We are often asked, “How is BaaHaus faring in this hot, dry weather?”  Our operating expenses are up significantly due to higher feed prices and the need to buy more supplemental feed since our pastures went dormant earlier than usual. Although we are very careful with our use and re-use of water, our District 19 bill is three times usual.  Chores that ordinarily take six hours per day take eight hours due to extra time spent dragging hoses.  So, yes, the drought is affecting us in a measurable, negative way. But when a reporter from The Beachcomber came by to ask that familiar question, we couldn’t help but ruminate a bit further.

Over the nearly 20 years we’ve run this non-profit farm animal sanctuary we’ve taken in many animals that people had originally acquired as “lawnmowers” or “blackberry clearers.”  In every case the animals were in poor health.  Last year two sheep, sold to an unsuspecting islander as “two year old ewes”  were left with nothing but sparse grass to eat. The “lawnmowers,” who were actually elderly and lacked teeth to graze effectively, were emaciated and near death. After a year of veterinary care, worming, professional shearing and appropriate nutrition, they are starting to look and act like sheep and not skeletons in fur.

We feel the pinch of spending more time and money on our animal residents. Let our experience remind you before you find out the hard way — responsibility for farm animals is expensive and time consuming, especially in times of drought. If you are looking for lawnmowers, think John Deere or Kubota, not sentient beings who deserve respect and require your ongoing responsibility for their long-term care.

And to our friends who provide us with donations, assistance, windfall apples and submarine-sized zucchinis for the animals, thank you for your support.

— Karen Eliasen and Glenda Pearson

BaaHaus Animal Rescue Group