Gabriela Hinojosa gabrielahstringel47@gmail.com ANTH 4390 12/14/2012

SARA Sanctuary Internship, Summer 2012

I have been writing stories for the better half of my life. An idea would pop in my head

and I would reach for the nearest napkin and scribble it down before it had the chance to escape.

The tragedies in my life consisted of missing one of two items: something to write on and

something to write with. It was not a surprise that I became a Creative Writing major in college. I

bounced from minor to minor and even tried adding several different majors to make it a double,

but writing was always my constant. To make an incredibly long and drawn out story

expediently short, I transferred to Texas State University and was required to take a natural

science course; I chose biological anthropology. This course changed my life in ways that I never

expected. A small paragraph cannot do justice to the excitement I felt when the realization sunk

in that I could study non-human primates for a living. This class led to a month long trip to a

biological field station at the foot of a volcano on Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua. I learned about

different field methods used to study monkeys and completed a short-term independent research

project on the resident howler monkeys. This trip led to the addition of anthropology as my

major. Animals have always held a special place in my heart, but after my trip to Nicaragua, I

became very interested in the conservation of wildlife.

In the summer of 2012, I signed up for an internship course and because of my economic

situation and responsibilities in the San Marcos area, my options were limited as far as interning

in the wildlife conservation field. After looking at some options in Austin and near the San

Antonio area, I emailed Tracy Frank, the founder of the SARA (Society for Animal Rescue and

Adoption) Sanctuary, located in Seguin, Texas, and offered to volunteer on a Saturday, hoping

that she would take me on as an intern or receive a job offer that I could use as an internship.

That Saturday, after several hours of cleaning out and organizing the infirmary on the property

along with two other volunteers, she hired me as an animal caretaker.

This non-profit 501 (c)(3) corporation was established by Tracy in 1996 on her 380 acre

property with the intention to rehabilitate animals that have been abused or abandoned in the

area. The animals found at SARA include, but are not limited to cats, dogs, cows, horses, pigs,

chickens, turkeys, and donkeys. There was a time when they even hosted a zebra. SARA is a no-

kill shelter – only making euthanasia exceptions for animals that are terminally ill and in

constant suffering with no hope for recovery. Any animal that is not adopted or cannot be

rehabilitated due to the extent of the damage done by the cruelty they have suffered will live the

rest of its life at the sanctuary in the company of other animals. When I worked at SARA, it was

home to over 800 animals.

SARA is located in a rural area in the outskirts of Seguin, Texas. My first day driving out

to the sanctuary, my GPS lost signal the moment I arrived in Seguin and I did not know where to

go. In retrospect, having written directions on hand would have been smart. After about thirty

minutes of driving around, hoping to miraculously stumble upon the place, my phone decided to

cooperate and guide me right past the Sanctuary. After another 10 minutes of trying to figure out

what I did wrong, I found the gate with the “SARA Sanctuary” sign. Past the gate, the curving

dirt road leads to the center of the sanctuary. The right side consists of a multitude of fenced

enclosures for the dogs. They are separated into groups or individually, depending on the needs

of each dog; the most aggressive dogs (typically the ones that have been bred and raised for the

sole purpose of dog fighting) have their own space with enough room to run around. For those

dogs that are aggressive toward humans but can cohabitate with other dogs, SARA offers bigger

enclosures that allow anywhere from 3 to 20 dogs the freedom to roam. Logically, the larger

enclosures host more dogs. The idea is to never have a dog in isolation unless absolutely

necessary due to illness or severe cases of aggression. Every one of the outdoor divisions has

shelter and shading, whether it is a tree or a dog house of sorts. Tracy lives on the property and

the oldest and friendliest dogs run around in her yard which is considerably large. Her house is

located at the heart of the sanctuary and is also shared with some of the dogs and cats, which I

will discuss further in a moment. All of the dog enclosures surround the house in a U shape with

the front gate of her yard facing the enclosures on the left that host horses, cows, pigs, chickens,

a cattery, the infirmary, and a shed for supplies. The larger feral hog enclosures wrap around this

area in a sizable U shape. The rest of the 380 acres is open for the other horses, cows, and

donkeys to roam as they pleased. I spent most of my days on the left side of the sanctuary.

In the time I spent at SARA Sanctuary, I completed over 180 hours of work, not counting

the time it took to commute. A typical work week was usually over 40 hours. Though my duties

changed on occasion, most days I would leave my apartment in San Marcos, Texas no later than

7 a.m. to be at the sanctuary by 8 a.m. and stay until 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., depending on the weather

conditions and how much work needed to be done that day. The infirmary was usually my first

stop because it was critical to keep an eye on the animals (mostly cats) to make sure they had

food and water and were not in desperate need for medical attention. I was instantly greeted by

rubbing and purring the moment I walked through the infirmary door and it continued while I

cleaned all of the kennels and provided food and water to everyone inside, which, for a while,

also included 3 roosters and a duck. Some time was spent trying to socialize with the animals in

the infirmary, especially the kittens, and I also learned how to administer some medication and

hydrate the cats with an IV. Once I was done with the infirmary, I moved on to the cattery where

I had to be perceptive to any signs of illness, in case any of them needed to be moved to the

infirmary.

