AUGUST UPDATE FROM THE SANCTUARY

Dear Friends of the Animals,
This summer has certainly flown by, and we're sure glad, like most of you, to have the worst of these extreme temperatures behind us. If you're a regular reader of our newsletters (or a social media follower) you already know that sanctuary life equals a busy life. We are so thankful to ALL our volunteers and donors that give so selflessly of their time and money to support us. Your generosity has helped us through this extensive heat and drought, where hay is scarce and prices are high, helped us provide necessary emergency and ongoing veterinary care to our residents, and supported ongoing farrier costs. 

Just this week there were eight pig pedicures, two turkeys molting, one Lizzy loving, lots of Barley Straw bedding, and Brother goat basking on a boulder. Hay continues to come in to keep our animals fed all winter long. Never a dull moment at an animal sanctuary. 

This month we're kicking off a fundraiser in support of our Golden Equines and we'll hope you'll consider giving. No donation is too small. Read more below and 

Kit & Pete Jagoda
Co-Founders
River's Wish Animal Sanctuary
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Meet the Golden Equines of River's Wish
These 11 special equines are excited to introduce themselves

River’s Wish is home to more than 120 residents, including 25 equines. Twenty of our equines are seniors. Ten of these seniors have special needs, beyond the additional care and maintenance required for aging equines. We call them our “Golden Equines”. As a sanctuary who has been serving the community for more than 25 years, it’s not uncommon to have such a large population of senior animals with special needs. 

All equines need ongoing vet care for dental maintenance, vaccinations, parasite control, a farrier for proper hoof care, appropriate feed and/or supplements, good shelter, proper hydration, and grooming. Senior animals, like their human counterparts, often require specialized care, medical interventions, and focused nutritional support. Most equine veterinarians define senior as older than 15 years. Depending on a horse’s background and situation, they can have varying health issues and special needs. 

From hay, to special feed, to medications for conditions such as Cushings or diabetes, we are committed to the care of these amazing equines. Costs to support this special group are more than $28,000 a year, with an average of about $250 between them all. We hope you'll choose to sponsor our Gold Equines Fund. 

We’re featuring special sponsor packages for donors in the following categories:

• Gold Level 1: Minimum $500 donation receives a River’s Wish Swag Bag that includes 1 7x7 Mother's Love Print (Caprine or Bovine) signed by artist and River’s Wish Co-Founder Kit Jagoda, a River’s Wish Trucker’s Hat, a Golden Equines 2022 Desk Calendar, and a Blitzen Keychain 
• Gold Level 2: Minimum $250 donation receives a River’s Wish Trucker’s Hat
• Gold Level 3: Minimum $100 donation receives a Golden Equines 2022 Desk Calendar

Every level of donor, no matter how small, will receive a digital Golden Equines sponsorship certificate emailed to them! We hope you’ll consider supporting this important campaign. Thank you for all you do for our residents!

Learn More & Donate

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Thinking Vegan? Switch out your milk.
​Most of us grow up unaware of the inherent cruelty of the dairy industry. The sad truth is that in order for cows to produce milk, they must give birth. And in order for humans to consume that milk, a calf must be denied its mother’s milk. If the calf is female, she will be raised to be used for dairy and suffer the same repeated losses her mother experienced. If the calf is male, his life will be much shorter and even more bleak. Because there is no commercial use for grown male dairy cows, most male calves are confined in immobilizing crates and used for veal production. They are slaughtered after just a number of weeks. Some of them are simply killed at birth.​

River's Wish is home to seven cows: Bob, Moxie, Rudy, Heidi, Olive, Henry, and Bergh. Bob, Moxie, and Rudy,
​the first three cows in the picture, were rescued from the dairy industry.

At River’s Wish, resident steers Bob, Moxie, Henry, and Bergh are survivors from the dairy industry. Bob and Moxie were rescued from slaughter at just one day old, and Henry and Bergh were saved from the veal industry when they were a few weeks old. It’s hard to believe that these beautiful, friendly, rambunctious cows almost didn’t get a chance at life. 
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In their honor, I’d like to invite you to try out nondairy milk! The options on the grocery shelves are pretty much endless these days as nondairy milk has surged in popularity, so you’re sure to find a kind you enjoy. The most common nondairy milks include soy, almond, oat, coconut, hemp, and rice milk, but you’ll also find a bevy of other choices, including macadamia, pea, flax, cashew, and hazelnut milk. 

Most nondairy milks are available in a variety of formulations – plain, vanilla, chocolate, unsweetened/sweetened, vitamin-fortified, etc. My go-to for everyday uses is plain, organic soy milk made from just water and soybeans (Trader Joe’s Organic Soy Beverage Unsweetened and Pacific Foods Organic Unsweetened Soy Original). I like that soy milk provides an equivalent amount of protein to cow’s milk, and that it works well for baking and cooking. Feel free to try any unsweetened nondairy milks for baking, though – a lot of recipes call for a nondairy milk of your choice. 

If I’m in the mood for something more decadent and creamy, I’ll go for hazelnut or oat milk. Oat milk has become increasingly popular in recent years. Readers of VegNews magazine voted Oatly the “Best Vegan Milk” for 2021, and Starbucks added oat milk from Oatly to its nondairy lineup across the nation this past spring. River’s Wish founders Kit and Pete Jagoda are digging oat milk too and primarily use Planet Oat in their house (available at Safeway and Target).

By the way, store-bought milk isn’t the only option. Oat and nut milks are easy to make at home with a high-speed blender.  

As you start trying out nondairy milks, aim to keep an open mind and have fun experimenting. No nondairy milk will taste like cow’s milk, but they’re tasty in their own way and offer lots of variety. After a while, I bet you won’t even miss dairy milk.

For more information on the cruelty of dairy, please check out the Food Empowerment Project: foodispower.org/cows-raised-for-milk.

Thinking Vegan? is a monthly feature by Megan Jonas, River's Wish volunteer and vegan activist. This information should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult with your doctor if you have questions about your health. ​