The McNeely Farmily Rescue and Sanctuary is built on a foundation of years of rescue and love. Their expansion from paw prints to hoof prints is to provide rescue, rehabilitation and retirement for domestic and agricultural animals. “I have been helping animals since I was a little girl,” said owner April McNeely. “My mom used to tell me that I had the ‘magic touch’ and any animal in the world would come to me or listen to me.”
McNeely Farmily Rescue and Sanctuary is owned and operated by the McNeely Family, April, her husband Bryan, and their daughter Phoenix. “Our farm functions because our family functions with love,” McNeely said. “We decided years ago that we were going to choose rescue as the future for our lives. Honestly, rescue has always chosen us.”
“Educate, Don’t Hate” is their motto. “We try to educate the public when we are informed of situations in a manner that doesn’t create panic or chaos,” McNeely said. “We do this so that we can work together in situations more comfortably and so that people can be understanding of how to better these situations.”
Recently, McNeely and her family were contacted about a mother dog and her pups that were in a dire situation in Wimauma, Fla. The mother and her puppies had injuries consistent with being thrown out of a vehicle. The rescuers discovered a three-year-old dog frantically searching for her puppies on a dark road. “Valroy Road is a known dumping area because it is dark and in the middle of nowhere,” McNeely said.
McNeely took in the mother dog, Maya and her two pups that survived. They were later named Valentino and Scarlet. The other four puppies did not survive. “There is not a single excuse that you can come up with on this planet to dump your dog and leave something that loves you and has a bond for you and do anything for you,” McNeely said.
The community has come together and helped McNeely Farmily by raising $4k to help find the person or persons who dumped Maya and her pups.
McNeely and her family stayed true to their motto of “Educate, Don’t Hate” through this whole ordeal. “We have met with some local officials to see what can be done to add cameras along this road, so the dumping can stop,” McNeely said.
McNeely Farmily Rescue and Sanctuary has a strong Facebook presence which helps them spread their message and show the progress of the various animals they have at their rescue. “We are thankful for all the love and support we get from the community and beyond,” McNeely said.
If you are interested in helping The McNeely Farmily Rescue and Sanctuary, they have many opportunities from donations to help them build a covered dog run to volunteering your time on their farm. “We appreciate the donations and our volunteers,” McNeely said.
If you’d like to learn more about their farmily, you can visit their website at www.mcneelyfarmilyrescue.com or their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075901556217.