May 2024 marks a year since we experienced a major upheaval with our animal care team and we found ourselves starting over by rebuilding, rethinking, and redesigning the way we had been running the Sanctuary for the previous 8 years.

That thought came to me the other day as I was back out in the Sanctuary pitching in and overseeing the Sanctuary operations. This year was different. This time our entire animal care team is in Texas attending the Animal Care Expo. I am so very proud of OHW for making the commitment to the team in this way. Our goal is to elevate the position of animal care and to give those who choose that as a career the opportunity to grow and learn and lead. I want their positions to be full of possibilities for a future doing what they love.

One thing that is the same between last year and this year with animal care staff off the property is the way our incredible volunteers step up to help. Seriously, these humans who choose to give their time to OHW are gifts beyond measure. I don't know if we ever do a good enough job letting them know how important each of them are and how much we truly value them.

I am grateful for the three other women who have helped lead this organization. We have all worn multiple hats from day one and each of us, no matter how challenging things got, kept our unwavering belief in the good that One Heart Wild was doing for people and animals. It has been such an honor and inspiration to work with them. I am also grateful for all of the staff, volunteers, and donors who have believed in us and OHW's mission enough to slog through the seasons and help us become the compassionate community that we have become known for.

We all learned some incredibly important lessons from a year ago. Growth demands an ever present need to evaluate what is working and what no longer serves the best interest of the organization. AND, be willing to change no matter how hard that change may be. In the end, that responsiveness, and willingness to listen and evolve opened the doors to the best era yet in our ability to support our animal care team and that increases the level of care that is possible for our animals. Working out on the grounds now, I am blown away at the systems, organization, and monitored care that our new team has put in place to serve the animals.

Animal care is hard. It is physically demanding, emotionally demanding, and it taxes every ounce of our humanity to push through being tired no matter the weather, to carefully consider end of life decisions, and to put it all on the line to manage medical care for the animals whether a thousand pounds or 5. For me, it is all of that and the stress of the ever rising costs of care. Animal care is HARD, they are depending on us, and those of us called to this work are driven by the desire to make a difference in their lives.

We want OHW to be the place for those who are uniquely driven to do this work, to find a place that nurtures their unique talents and honors the work and commitment they make to the animals. They are the compassion crew, they are driven by it, and they are a special breed of human.

Here's to celebrating growth, and cheers to our animal care team at the Expo! What new exciting ideas will come home with them? Evidently they learned we need a donkey to keep our birds safe.... ;)

With love and gratitude,

Drea

Celebrating Rabbit Meadows

Sandi Ackerman has successfully run a small animal rescue for over 30 years. She has contributed immensely to the field of domestic rabbit care and is well known in the veterinary field in the US and abroad for her research, experience and published Rabbit Health News. In the early days of her career, that newsletter was the best resource veterinarians had for treating issues in pet rabbits. Her contribution, fierce advocacy, and sheer grit, that educated all who found her, to do better by the small animals in their care, has literally saved and improved thousands of lives. That is her legacy!

I have always felt honored to meet and learn from women who have been pioneers in the fields I am passionate about. The importance of preserving and passing on their wisdom and experience cannot be overstated. Sandi is one of those women. She responded immediately when our tiny newborn litter of buns arrived nearly a year ago. Without her expertise, two of the most fragile babies may not have made it. Thanks to her willingness to help, all six survived and have grown into big, happy, healthy buns who delight staff, volunteers and clients.

Sandi is closing Rabbit Meadows due to health issues and One Heart Wild is helping her with myriad details in the process.

In honor of Sandi and her life's dedication to small animals, we took the logo pieces of metal that were on her fence at Rabbit Meadows and our animal care team and Ray Hammer at Blue Collar Artwork created an incredible art piece that will hang on our new bunny barn in her memory.

We are grateful to offer a forever home to the remaining animals in Sandi's care. Nosey bunny and two little rats. They will live out their natural life at One Heart Wild.

Nosey bun arrived very scared to be in a new environment. It took him a week to let us see him during the day. He is now hanging out and watching the action of the Sanctuary. He even asked for a pet the other day. He is going to get all the love he asks for!

Kitsap Humane Society is working with us to get the five females from the litter spayed. Koda and Tio were up first.

Melissa is a volunteer for KHS and OHW. We were so excited to see her loving the babies as they came out of anesthesia.

We have not had big digger bunnies here at OHW until now. Clover and her six very large babies are serious about it. We are absolutely amazed at the size and precision of the hole they were working on.

They get extra supervision when they are outside and soon will have more barriers to ensure their safety.

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

Anne Duron

What is your role at OHW?

Animal care staff

What drew you to OHW?

I’m a huge animal lover and when I saw the post that OHW was hiring I knew I had to be apart of it in one way or another. The connections that we make here are like no other, the love that we are able to have with each and every animal is so special. The amount I’ve learned and grown here is immense and I couldn’t imagine my life if I never took the leap to go out of my comfort zone and change my life. Im so grateful to be on this journey with this team and these residents, I can’t wait to see what’s next in this journey

What is your goal for your work at OHW?

My goal is to continue growing and creating magical connections with each resident here. I’m eager to learn more about animals, how they work and how we can continue helping them and giving them the life they deserve.

SANCTUARY UPDATES

We celebrated National Volunteer Appreciation Week from April 21st-27th with warm sips and tasty treats for volunteers to enjoy throughout their shift. Our volunteer manager put a gift bag together of local artist creations of our animals along with a personalized note of appreciation. Volunteers are the heart of the Sanctuary and we are so grateful they choose OHW to give their time and compassion to.

