals can live in the wild and not as pets.
provide care for rescued felines while maintaining strict safety protocols, marketing and education interns help educate the public about the captive wildlife crisis as well as raising funds for the Sanctuary, and development associate interns correspond with donors and keep them informed about what The Wildcat Sanctuary is doing. Savvy asked Thies about her work with The Wildcat Sanctuary and her passion for helping these cats find a home and a place, even in this snowy state. What’s your background and how did you get started in this? I have a background in advertising. One of the photo shoots I was on had big cats, and like most people I was smitten and really realized that the trainer didn’t have the license he needed or the credentials. I had a background that didn’t lend itself to vet or anything like that. But I started doing research and finding a need for this. Allison Roorda writes for Savvy Magazine. Who is your role model? Tippi Hedren; she was in [Alfred Hitch- Contact her at aroorda@swpub.com.