After a short lunch break, I made my way over to Tracy’s house to check up on the cats

and clean the cattery in her home. Tracy transformed what used to be a walk-in closet into a

smaller cattery to house about 12 cats. Also, about 8-12 of the older dogs essentially lived inside

her house, mostly for health reasons (one of them had seizures often and it was too dangerous to

be out in the yard with too many dogs), and I made sure they had food and water as well. If time

permitted that day, I bathed some of the dogs and cleaned the dog infirmary behind Tracy’s

house. Throughout the day I drove or walked around to the storage container behind the dog

enclosures and get food supplies, and at the end of the day I threw out the trash in the giant

dumpster behind the food storage container. I cannot even count the times I ran into spider webs,

or tried to open the storage shed door without realizing a spider was resting on the handle, but

one particular encounter stands out. As I was casually tossing the trash bags over the edge of the

7 foot tall dumpster, I looked to my right and saw two spiders, the one the size of my fist was a

mere 6 inches from my face. My heart stopped. I jumped back to a safe distance and quickly took

a picture to commemorate my dance with death.

The spider.

Every once in a while, Tracy would ask me to run errands in town but mostly I spent my

day cleaning, organizing, and caring for the cats in the infirmary and in the two catteries. I also

spent some time providing hay and horse feed to the horses, chicken feed to the chickens, and the

appropriate food for whatever other animal may be in the extra enclosure. Often the scorching

heat was almost too hot to handle, especially when we got the truckload of onion and tomato

donation from HEB and we fed them to the pigs for weeks. This was not an easy feat. While

someone drove us around the pig enclosures we had to throw the tomatoes and onions over the

fence; this usually took 3-5 hours and was quite the work-out! Despite the sometimes difficult

conditions of the work, I loved every minute of it. I learned a lot about what safety precautions to

take with certain animals – especially when inside the feral pig enclosures.

There was one horse that I became particularly attached to. Norman is a beautiful white

horse with brown spots. From my first day at the sanctuary, he followed me around everywhere I

went. If I needed supplies from the shed, there was Norman nudging the door open with his

mouth. He’s a smart horse, he knows where the food is kept, but even if I was simply taking a

water break by the cattery, Norman would come up and start nudging my shoulder or my head

with his nose. I don’t know Norman’s entire story, but he was undoubtedly abused, which is why

I found his personality to be so fascinating and endearing. The scarring on his back, from what I

assume was caused by a whip, needed to be moisturized and protected by sunblock to avoid the

risk of skin cancer.

This is Norman.

Unfortunately, working at an animal shelter or sanctuary comes with the realization that

these animals are here because someone was abusing or neglecting them in one way or another.

People would leave animals tied to the gate entrance or in a box. I wasn’t present for this but I

remember Tracy telling me about the incident. A feral pig had found his way out of the property

and the next day the carcass and the skin from the pig’s face had been left on the sanctuary’s

gate. Talking with Tracy about this incident, seeing the scars on Norman’s back, and knowing

that the majority of the animals at the sanctuary are cats and dogs that have been abandoned

brought up issues I had thought about many times before. What is it about humans’ ideology that

makes the mistreatment and abandonment of animals acceptable?

“These relations have often been conceived hierarchically in Western thought – with

God(s) having power over humans who, in turn, hold sway over animals…does the hierarchical

power relation between humans and animals, for example, exempt us from moral responsibility

toward them” (Fuentes 2006:124)? The idea that man is superior to non-human animals is a way

to justify the mistreatment of the animals. In the article Human Responsibility, Marjorie Anchel

believes the Walter Howard article, Nature’s death ethic, is pushing the idea that “nature is cruel,

so why shouldn’t man be” when instead we should see that “because humans are the only

animals on Earth capable of caring for the rest of creation that they have a responsibility to try to

do so” (1993:75). People use the idea that we are hierarchically superior and are therefore

justified in prioritizing our needs above that of animals. Abandoning a pet because of an

impending move to a home that does not allow pets, or “surrendering” a pet to an animal shelter

because the behavioral issues are too much to handle are examples of people lacking the

knowledge or the initiative to search for information and resources that can help with these

problems (Irvine 2003). Many animal shelters offer services to help with spaying and neutering

(which can sometimes be the solution to behavioral issues), but most people do not take

advantage of resources these shelters provide (Irvine 2003). The term “surrendering”, used to

refer to the abandonment of an animal, does not help the issue. This is simply making it easier

for people to give up their pet (Irvine 2003). Wording makes a difference. Take the words

“owner” and “guardian”; one implies that the animal is property that can be disposed of at the

owner’s convenience while the other suggests that the animal is being cared for and places more

responsibility on the guardian (NCRAOA 2006). It is interesting how often people speak for

animals and give them human-like voices and thoughts but don’t think about the effect that

something like abandonment has on the same animal. Which begs the question: why is it that

people tend to anthropomorphize non-human animals, yet are quick to reject the notion when it is

no longer convenient?

