We Are Rescued Friends
Rescued Friends Animal Sanctuary provides a safe haven for abused and neglected farm animals and offers humane education to the community. Celebrating all life and cultivating compassion.
Amy (Co-Founder)
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I'm Amy, a Colorado native, and I have always loved animals, often preferring their company over humans. When I was 16 years old, I read Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation, and immediately went vegetarian. I’m now fully vegan and have never felt healthier, happier, stronger, or younger in my life! When I’m not taking care of our rescued friends, I try to maintain balance by spending time outside in our beautiful mountains hiking, climbing, and biking. I also love cooking amazing vegan meals.
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I seem to attract special needs birds, and am constantly learning new treatments and techniques to care for my little special needs flock that includes mobility challenged, blind/vision impaired, and injured or otherwise sick chickens and ducks. There is always at least one chicken in the house with me.
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It is an honor to care for these precious souls here at Rescued Friends, and despite the non-stop work and challenges, this work deepens my veganism and outreach. Each day, each meal, we can choose compassion, and little by little we can change the world.“Be the change you wish to see.”
Von (Co-Founder)
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I’m Von, 50 years young. I love animals. I love this planet. And I value my health. And I want to share this with YOU!
I started Rescued Friends to show people there is another way to live. COMPASSION. Compassion for the animals. Compassion for the planet. Compassion for your health. We are faced with so many choices in our lives, and if we can choose not to harm any sentient being, not harming the planet, and not harming ourselves, why wouldn’t we? Well, you can! I invite you to come out to Rescued Friends and let's cultivate compassion together and make a change.
You. Me. Us!
HOPES AND DREAMS
Our hope is not only to save animals from needless pain and suffering, we also hope to open some minds and challenge long-held beliefs. And we will always do so with respect. We will never look down on anyone who eats meat, eggs, and dairy. We know that a transition can be very challenging, and we are here to support you and give you encouragement along the way. We are not a "vegan only" place- we welcome all. We just ask that you have an open mind and respect our animal family members by not bringing any animal-based foods onto the sanctuary grounds.
Throughout the year, we will host many events such as potlucks, cookouts, picnics, and cooking classes to provide delicious plant-based foods here. Make sure to check out our Events page to learn more.
We hope to make a difference in your life as well as the lives of animals, and we dream of a day when compassionate eating choices are a given.
Rescued Friends Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation.
Why Live Vegan?
If you're ready to begin the process of transitioning to a vegan lifestyle, we have a suggestion and a challenge for you.
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Our suggestion, determine why you want to transition. There are basically 3 reasons (maybe just one of them is your driving force, maybe a combination of them, or all three)
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For the animals. For your health. For the planet.
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Once you know your reason, and have seen the evidence to support that reason, you have those facts in your brain when you are faced with a food choice. That cheese may look delicious, but is that fleeting moment of pleasure in your mouth worth more than the suffering you saw in the dairy industry? Or is it worth having high cholesterol? Or is it worth the pollution of our water supply? For us, once we saw and knew the truth, there was no going back; we can’t ignore the truth or how it made us feel.
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Next is our challenge:
Choose one day a week to commit to eating no animal products. If that seems way too out of your realm of possibility right now, don’t fret! Try just one meal. And a trick we have learned that can make it easier, and help you not feel like you're depriving yourself of anything, is to add something before you take something away. Love cheese? (Don’t worry, we did too!) Before you take it out of your diet add something- our favorite is Kite Hill cream cheese style chive spread (on a baguette, it’s divine!) Don’t deprive yourself of ice cream if you love it, try So Delicious brand cashew milk ice cream (our favorite is cashew caramel cluster, think “dulce de leche” in vegan form!)
And that’s it. Find the reason(s) that most resonate with you, and then challenge yourself to drop animal products from one meal a day, one whole day, whatever works. This is not a contest, and if you fall off the wagon, it’s ok. Just forgive yourself and keep going.