After a lifetime of rescuing every stray, abandoned, or unwanted animal who crossed her path, Adri Rachelle realized her work was more of a calling than a mere passion.
These days, she lives on a farm in Athens, Georgia. She’s also the founder of Wild Things Sanctuary, where she takes in every furry, feathered, or four-legged friend who comes her way. To date, she’s rescued over 200 animals by herself!
“Animals that are broken and in danger have always seemed to cross my path and knowing that I’m offering them a safe place to heal gives my life a purpose and that reward far outweighs all of the time, money, and sadness running an animal sanctuary can bring,” Adri explained.
She now invests all of her time and most of her money into helping her menagerie of rescued animals “thrive” instead of just survive. She works from dusk until dawn seven days a week to ensure they are fed and cared for, but she doesn’t feel that the work is a hardship. In fact, she loves every minute of it!
1. The moment you arrive at Adri’s farm, the animals are there to greet you.
2. “It’s my heaven on earth… but it is technically very demanding,” Adri said. “This is especially true because the residents are generally either neglected, seniors, unhealthy, or unhandled.”
3. “A dog may be terrified of me at first, but it learns from the others here that this home is safe, and takes comfort and joy from the other dogs.”
4. Adri often sacrifices her own needs in order to pay for the animals’ care.
5. She said people have to be realistic when deciding to start an animal rescue themselves. She had to sell her truck and has spent more than $50,000 of her own money on the sanctuary so far.
6. “The feed bills average $1,300 a month,” she explained. “Vet care fluctuates greatly, but on a yearly basis, we can generally predict about $10,000. Setting up the sanctuary over the last year has cost around $50,000 in materials.”
7. Adri gratefully accepts donations to help her care for the animals.
8. While she could make more money by inviting the public to the farm to see the animals, she prefers to give them a quiet life.
9. “I feel strongly that the constant revolving door of strangers coming to observe the animals is very stressful for animals that are in recovery, old, or sick.”
10. Instead, Adri continuously adds a steady stream of adorable pictures to her social media pages.
11. Her goal is to earn enough from donations to keep the animals fed and to ensure that she is financially able to save new animals in need.
12. She takes in every kind of animal and never turns anyone away.
13. Adri is determined to exceed the animals’ “basic requirements.” Instead, she aims to spoil them rotten!
14. “I want them to be spoiled and try to create homes for them that are absolutely over-the-top and incredible! Thrive instead of just survive!”
15. It’s hard to say who is happier with this arrangement: Adri or the animals she saves.
Adri has found her calling as a hero to animals in need! She clearly takes pride and joy in every success story on her farm. These sweet fur babies hit the jackpot when she rescued them!
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