The issue with anthropomorphism is not that we believe it to be possible that animals

could be more like us than we know, but rather, the blatant assumption that they think and feel

the same way we do. Anyone who has owned a dog, for example, knows that they express

emotions such as fear or excitement, and it varies from dog to dog, even of the same breed. They

have individual personalities – traits that are unique to each of them. How these emotions affect

a dog and how they react to it is also different. As an example, in a state of utter fear and panic,

we tend to follow the fight, flight, or freeze response. Even with this type of response that feels

purely instinctual, we are still thinking and processing the situation and responding according to

how the situation is perceived by the individual. Dogs feel fear and they even follow the fight,

flight, or freeze response, but can we say with absolute certainty that they process a given

situation in the same way that we would perceive it? Though I have not done a study on this, I

the assumption that they do is speculative and the assumption that they do not is presumptuous.

It is important to remember that not only do we share aspects of personhood with other

animals, but that we are mammals ourselves and just as there are aspects of personhood in non-

human animals, there is also animality in humans (Fuentes 2006). Agustin Fuentes and Barbara

Noske talk about the need for anthropology to add more focus to the relationships between

humans and other animals (Fuentes 2006, Noske; N.d.). We cannot ignore the interesting

connection humans and animals can have with each other. There are certain things that seem to

be mutually understood, like trust. Is this anthropomorphism again, or an observation based on

patterns of behavior. I’ll use my grandfather as an example. Our family has a ranch in

Tamaulipas, Mexico and I often tagged along when he would head out into the mountains in

search for his horses. These horses would roam free most of the time, along with my great

uncles’ horses. The moment he would get close to the area where they tended to gather, he’d let

out a whistle and the horses would all look up, but only his would recognize him and run over to

him. They would follow him around. They trusted him. He would saddle them up and ride for

hours on end, but his horses were always the healthiest and he never sold one to the glue factory,

even when they were old and blind. He taught all of his grandkids how to ride, but most

importantly, how to respect the horse. If one of us used too much force with our feet to incite the

horse to move forward, he would immediately pull out the old “how would you like it if someone

kicked you that hard?” I think my grandfather is a great example of how humans and animals can

be mutually beneficial to each other without the degradation or mistreatment that is assumed to

go along with it.

The work I did at SARA, though different from other internships, was very rewarding

and I learned a lot, mostly from conversations with Tracy or Amy, the vet tech that worked at the

sanctuary for a few weeks. Due to some organizational issues, including lack of communication

regarding payment matters, I had to leave a job I truly enjoyed and found incredibly rewarding.

The sanctuary is funded primarily by private donations, as well as grants and endowments and

sometimes there can be a shortage of funds. If the situation had been different and I had been

informed earlier that I could not be paid because of the financial situation the sanctuary was

facing, I would have gladly stayed on as a volunteer, but work significantly less hours and search

for a job to make sure rent and bills are covered. Despite the ending to my experience, I believe

SARA Sanctuary is a great place to volunteer. I do not say that lightly. Sanctuaries and animal

shelters do not receive as much funding as they truly need for the type of care they provide for

the animals they host. Volunteers make a huge difference in many ways. One of the most

important things I noticed was that my workday was filled with so much cleaning and

maintenance that I had very little time to interact with the animals, especially after two of the

employees left. Volunteers would come on weekends, mostly, and spend their time playing and

giving treats to the horses and the cats more than anything else and it really helps with

socializing the animals so that they are comfortable with humans once they find their forever

home. Maintaining areas clean and sanitary ensures that animals do not get sick as often, which

reduces veterinary costs, and volunteers are always needed in sanctuaries and shelters to lend an

extra hand.

This was taken in the infirmary. I would wear a mask when cleaning areas with bleach.

Overall, my experience was rewarding; I learned a lot about the type of care and

precautions needed when caring for animals in a sanctuary setting. Working at SARA Sanctuary

also confirmed that I do want to continue to work with animals, preferably in the field of wildlife

conservation. My hope to build a career with the balance of working directly with animals and

talking with people to raise awareness of the issues and what can be done about them. My

internship, though a bit unconventional in some ways, has helped me grow and understand that

there is still much more to learn.

References

Anchel, Marjorie 1993 Humans’ Responsibility. BioScience 43(2):75

Fuentes, Agustin 2006 Humanity of Animals and Animality of Humans. American Anthropologist 108(1):124- 132

Irvine, Leslie 2003 The Problem of Unwanted Pets: A Case Study in How Institutions “Think” about Clients’ Needs. Social Problems 50(4):550-566.

North Carolina Responsible Animal Owners Alliance 2006 Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare. North Carolina Responsible Animal Owners Alliance. http://www.ncraoa.com/AR_AW_WhatYouShouldKnow.html, accessed November 30, 2012.

Noske, Barbara N.d. The Animal Question in Anthropology: A Commentary. Unite Poultry Concerns. http://www.upc-online.org/thinking/anthro.htm, accessed December 7, 2012.