NOTE: Spring is here, and it is warmed. However, rain and cold fonts are still a big part of the weather, so join us if you can, but please wear warm clothes that can get muddy. We greatly appreciate all those who donate their valuable time.

LFS video on Let Live Conference

See our CEO speak about the Farm Sanctuary

June 15, 2009

The Let Live Foundation is a non-profit organization based out of Portland, Oregon. Their mission is to inspire activism for animals through community based events that are both inclusive and inspiring. Wayne had an opportunity to speak about the Sanctuary and share some of our stories.

Sanctuary Stories: Tales of Hope Part 1- Wayne Geiger [run: 23 min 50 sec] from Let Live Foundation on Video.

This is an embedded video. Please let the webmaster know if it is not linking up to the original or if it will not play.

Whole Foods "Change for Change"

Lighthouse benefits from Whole Foods program

April 18, 2009

Sign for Change for Change sponsoring LFS
Once again, Whole Food Markets is helping the Sanctuary through their Change for Change program.

One of the things the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary stands for is community, and in a community people help each other. Whole Food Markets , who also share our view of community involvement, has once again stretched out their helping hands and included the Sanctuary in their "Change for Change " program.

If you shop at Whole Food Markets at:

Whole Foods Fremont
3535 NE 15th
Portland, OR 97212
Phone 503.288.3414
Map and directions

The store will donate $.10 for every bag of groceries you purchase when you bring your own bags (or you can keep the dime for yourself, but wouldn't you rather get the warm, fuzzy feeling inside knowing you're helping out a worthy organization?).

Sign at store.
The Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary will be a part of this program through July 5, 2009.

Annual Easter Celebration Success

April 12, 2009

Kids feeding horse snacks from their Easter eggs.
We aren't sure who enjoyed themselves the most, the animals or the humans.

Once again we had a great turn out for our annual Easter Celebration.

Take a look at our 2009 Easter Celebration Gallery (opens in new window, you can enlarge the window by grabbing the bottom right corner and the pictures will enlarge as well).

We would like to thank all the people who came to share a peaceful afternoon hunting for plastic eggs and feeding the contents to the grateful animals. This event helps us reach out to the community to let people know what we are doing while giving them an opportunity to enjoy a fun, family time with our boarders here at the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary.

Visitors were able to check out some of the ways people can help the animals, such as our sponsor an animal program. You could also sign up to receive information about our 1 day summer camp, which will take place in late July or early August this year. If you are interested in receiving information about our summer camp send us your name via email and we will let you know the activities we will do and the date the camp will take place. Information will also be posted on this website, as well. Meanwhile, you can look at last year's summer camp article here to get an idea of what it is about.

Founding Matriarch, Cauli, loses battle with pneumonia

March 5, 2009

by Wayne S. Geiger

Cauli looking ragged and worn when she first came to the Sanctuary.
Cauli, when she first came to the Sanctuary in 1998.

Cauli looking healthy and fit years later.
Cauli looking fit in September 2008.

It all began in 1998, when I worked as Animal Welfare Director for the Humane Society of the Willamette Valley, HSWV, (aka – Willamette Humane Society) as Animal Welfare Director. As part of my duties, I oversaw the Cruelty Department, which, at that time, was very involved in reports of cruelty and neglect. Shortly after I started, one of my first cases was a starvation case involving 4 young sheep in south Salem. The sheep were surrender to us, but like most Humane Societies, we were not equipped to house them. In the past, smaller livestock would be put into dog kennels until a new home could be found. I found this unacceptable and went in search of another option.

I was renting a great old farm style house on 3 acres with an old run down barn, but most of it was not fenced. So, during my lunch break, I ran to the local farm store bought some fencing and some “t” posts (and of course, some feed) and quickly made a small pasture for them. Under some new TLC and nutrition, they were fast on the road to recovery.

The next thing I new, this little unofficial sanctuary was rapidly growing. Soon, came Monty the goat, some chickens and a little donkey named Bart. It just didn’t seem to end, as there was always a need for unwanted, abused and neglected farm animals and not many places for them to go.

