Please join us on our mission to SAVE the vulnerable and exploited, create safe, healthy conditions, loving sanctuary, beginning to end of life care, healing from immeasurable abuses, and of course, education for our human friends, and enrichment to our animal family who have mostly only known "being commodities." I am a proud VEGAN - (sanctuary life brought me back home to vegan! ) and my life he
re is so incredibly blessed with animal medicine and earthy work - it's "pinch me" unreal every day. I lived in my own life, for many years, so far from any sense of sanctuary. I stayed as close to animals as I could muster. It was no surprise then that as soon as we got our own place to call home we brought some animals ti find sanctuary with us, and heal! Together, my husband and I, have 6 beautiful children who are growing within their own sanctuary, with these beautiful beings, helping and growing, knowing the cause and care for animals that has become the way of life here on our little (almost) 5 acres. I'm Natasha Sainsbury and my entire life, for as far back as I can remember I have been blessed to find animals in my path and we rescued each other. My first familiars were my greatest comforts and many were strays who showed up to meet me as if by magic. I grew up running round the backside (and front end) of a thoroughbred training facility in Lexington, Ky. It was a beautiful mess of bluegrass and dissonance. Both my parents adored animals and I was surrounded with all manner of dogs (mostly given variations of my first and middle names, Maggie, Tasha, etc), barn felines, and horses - many who I learned quickly not to get too attached to. I grew up believing horse racing was in my blood, only to realize it was always in theirs. Luna Sea Sanctuary is part of my repair. After years of traveling as an adult, seeking and dreaming of a sanctuary for my own family, we finally! settled here in the ancient mountains of Western North Carolina. The name Luna Sea is a nod to the years we spent in the air and sea, back and forth, and literally hovering in the Bermuda triangle. Everyone in my family has spent a big part of their life by the sea. The moon an ever a present guide to the tides, inside and out, a comfort and light in the darkest of nights, a sight to behold with a child's hand in mine, awe. I founded Luna Sea Sanctuary in the early summer of 2020 after being on our little land a few months as the virus hit and was desperate to help "a few" animals in need. The state of NC and farm animals in crisis were a perfect storm of their own to weather. I had no idea then that sanctuary had FOUND-ED me and many more animals would come to be here or need assistance getting out of a bazillion and one bad situations. The first Luna Loves I brought home to sanctuary were 2 week old Baby June (aka Moonie Junie, June Carter Cash) - a miniature mule - and her little miniature horse mama Cherry (aka Ma Cheri, Cherry Jam, Cherry Pie). Soon to follow was Mardi, the "Big Guy," who was and still is, a wonderful and patient elder to June, until her actual donkey daddy Jude could be brought home, saved from a lonely life as a breeder, and gelded to join the herd and reunite his literally "little family!"
Each being brought to sanctuary is a beautiful story and more families have been kept together since and reunited. Such an honor to be blessed with animal familiae. I plan to share all of their stories here alongside the stories of our human helpers, angels and co-conspirators. I feel so incredibly lucky to have a few steadfast chosen family who pick up the phone whether it's all fallen apart or together, who have seen just how far we've come. Love you Lisa, Molly and Jesse. It's been an amazing journey so far. Not always pretty, but all ways amazing. New friendships coming with the community of farm animal sanctuary and helpers to animals are cherished and help so much to offset the dark side of human nature that breaks my heart daily. Our family has grown closer in the midst of dealing with the whatever it takes to do our best for these beautiful souls. To date we have run the sanctuary (almost) completely on our own funding. A few of our really difficult cases have been met with generous angels attached. We have generously been donated pulp by our friends at PULP in Asheville (which is a huge part of our animal's healthy diets), but beyond that, we've been self-supporting. There has been quite a bit of "more than we expected" with this mission! We are being met with tremendously generous offers of support in our local peeps, vegan, and farm animal sanctuary communities to help with everything from our awesome logo, to website building and hands on offers. I'm incredibly moved by the kindness coming our way and trying to catch up to receive it! There are infinitely more animals needing our help than we can come close to reaching, but for the few that we can assist we need help especially with funding in place for lifelong care and spay, neuter, gelds, etc. We are blessed with most wonderful veterinary practice 5 minutes from our sanctuary. Appalachian Animal Hospital and their amazing staff have been with us every step of the way. Donations can also be made to our account there. They referred us to our amazing farrier Scott Sullivan as well. We have a dream team on board! We are now filing for non profit status as we find the need for this work is greater than we can fund on our own. It often feels like trying to bail the entire ocean with a teaspoon. Please help us continue to provide excellent care for our Luna Sea Familiea and help more of those in need! Our PayPal address is: [email protected]
Our Venmo:
NO amount is too small to HELP! Thank you so much in advance for you kind generosity and care for the animals and our work creating sanctuary. We need the help! Fences, fences, fences and hay, hay, hay! We are working on an Amazon Wish list. I have really struggled to find my way to social media amidst the doing and with asking for help. I need only go visit a moment with one of our sweet souls to get right over the awkwardness of asking for support. We need it and this is daunting work. We need the village now that much is clear. Lastly, I deeply feel and honor our cyclical nature as fellow animals. Sanctuary has shown me the moods, seasons, pace of this place in the world and our inhabitants. The Moon has been a constant navigation tool as we ride the waves of creating sanctuary here. Full moons and new Moons are almost always the times that something magical happens and a new urgency arrives in my field, literally, or someone is born or crosses over or otherwise comes home. My energy to be "out there" or just working with my head down here moves with her. PLEASE join our Luna Sea Family and follow along with our adventures in learning curve sanctuary by the light of the moon! Love and Hoooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwl,
Natasha
