Our Mission, Our Sanctuary, Our Home
Our mission is simple. We provide a retirement home for senior pets. We believe that senior pets deserve to grow old with dignity, in the care of a loving home. Prior to coming to us, our senior pets found themselves suddenly homeless or on the cusp of losing their homes, their families, their entire world. Some had either already been surrendered to a noisy, crowded, public shelter, or worse … abandoned as strays on the street. Some were luckier and were re-homed directly to us after a fruitless search to place them with friends or relatives. Sadly, because of their age and associated ailments, most people will not take in senior pets, even if they had belonged to a family member. That’s where Leashes End comes in …
Leashes End operates out of a spacious, contemporary, open-format home that sits on 26 private, park-like acres in Perry, Florida. If our house looks like a home–not a facility–that’s because it is. It is our home too. We do not confine our pets in crates or cages; they have free run of the house. They sleep with us in our beds at night. They lounge on the furniture, dog beds, cat trees, and our laps during the day. They walk and run leash-free about our fenced in property, roll around in the grass, and bask in the sunshine. A few have jumped into our spring-fed pond for a swim! They enjoy delicious meals prepared especially for them by our very own professionally trained chef. They are groomed regularly in our in-house grooming salon. And they receive gold-standard veterinary care, to include from board-certified specialists as required. Our senior cats and dogs are family and we treat them as such.
OUR PETS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.
But if you are looking to adopt a senior pet in need, Bravo! We’d be happy to help you locate the future LOVE of your life from one of our many excellent partner rescue organizations or shelters! Or search for your new best friend on www.rescueme.org or www.24petconnect.com.
Once they arrive at Leashes End, our pets remain with us in sanctuary for life. They’ve already lost their home at least once in their lives, we promise them that it won’t happen again. And as they begin to feel safe again, we watch their confidence grow. It is our greatest pride and highest achievement to facilitate this dramatic transformation. Sadly, many of our pets come to us sick, injured, scared, in pain, and underweight. With proper nutrition, veterinary care, and a safe and loving home environment, it doesn’t take long before our pets up and running again, happy, playful, and trusting, purring away contentedly, or enthusiastically wagging their tails. Their physical and emotional recovery is nothing short of amazing.
While our hearts have unlimited space, our home unfortunately does not; we simply cannot take in every senior pet. For those we cannot accommodate, we engage our network of friends and partner rescue organizations to help them find new loving homes. It takes a community effort to ensure that none of these precious animals gets left behind and we are proud to be a part of that community.
For the pets in our care, although we are limited in the number of senior cats and dogs we can take in at any given time, we place no limits on the quality of life that we provide each and every day, including:
- Veterinary treatment for their injuries or illnesses
- Nutritious home-cooked meals
- In-home grooming
- Soft beds, cat trees, toys, & treats
- Pet steps & ramps up to the “human” furniture
- 26 private acres of bucolic, fenced-in lawns for frequent off-leash outings and walks
- Resident caregivers who provide constant comfort, cuddles, and hugs
- Volunteers and friends who spend extra time playing with, loving, and caring for our seniors
Leashes End relies on a combination of public donations, private gifts, and grants to operate. We pride ourselves on being excellent stewards of donated resources. We maintain a very low overhead and apply 100% of our donations to the direct care and feeding of our pets.
Leashes End is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, EIN 81-5295214, registered in the State of Florida (previously Maryland). Our full financial reports are available upon request and you can view our profile on GuideStar.
Rescuing seniors is a costly affair and donations make our work possible; without the help of our generous benefactors, none of our amazing pet rescues would be possible. So please consider making a donation and helping us save a senior. Thank you!
Risa B. Simon
Captain, U.S. Navy, Retired
Founder, CEO, & Director
Leashes End Senior Pet Sanctuary & Rescue