After all of these years of good health, Cauli came down with pneumonia. At first she responded splendidly to a regime of antibiotic and Vitamine B injections. To the point, we thought she was cured. Unfortunately, she relapsed and had past away sometime during the night. It is estimated that she was 12 years old.

I will be forever grateful for the original 4 sheep (Broccoli, Cauli, Flower and Kale) for starting this wonderful and exciting journey, now, officially called the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary. We may miss her, but carry on for others like her.

A message from the sanctuary president

With your help, the Sanctuary continues to grow

November 23, 2008

Download the pdf (0.3 MB) version of our winter appeal letter with this article in it.

Photo comparing the conditions of starving horses when received and 3 months later.

Dear Friends,

During this year, your commitment to Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary has inspired and enabled us to help more animals. You have allowed us to respond to regional and national requests for assistance, expand our network and connections with local and state organizations and enhanced our reputation as one of the most effective animal welfare organizations Oregon. With your support, we have:

Fed and cared for nearly 200 animals at our Scio facility
Continued developing our property with new fences and barns.
Developed and launched a one of a kind on line farm animal adoption center.
Worked with Farm Sanctuary by providing homes for pigs that were victims of the Iowa floods
Provided technical assistance to local law enforcement.
Worked collaboratively with national organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States to address the current horse abandonment and neglect crisis.
Educated community and interested parties throughout the State of Oregon on animal welfare issues.
Participated as a panelist at the Lewis and Clark National Animal Law Conference.

Even in this current economic time, we've met the challenge and diligently utilized your resources to the best of our ability. Because of unprecedented community demand for our services, we have grown extensively over the last year. With the struggles our economy is facing, we now find ourselves in the difficult situation of trying to make ends meet. We are painfully short on funds and are fearful of what this coming winter will bring.

Daily, we hear that when times get tough, it's the animals that are the first to be forgotten. As the winter progresses this will only get worse. In addition, the cases of neglect are increasing, and our law enforcement agencies are asking for our help in caring for starving horses. In order to rise to the call, we need funds to fence the remaining 35 acres at the Sanctuary, build new barns, and hire staff. It is heartbreaking to have to turn animals away.

But without your on‐going support, we will be challenged to meet the basic care needs of our animal friends. Today, we find ourselves dealing with the same economic forces affecting many individuals and families and approach the end of the year with our budget stretched to keep up with the many different costs of caring for the animals. We need your help today. So can I count on you for your generous year‐end gift to Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary?

Thank you for helping us to building a legacy of caring for the animals. Your efforts can make a Lifetime of Difference! Without your immediate assistance, we are concerned about our ability to continue to help, feed, and care for these beautiful and precious animals. NO gift is too small. I am grateful to call you a partner in this good work.

Yours truly,

Wayne S. Geiger
President LFS

LFS Gentle Thanksgiving & Pig Party

Thanks to all who spent the day with us

November 23, 2008

Carmen had a relaxing Thanksgiving.

Carmen (see photo) had nothing to fear this Thanksgiving because she attended our Gentle Thanksgiving & Pig Party. Our annual event, which was on Saturday, November 22, enjoyed good weather and many guests, who stopped by to feed the animals.

Gentle Thanksgiving honors the formerly abused and neglected farm animals now living at the Sanctuary. This year, guests were able to meet our latest arrivals, Pepper and Jacks, victims of starvation, as well as Rosebud and her family of piglets who survived the Iowa floods.

Guests also enjoyed hot apple cider, tea, muffins and other goodies. Although this event is free to the public, and is our way of thanking our supporters, visitors were very generous in making donations.

To see a small gallery of this click here.

If you missed us this year, we hope you can make it next year. Subscribe to our newsletter if you want to keep in touch with our current events and news.

LFS work is noted on other websites

Read some of the articles about us on the WWW

Updated: October 31, 2008

Our hard work hasn't gone unnoticed, and some have written about what we are doing to benefit animals. Here is a sampling of the some of the articles posted on the world wide web about us.

IN THE NEWS! Read what the Democrat Herald says about us when they came to see our new arrivals.

