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HOPE, HAVEN, HOSPICE—OUR SANCTUARY HONORS ALL STAGES OF LIFE
A special message from Keepers of the Wild Vice President and Chairwoman, Lara Kraft:
If you know the founding history of Keepers of the Wild, you know that young tigers, lions, and wolves were the first focus of our founder's rescue mission because of his experience handling and caring for them. In the nearly 30 years since then, our scope of care has evolved to encompass over 50 species and animals of all ages, but we most often take in adult animals. Rescuing adult animals comes with the knowledge that they arrive from a variety of situations including abuse and neglect, which almost always results in health issues that need to be monitored and addressed with a long-term treatment plan.
Some of the health issues we can expect to find are rotten and broken teeth from poor nutrition, mange and dermatitis, complications from declawing procedures, genetic issues stemming from inbreeding practices, arthritis, cancer, and renal failure. Committing to adult rescues also means we are fully prepared to offer each animal the opportunity to live their best life for as long as they humanely have; that length could be six months or 16+ years.
Since the vast majority of the animals in our care are adults well into their lifespan, and we have a strict no-breeding policy, we must always be prepared to make the transition into hospice care if appropriate, and must know (along with our veterinarian) when it is time to ethically and humanely euthanize an animal who no longer has quality of life.
We never allow animals to suffer; as heartbreaking as it is to say goodbye, we must honor the animal's life and do right by them. This happens more often than we care to dwell on, and sometimes we even lose several animals within a short time due to old age or other incurable health issues. Emotionally, it can be extremely taxing on our staff to consistently process the loss of animals we have bonded with and cared for until the very end, but we do it because we are Keepers of the Wild—we love, we care, and we protect.
This month has been particularly difficult for us, as we lost two sibling tigers, William and Victor, to old age and health complications that came along with the territory. They arrived at the sanctuary in 2009 when they were only two years old. The zoo they had been residing in was shut down, and Keepers stepped in to give them a permanent home and hope for a bright future. They shared a beautiful life and habitat together for the past 15 years, and passed just one month apart, which is not unusual to see with deeply bonded animals such as they.
We wish William and Victor peace as they cross the Rainbow Bridge with their big, gorgeous paws. We honor them by displaying their remains in specially chosen urns, as we do with each and every animal who passes through the sanctuary during their life's journey.
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