Hundreds of jack-o’-lanterns feed a need at animal shelter
Donated pumpkins a post-Halloween treat for animals at Warren Peace Sanctuary in Lake Country
It’ll be a month-long pumpkin feast for 650 creatures at a Lake Country animal shelter. Rabbits, pot-bellied pigs, chinchillas, birds and hedgehogs will be noshing on more than 300 former jacko’-lanterns dropped off this weekend at the Warren Peace Sanctuary.
But the ferrets aren’t gourd gourmets, as they’re turning up their cute little noses at the post-Halloween harvest.
“I don’t know why, but they don’t seem to be interested in the pumpkins,” shelter owner Antoinette Monod said Sunday. “Well, it’s just more for the other animals.”
This is the second year Monod has appealed for people to help with her shelter’s considerable food bill by dropping off pumpkins. The weekend’s haul was about double the number received last year.
“I think people just want to see their pumpkins go to a good cause, rather than just thrown out,” Monod said.
She started Warren Peace, at her family’s Swiss Village Resort on the shore of Wood Lake, about a decade ago with just a few bunnies.
The rabbits now total about 300. They share the property with hundreds of other discarded or unwanted animals gathered up from around B.C., but also as far away as Ontario.
“When I started just with rabbits, I was worried people would think I was a crazy bunny lady,” Monod said with a laugh. “So I started taking in other animals, to make myself legitimate. Now I’m certifiably crazy!”
Monthly feeding expenses average $1,200, and veterinarian bills can double that amount. Warren Peace operates entirely through donations, and as it’s a registered non-profit group, those who support the shelter receive tax donations. Monod relies on a group of about six committed volunteers and another dozen who occasionally help out. But she’s always happy to hear from others, who can provide either time or donations.
For more information, call 250-4703606 or see warrenpeacebunnysanctuary.org.