Eugene was bottle-raised at Duncan's Place.

Duncan’s Place, a Cat Sanctuary, is a cat rescue based in Loveland, Colorado. It was started only a year ago by my friend, Cathy Campbell, and already she has saved over 80 cats in the northern Colorado area.

In addition to finding homes for cats, Cathy’s organization operates a pet food bank to provide pet food to those most severely affected by the economic downturn–those who might otherwise have to give up their pets. In December of 2009, Merrick Pet Food corporation donated a whopping 9 pallets of canned food to the cause.

Duncan’s Place is committed to:

- Helping both felines and humans find harmonious solutions to live and learn together.

- Actively pursuing, creating, and maintaining collaborative partnerships with community agencies in Northern Colorado to save feline lives.

- Integrating knowledge of feline behavior from both holistic and allopathic perspectives to keep families together before abandonment becomes an option.

If the Holy Cow Project is fortunate enough to raise more than my goal of $7,000, any excess will be donated to this fledgling sanctuary.

I became involved with Duncan’s Place when I met Cathy at a student fair at Colorado State University. I designed and maintain their website.

Visit the Duncan’s Place Website

One of many beautiful paths in the Nectandra Cloud Forest Garden.

Nectandra’s mission is to promote the conservation and restoration of the montane cloud forest ecosystems of Costa Rica through public education, scientific research, and watershed stewardship.

Nectandra carries out its work in the San Carlos watershed of Costa Rica. While nearly one-fifth of the watershed’s 300,000 hectares is under environmental protection, the remaining four-fifths are undergoing intense, rapid, and largely unregulated land use changes.

By working with local communities, Nectandra is working to protect the San Carlos watershed and its animal inhabitants–animals such as jaguars, tapirs, coatis, and more.

My aunt and uncle, Evelyne and David Lennette, are two of the founders of this incredible organization.

Visit the Nectandra Website

Mr. Tabby, the handsome cat I adopted from Best Friends.

Best Friends Animal Society is the nation’s largest no-kill animal shelter. It’s located in a beautiful red rock canyon in southern Utah, and on any given day is home to about 2,000 animals. You may be familiar with their work through the National Geographic series, Dog Town.

Best Friends is guided by a simple philosophy: kindness to animals builds a better world for all of us.

Most of the animals who find their way to Best Friends have special physical or behavioral needs. The sanctuary’s staff of veterinarians, trainers, and caregivers offer them all the help they require.

Most animals are ready for adoption after just a few weeks of special care. A few, who are too old or too sick, or who have suffered extra trauma, find a home and haven at the sanctuary, and are given loving care for the rest of their lives.

I have been a contributor to Best Friends for several years, and recently adopted Mr. Tabby from the sanctuary. You can read an article about us here. Below is our reunion video. Thanks, Best Friends, for capturing this wonderful memory!

Visit the Best Friends Website

Young panda at the Wolong Panda Reserve in China.

Who doesn’t love a panda?

The mission of Pandas International, a non profit organization based in Littleton, CO, is to ensure the preservation and propagation of the endangered Giant Panda by providing public awareness and education, research funding, habitat preservation and enhancement, and assistance to the China Conservation & Research Centers for the Giant Panda.

Some of the activities of Pandas International include providing supplies and medical equipment to Chinese panda reserves, educating the public about the plight of the Giant Panda, and raising money to replant bamboo destroyed by the 2008 earthquake.

I am a lifelong Panda fan, and have contributed to Pandas International for several years. The first time I saw a live panda, at the San Diego Zoo, I cried because it was so beautiful.

Visit the Pandas International Website

This cormorant was badly injured in a hail/wind storm.

Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center rehabilitates sick, injured and orphaned wildlife for release into appropriate habitats. Greenwood also strives to educate the public, emphasizing humane solutions to human/wildlife interactions.

Greenwood has been rehabilitating wildlife for 25 years and is one of the largest wildlife rehabilitation centers along the Front Range of Colorado. Each year, Greenwood cares for between 2,000 and 3,000 animals representing over 130 different wildlife species. Most of their patients are birds and small mammals.

I started as an Animal Care volunteer with Greenwood, feeding orphaned baby birds and squirrels. More recently, I redesigned and maintain their website.

Visit the Greenwood Wildlife Website

One of many pets who found a home through the Pet Association.

The Pet Association of Estes Park is a non-profit organization that works to: find homes for stray and abandoned pets; control dog and cat populations by funding sterilization programs; educate members of the community, especially young people, about the humane treatment of animals and the responsibilities of pet ownership; and promote community involvement in the use of pets as therapeutic agents (e.g., in nursing homes).

The Estes Park veterinary clinic where I work works alongside the Pet Association of Estes Park to house and find homes for adoptable animals in the Estes Park area.

The Pet Association does not have a website. They can be reached at (970) 586-5121, or via PO Box 4342, Estes Park, CO 80517.

One of many big cats who has a home at The Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Wild Animal Sanctuary’s mission is to rescue and provide life-long homes for large exotic and endangered captive wild animals, and to educate the public about the causes of, and solutions to America’s captive wildlife crisis.

There are estimates as high as 30,000 captive big cats, bears, and wolves living in substandard conditions throughout the US. After illegal drugs and weapons, the exotic animal trade is the third largest source of illicit profits in America–and the world!

The Wild Animal Sanctuary rescues captive exotic and endangered large carnivores who have been abused, abandoned, exploited, or illegally kept and gives them a life of dignity and respect. Their beautiful sanctuary in Keenesburg, CO, is open to the public.

While I enjoy visiting the sanctuary, I would rather that their facility was not needed at all, and that illegal trading of animals in the US would come to an end.

Visit The Wild Animal Sanctuary’s Website