Veterinary care comes first
Access to specialized veterinary care for pigs and other farm animals has been a persistent challenge in our current area. Moving closer to leading veterinary hospitals and schools with strong farm animal programs would help us address that challenge.
We are prioritizing locations near institutions with the expertise and facilities to care for the animals we rescue and those already living in our refuge, with particular attention to experience treating pigs.
That access is central to choosing our next home.
Mental health care within reach
Our vision for the property includes mental health offices serving lower-income individuals who have difficulty finding affordable, accessible care.
We also plan to offer animal-assisted therapy, with qualified professionals guiding the development and delivery of these services.
Being closer to a population center would help us reach more people while maintaining connections with surrounding rural communities. We want the location to support access for people in both settings who too often have limited options for mental health care.
A home for Lifeline
The shared property will also include dedicated offices for Lifeline.
We are excited about our work with veterinarians across the country and the opportunity to give that work a permanent home. Bringing Lifeline onto the same property as our other projects would support coordination while allowing each project to develop its own work.
More opportunities to experience refuge
Alongside our online outreach, we want more people to experience our work in person.
Meeting farm animals as individuals, learning their stories, and spending time with them can open conversations that are difficult to create through a screen. We believe those encounters can influence how people view animals and the choices they make about what they eat, what they wear, and whom they support.
A more accessible location would allow more visitors, volunteers, and future team members to participate.
Building a refuge we can sustain
We are looking for a property of 100 acres or more with useful existing infrastructure and room to build additional facilities for our programs.
Our plans also include hiring more staff. Expanding responsibly means investing in the people who provide daily animal care, deliver services, and keep the organization running, alongside the land and buildings.
Specific properties remain under consideration, and we will share more as decisions take shape. The goal is a lasting home for The Refuge Project, where Cotton Branch, Safe Harbor, and Lifeline can grow together and serve more animals and people.
We welcome conversations with supporters who want to help make that home possible.