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Home At Last Makes Compassion For Other Species A Way of Life
By Erin Milburn / March 11, 1999/ Harrodsburg Herald
At Home At Last Animal Sanctuary near Salvisa, the concept of compassion and respect for all species has been practiced on a daily basis since the facility opened nearly two years ago. Today, the 'no-kill' shelter is home to 40 dogs, 10 cats, seven pigs, and an assortment of cows, goats, and rabbits who have all been rescued from abusive or neglected situations. Some of the current residents of Home At Last will be adopted out, but many will live at the sanctuary for the remainder of their lives, protected and loved.
Home At Last is the brainchild of Stan Petrey, an eastern Kentucky native who has been active in animal rescue for most of his adult life. After visiting the largest 'no-kill' facility in the world at Kanab, Utah, Petrey said he became interested in the concept of providing an alternative to traditional humane societies, which euthanize unwanted animals.
In 1997, he co-founded Home At Last and established a companion and large animal sanctuary, along with a 150-acre wildlife refuge on a 200-acre tract of land provided by one of his three partners. Now, less than two years later, the facility is as full as its one full-time employee and handful of volunteers can manage.
"We're at capacity right now," Said Petrey, who in addition to handling much of the administrative and public relations work of the sanctuary, also has a career as a free-lance producer of television programming. "People ask me if we've really made a difference if we only have the 60-70 animals that we have here. I say that we've certainly made a difference in those animals' lives."
Petrey explained that his vision is also tied to changing the attitude of people as much as rescuing any individual animal.
"Home At Last is a work-in-progress," he said. "Our goal is to be an advocate for all animals and an educational centers that underscores the kinship of life and the concept of harmlessness."
In addition to its no-kill policy, Home At Last is very different from other animal shelters in the design of the facility and the philosophy, which underlies its function.
Visitors to Home At Last will not find its canine residents lined up in concrete cage awaiting adoption or euthanasia. Instead, the dogs live in small packs in large fenced-in areas filled with trees, ponds, fields, and custom-made doghouses. There is a special needs yard for animals that need some solitude to recover from their abuse as well as special areas for the pigs and the goats and the cats and the rabbits.
Every dog or cat that comes to the sanctuary is spayed or neutered and receives whatever medical care it may require to be returned to health. One of the veterans at the sanctuary is Gilbert, a 950-pound pig who fell off a farm truck in Louisville and then was hit by another truck. As one of the very first rescued animals at Home At Last, Gilbert enjoys a certain patriarchal role and is one of the most popular attractions with visitors.
"Gilbert is quite a guy," said Petrey. "Whenever we get a group out here, he's the one they're looking for."
Home At Last does have an adoption program, which is highlighted every few weeks on WKYT television's AfterNoon program and Petrey and his staff also take some animals to the Petsmart Store in Lexington once a month. Home At Last has an Internet site as well that offers pictures and descriptions of the animals available for adoption. But the process for acquiring an animal from the sanctuary is somewhat more stringent than adopting a pet from the Humane Society.
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