The Humane Society’s 35-acre Animal Sanctuary consists of an Animal Shelter for dogs and cats, a Donkey Sanctuary, grazing paddocks and nighttime corrals for rescued horses, sheep and goats and a small Petting Farm.

Some of the larger Sanctuary animals have been given up by owners who have left the island or who for some reason are no longer able or willing to care for them. All of the smaller ruminants, however, have been rescued by the Humane Society from dangerous or life threatening situations. Most often it has been a situation where their mothers were killed by roaming dogs or vehicles and the infants were brought in to us to be bottle-fed and raised. They make welcome additions to our Petting Farm as they are very contact friendly and allow the children to pet them.

In drought conditions food has to be cut and carried	Arawak poses for the camera	Lining up to be brushed

Their favourite time of the day	Survivor horns in on the donkeys’ treat

Survivor’s Story

Survivor

Survivor is a young goat that was rescued and brought in to the Sanctuary in 2003. Humane Society staff heard an animal screaming while they were driving along a country road on their way back to the Sanctuary. They stopped the vehicle and ran to the sound where they found three dogs viciously attacking a young goat. The dogs were chased off and the goat brought back to the Sanctuary for treatment. He was covered with bite wounds which had to be cleaned and treated and was extremely stressed, exacerbated by the unfamiliar handling by humans. After a prolonged period of medications and wound treatments he miraculously recovered, earning the name, Survivor. Today, he is a happy, healthy member of the Petting Farm.

Survivor enjoys a mango – life is goood!

Ollie’s New Leg

Ollie was brought to the Humane Society by the motorist who accidentally struck him with his vehicle. The sheep’s leg was in worse shape than originally thought and several efforts at treatment, including a cast, were not successful. His leg was finally amputated and for several months he hobbled around but it was clear that it was very tiring for him and another solution was sought. We contacted a local orthopaedic surgeon and learned that Or-Pro Medical of Puerto Rico visits Antigua on a regular basis to assist patients with prosthetic limbs. We met with Benigno (Benny) Garcia and his colleague and after meeting Ollie and measuring him they agreed to make him a new leg. After a few fittings, the leg was completed and the quality of Ollie’s life has greatly improved. He can once again stand erect and is able to graze and hang out with his friends just like before. Or-Pro Medical donated the prosthesis to Ollie. We know that even without labour costs the materials themselves are very expensive and we are very grateful to Benny Garcia and his company for this wonderful gift.

The Sanctuary is located in Delaps near the village of Bethesda, on the eastern side of Antigua. (See map in Visit Us)