Welcome To Sanctuary Lady Hens

We took a transfer of six battery cage hens this month. These ladies have spent their lives crammed in cages with multiple other birds. Their only value to the human who held them captive is the eggs that they laid. There is no regard for their quality of life, their health and well being, or their social, emotional and behavioral needs. These birds were enslaved prisoners.

Thankfully, the way they were kept is illegal in the state they were in and the birds were confiscated. From there countless animal rescue organizations mobilized to find safe places for all of them to land. Thanks to Pony Up Rescue who has committed to help find homes for a large number of hens, we were able to help too. We have named them after Greek goddesses.

These girls have never had a dust bath, they had never laid in the sun, scratched the earth, roosted, or walked on and pecked at grass. It is absolutely heartbreaking to see the condition of their weak physical bodies and to also know how much they have suffered mentally and emotionally.

They are getting stronger every day. They navigated their instinct to lay in the sun the first time they felt it's warmth on their bodies. We can hardly wait to let them discover bugs and grass and meet new friends once they are out of quarantine.

Donate for their care

Community Based Mental Health Services

One of the many services OHW provides in the community is mental health supports to schools in Kitsap County. Discovery Alternative High School participated in our pilot Anxiety program.

This year we incorporated workshops into our days at Discovery to include an Anxiety Workshop. Students who chose to participate would be provided with psychoeducation on the brain and nervous system, as well as learning coping skills to better manage symptoms.

After completing a final project, and 100% attendance in the 6 week program, students received .25 credit towards graduation

In our first pilot program we had over 20 students learn these new skills that will follow them well into adulthood.

Students final project included painting what anxiety feels like, and spending time at the Sanctuary to learn more about boundaries and how setting boundaries is important as they move forward.

Big shout out to these students for investing in themselves and engaging in some difficult topics!

Mental Health Services

One Heart Wild is a Behavioral Health Agency with a special focus on connection, belonging, and healing in an environment that literally soothes one's soul. Our licensed providers offer; Animal/Equine Assisted Therapy, EMDR, IFS, Brief Intervention, and various other specialities, including animal assisted self development. We offer in person and telemental health. We serve youth ages 5 to adult and welcome multiple people from the same family.

We currently have a waitlist. We are adding two new intern practitioners this summer with the hopes of whittling that wait time down. If you are interested in services we recommend coming out for a tour first to get a feel for the Sanctuary. If we seem like a good fit, you can email us and someone will be in touch to get you on the waitlist.

We are continuing our process to be credentialed with most of the major insurance companies in our area as well as Medicare and Medicaid. We also offer a sliding scale, and limited scholarship funding at this time.

ANIMAL UPDATES

Cora is now over 35lbs and is big enough to spend most of her day outside. She is getting to know the goats and sheep and so far the goats seem to be less pushy towards her. She needs to gain another 10 pounds or so to be able to safely hold her own with the sheep. They do a lot of head butting in the beginning and her 35 to their 80+ isn't safe for her yet.

For now she is in the front section of the goat pen and has discovered she can easily jump between the bars on the divider. She goes in and out of the goat area depending on what she wants. So far that is working out OK.

She is not at all convinced she belongs in the goat or the sheep pen but the time has come. Everyone is adjusting to the change. In the house, Ava cat misses her the most.

Izzy received a haircut! She has always been the hairiest horse on the property by far. We call her our little woolly mammoth. Now that she is shedding, hair is everywhere- most dangerously, into her eating and drinking areas. This creates a serious choke hazard for her because of the issues she has with her esophagus. She is safer now and we are certain she will appreciate having less hair when the heat arrives to stay.

Flower goat had a mysterious leg injury that left him limping and swollen for a few days. One of our mobile vets has us start him on pain medications. He spent a few days of rest in Finnegan's old space and then supervised time outside to be sure that he doesn't overdo the playtime with his fellow goat and sheep friends. He is back to being a healthy goat!

Donate to our Animal Veterinary Fund

CLIENT SPOTLIGHT

A Poem to April from a former OHW client:

You guided me through darkness, as your eyes assured me I was not alone, you showered me with kindness unparalleled to anything I've known.

You gently stepped in and drove away the terror creeping in my head. I thought I was only a survivor, but you showed me the peace of the warrior instead.

How patient you were with me how precise were you with your energy, this poem could never show. But you have helped so many, hurt just like we were and picked us up like we were always one with the herd.

I love you April, thank you for guiding my soul back into this life interrupting us into laughter, joy and delight. One Heart Wild helped me profoundly heal, to care for myself and my family through the incredible staff and amazing animal residents there.

ROOTS Institute 2024 cohort is underway! Seven students are starting their journey into their certification in Equine/Animal Assisted Therapy & Self-Development.

We are excited to welcome an incredible group of students to the unique philosophy of the ROOTS Institute for working with people and animals.

If you would like more information about ROOTS Institute and would like to be placed on the waiting list for our next cohort, contact us here.

SAVE THE DATE EVENTS

Bunnies & Brews 21 and over event- August 3rd
Goats and Floats Art Festival- August 4th

One Heart Wild and The Factory Fitness are partnering for

One Heart Wilds 1st annual fun run!

Hoofin It 5k Color Run/Walk will be tentatively held on September 21st

10am (early on-site registration will be at 9:15)

Located on Auto Center Blvd in Bremerton.

More details to follow soon!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!