IN THE NEWS! KATU television's news story about our part in helping starving horses.

See the article about us on the (national) Farm Sanctuary's website.

Here we are on David Agranoff's blog .

And, Critter Farm Girl's blog (includes slide show).

The Daily Emerald reports on Wayne's presentation to a Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (SETA) group.

Pigs are here!

Our Iowa pigs arrived on Saturday

October 19, 2008

This little guy is just one of the ten pigs that we received from the Farm Sanctuary

(see story below).

Also see related story: Appreciated

Just as we were finishing the work party on Saturday, the pigs arrived. We watched as the two female one-year-olds came down the ramp into their new home.

Donna and Dubman had a few minutes to explore the area before we released the momma with her 7 piglets. Rosebud and the piglets kicked up their heels and ran around. All of them settled in and ate apples. They are very friendly and curious.

Come out and see them on November 22 for Gentle Thanksgiving and Pig Party. Or, if you can't wait until then, come to a work party.

You can see a gallery of the pigs by clicking on the picture in this article. We also took a short video of the new arrivals.

Please remember: although we welcome the opportunity to do our part in helping with the victims of the Iowa floods, our resources will be stretched. Besides the 12 ways to help on our Helping page, you can donate through Champion Feed. A special account has been set up with our feed store that will allow you to contribute directly. If they don't have what we need in stock, they will order for us. Please contact:

Champion Feed
5711 Gaffin Rd. SE
Salem,OR 97301
503-585-7140
PLEASE, ONLY TALK WITH STEVE PATTERSON, OWNER

Five stories about the Sanctuary

A sampling from our most recent newsletter

October 11, 2008

If you did not receive our most recent newsletter, you can check out some of the articles in it by clicking on the links below. You can download a complete pfd version of the newsletter , and, if you would like to subscribe (it's FREE), just send your mailing address to us and request a subscription .

Wine and Music at the Farm 2008:

Thanks to all who helped make this event a success

October 4, 2008

One of our younger patrons enjoying the hay and a healthy snack. Click on the picture above to open a gallery of pictures.

This year’s entertainment at the annual Wine and Music at the Farm was the lively McG’s of Eugene. Fiddle player Hannah McGowan has joined with her father, Sean McGowan, on a voyage of musical discovery through Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. Their presentation of the traditional music of Britain and beyond was enjoyed by all. Check out this short clip of their performance, then visit their web site if your interested in more information about their their odyssey.

This year we added more activities such as a hay ride, increased our hours and it was FREE. Even in these hard economic times people opened their hearts and their wallets and gave generously to our mission of helping abused and neglected farm animals. We are very grateful to all who attended and gave so willingly so we could could keep our farm operating.

This year we designed the event so the whole family could enjoy it. Food, wine, and entertainment, as well as a handmade quilt raffle, silent and oral auctions, were the main focus. Besides the great music, perhaps the highlight of the evening was the participants meeting and greeting the animals that now call the sanctuary their home.

Tax dollars do not fund these animals in need. Your hearts do. If you would like to help, please contact us.

LFS presents: Suzie

A small mule with a big heart

August 3, 2008

Head shot of Suzie.
Suzie awaits a sponsor. It could be you!

Suzie has a bad knee from being hit by a car. This injury becomes more obvious when she canters. She is very small for a mule, looking more like Baby, our burro. Her straight back (visible in the gallery photograph of her) gives her away as a mule. For $40 a month you can provide a loving and safe environment for this beautiful animal.

Sponsorship includes:

color photo
sponsorship certificate
biography of her rescue
visitation rights

You can also sponsor other animals at the Sanctuary. Please visit our sponsor information page to learn more about helping the animals, or open our Gallery (or use this link if you do NOT have Adobe Flash installed) which has pictures of animals you can sponsor. You can also download our sponsorship form, which is on our information page, and start your sponsorship today.

For more information about Suzie, or any of the other animals that live at the Sanctuary, please contact us. It is through the generous support of many volunteers and sponsors that allows us to continue our missing of rescuing abused animals and providing a haven for them.

President's Message | Icon Legend