Apifera Farm - where art, story, animals & woman merge. Home to artist Katherine Dunn

Apifera Farm is a registered 501 [c][3]. #EIN# 82-2236486

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©Katherine Dunn.





Friday, October 25, 2019

Acquire an animal versus helping an animal


I have a sentence tacked to my office wall: "Are you acquiring an animal, or are you helping an animal? Does this animal work with your mission or does it simply give you a rush of excitement of something new"

I wrote this while I was struggling with the decision of taking on another equine, which in the end I did. It would be easy to fill the farm up with animals. Over the 15+ years I've been doing this, I've seen others take too much on, or for misguided reasons [this of course was my take on their choices]. I think that is another reason adopting Honey in took me some time to consider it. I know I did the right thing for her, and for Apifera and our mission. But, I get a lot of requests and that sentence helps me stop and consider our mission here. I am not a rescue that rehomes animals, I am no a petting zoo, and while we do take on some youngsters, those youngsters [ie Opie] fit into our mission of animal work and therapy. I can't be everything to everyone. I am on a mission. I like to think its selfless. Maybe that's arrogant sounding. But I do ponder things deeply.