Christopher Vane of Florida opened Little Bear Sanctuary in 2017 to provide a loving, cage-free home to farm animals with nowhere else to go. His inspiration came from his mom Ursula, who once told him, “When I die, I’m going to have a barn up in heaven, and I’m going to have all the animals and they’re going to stay with me.â€
Videos by InspireMore
Sadly, she passed away before the sanctuary officially opened, but Christopher knows she would be proud of the little piece of heaven he’s created!
“Every day when I walk outside the house, it just makes me smile,” he told Today. “You can’t be depressed here. These animals just change your day.”
Little Bear Sanctuary is home to all kinds of animals, including dogs, donkeys, goats, cows, and pigs. Christopher explained that they get an especially high number of pigs because families will adopt a piglet and quickly surrender them when they realize just how big they get.
“We actually had to stop taking people’s pet pigs because I think it’s become a crisis,”Christopher added. For that reason, another one of the organization’s missions is to provide better education surrounding having pigs as pets.
Aside from managing the pet pig crisis, Little Bear Sanctuary has 30 acres of land where their residents have free range! Since they first opened, they have given more than 150 animals a new home, but Christopher still wants to do more – and get the community involved in the process!
That’s why he set up a GoFundMe campaign. He’s hoping to raise money for expansion efforts so they can develop a community garden, a functioning water well, an on-site veterinary clinic, and more.
Even though Christopher’s mom didn’t get to see the sanctuary before she passed, her presence is still there. “She taught me compassion,” he said. “She always loved animals. I know she’s looking down on us.â€
What a sweet way to honor his mom and give all these precious animals the life they deserve! You can learn more about Little Bear Sanctuary on their website or Instagram and help them out by donating to their GoFundMe.
Don’t forget to share this story with your friends to make them smile.
Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.
