Chasing the Dream

March 23, 2006 : 12:56 PM ET

Meet Wanda Haines, a recent attendee of the How to Start an Animal Sanctuary workshop here at Best Friends. For years, Wanda and her mother Millie Ann have run an animal rescue on their four-acre home in South Carolina. Rescuing animals has been a part of Wanda’s life for as long as she can remember. (She’s pretty sure her mom stopped to rescue some critter or other while enroute to the hospital to deliver her, but that memory is a little hazy.) Wanda’s lifelong dream has been to open a full-fledged sanctuary. She has 30 acres of land out in the country, which she’s set apart for the cause. She even has the name figured out: SAFE Haven, which stands for Sunshine Animal Farm Escape Haven. At the workshop here at Best Friends, Wanda learned plenty about the ins and outs of sanctuary life. She loved the experience and now says, “I feel like I have support.” During the workshop, many of the people she met urged her to call with any questions as her project unfolds.
After volunteering for eight days at Best Friends’ rescue center in Tylertown after Hurricane Katrina, Wanda wants one of the functions of SAFE Haven to be a disaster recovery shelter. Located just 45 miles inland, she’s actually in a pretty good spot to help out in that regard. She also hopes to provide animal care education as well as create a fun place to visit, possibly even a summer camp. What could be cooler than roasting marshmallows with a dog or cat curled up in your lap?

All things considered, she believes she can get things up and running within a year or two. Wanda, you just let us know when to bring the s’mores fixins!

Written by David Dickson.