$10,039 raised by 137 donors
20% complete
$50,000 Goal
Without the support of our community, we could not provide year round, forever sanctuary to our nearly 500 rescued animal residents.
"This place is heaven on earth! These things can rescue you too, when here it's an escape from all the stress of real life. The animals melt that all away and there are soooo many! All living their best versions of themselves, happy, and well fed (donate!). Definitely recommend checking it out. I had no issue paying for the visitor events, your literally feeding the animals you get to go pet and spend time with. Also awesome because for the visitor events they open up a lot of pens to go and check allll the animals out." E. Huber
"Beautiful atmosphere with very caring staff and volunteers. Animals seem extremely relaxed and happy, especially the goats! We sponsored Apollo the cow and got to meet him. What a great day." A. Smith
"Absolutely love this sanctuary. Andrea puts so much work and heart into providing and caring for these beautiful critters. I love watching new residents arrive and grow physically and emotionally in this safe haven." G. Zagged
We are a sanctuary for homeless, abused, neglected, used, slaughter-bound animals, a place of healing, growth and education for all people who wish to see the world become a better place for all animals, human and non-human.
We host events to connect farm animals to their human friends, and vice versa. We also provide a safe place for the animals to share their love and their voice with our human visitors.
In 2009, I embarked on a journey during a remodeling closure of the library where I worked. A 20 year vegetarian, I was curious as to how the small dairy industry operated and took on dairy industry internships that would carry me through the year-long closure. In doing so, I uncovered astonishing abuse and systems of power and exploitation that shocked me to my core.
That year turned into 3 years, and I stayed on as an intern in desperate need to protect the animals that had become my companions and family as best I could. Eventually leaving, unable to witness anymore, I fled with 24 birds and 16 slaughter-bound goats from the dairy and returned to Denver to make a home for my human and non-human family.
I had an idea that I could both expose and change the industry by producing dairy products free from the things that had horrified me; slaughter, artificial insemination, separation of mother and child, breakup of families and lack of responsible vet care, costs weighed not by the prognosis of the individual suffering but the cost-effectiveness of what the sufferer could repay.
I opened a slaughter-free dairy and took out all of the things I found morally reprehensible about the industry in which I had worked. I was successful in showing the ills of the dairy industry to many of my followers and customers, and marginally successful, financially, enough so to begin taking in other species of abused/neglected/slaughterbound farm animals.
Within the first couple years, there were many enlightening moments that drew me further and further from a dairy and found many cracks in my ideas that I could change the industry from within. Having a clearer view of long-termed relationships and animal families, it was no longer a satisfactory answer to breed goats to produce milk and eventually rehome their children, even into pet homes, and feel that I was doing my best good. More research into the environmental impact of animal agriculture and its effect on world hunger led me to veganism. In 2014, my staff and I went vegan and began to immerse ourselves in vegan philosophy.
Realizing that running a dairy of any kind was no longer within the scope of my ethics nor compatible with being a farm animal sanctuary, we have closed the dairy and in its place, a refuge has been created for nearly 500 formerly abused and neglected animals.
Organization name
Broken Shovels Farm and Sanctuary School
2017
Tax id (EIN)
82-2424941
Category
Animal-Related
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
8640 DAHLIA STAdams County, CO, US