Introduction

The Story
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
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Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9

A Few Personal Stories
Francis
Faith
Anne
Silva

Once Upon a Time - Page 8

The Foundation Faith

So several of us began a new organization, called the Foundation Faith, which would focus on the work we did - mostly now with children in hospitals, with old people in hospices, at prisons, and, increasingly, with animals.

We also opened a center in New York that brought together some of the more interesting thinkers and writers of the day, along with artists, scientists, a theater group, and people from the healing and metaphysical arts.

It was all worthwhile, but it was still not where our hearts lay. In 1976, along with a couple of others, I left New York, visited many parts of the country, and then settled in Arizona. Others of us went their separate ways, too, setting up charitable programs under the general umbrella of The Foundation.

We also found ourselves taking in more and more homeless, stray dogs and cats.

The Animals Take Over

The Foundation had bought a small ranch property outside of Prescott, Arizona, with a view to beginning a retreat center. But instead of filling it with people, we were bringing more and more dogs and cats there.

We'd go to the humane society in Prescott every few weeks, just before what they called "E-Day." The shelter was run by two dear ladies who dreaded the day - once every week or month - when they would have to put down the dogs and cats least likely to be adopted, in order to make room for new arrivals. We would try to get there the day before E-Day, take as many as possible of their "unadoptables", and look after them at the ranch.

It had started for me when Siegfried came over the fence. He was my first cat, a charming, heroic, well-balanced, orange tabby ... soon to be followed by Psycho, a big, fluffy, black-and-white nut case ... and Catastrophe, who knocked everything over.

In Phoenix, a couple of us would also visit the Arizona Humane Society and take their unadoptables whenever possible. And I was also helping a small organization called United Humanitarians that had recently started one of the nation's first low-cost spay/neuter programs.

Meanwhile, Faith Maloney was managing a small animal shelter in Pennsylvania.

The animals were beginning to take over!

For many of us, they'd always really been our passion. And when a few of us got together one evening at the ranch to talk about what next and where next, we were all feeling that it was time to devote ourselves to that true passion.

Faith managed to find homes for most of the animals she was caring for in Pennsylvania. The rest she brought to the ranch, where she became shelter manager.

But we already needed a bigger place. So, with his background in real estate, Francis Battista volunteered to find a new ranch property that could fulfill our dreams for an animal sanctuary.

Next page: The Birth of Best Friends