SAINT FRANCIS SANCTUARY

Welcome

Welcome to our website! Here you can learn all the latest news, view photos and keep in touch. Our main purpose is providing shelter for all animals in need, with a strong focus on the Thoroughbred horses that have been so numerously abandoned in this difficult economy. As always, our main goal is the wellbeing of all the critters in our care which takes up most part of the day.

We are located in Marion County, Florida outside of Ocala. Marion County is home to thousands of horses and with the latest economy crunch that the whole nation has endured, our four legged friends have suffered tremendously as food got scarce not only for their humans... but also for them! A lot of horses have been abandoned all over the country with owners not realizing that these horses cannot fend for themselves and they cannot survive on just a few blades of grass.

Here at the St Francis Sanctuary we are trying to help as many animals as possible and we want to help owners that can no longer provide for their pets. We hope we can get to these animals before they have become sick and emaciated so that we can have a head start on trying to find new loving homes for them. Sometimes we can give you the whole life story on our pets for adoption... and sometimes we don't have any information at all, just what we have learned about them during their stay here. But we are constantly in contact with all the animals here and make sure they are ready for a new home before we put them up for adoption.

After years and years of dedicating every spare dime to all the animals, we have finally realized that the only way to make a bigger impact and help more animals in need, was by going the extra step and creating a non-for-profit organization to be able to accept donations. Hopefully this will help us to make a difference by fostering more animals in need!

We cannot provide shelter for enough animals without the support of all animal lovers out there, and we are hoping that with the help of donations we will finally be able to afford more acreage and help more horses. 100% of all donations go to feed & hay, medical care and shelter. All our adoption fees are carefully calculated. Keep in mind that most of these animals have been with us for several months and are requiring medical care, rehabilitation and re-training and the shelter's running expenses have to be paid in order to keep our gates open. Some of our animals are free to aopproved home simply because they might not be as "popular" because of breed or age or medical issues. This is why our adoption fees vary and the more "popular" pets help us carry the cost for the other guys. They all receive the same care, young or old, purebred or Heinz 57..... Summer months are brutal.. with just a handfull of adoptions and so many drop offs.. this drains a small shelter's fund in a heartbeat.

So please, before you consider buying a horse from a fancy barn or a pet from a breeder or a puppy mill, come and take a look around the St Francis Sanctuary. Chances are, you will find exactly what you are looking for right here: A loving soul looking for his new forever home, willing to give you his very best!

All our visits are by appointment only 7 days a week. Before you come to adopt one of our pets, please fill out our adoption application that you can download from our site, or call us and we will fax or email you the application. Our adoptable dogs are featured on http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?shelterid=FL948 (use link)

HAY AND FEED DONATIONS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED

ONE SIMPLE BAG OF FEED OR ONE HAY-BALE AT A TIME WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

PLEASE DO NOT SIMPLY DROP OFF ANY ANIMALS AT OUR GATE AS THERE IS NOT ALWAYS SOMEONE AVAILABLE TO TAKE THE ANIMAL IN.

THANK YOU.

If you have a horse or other pet you can no longer afford to take care of, please contact us.

Together we will find a solution that will work best for both you and your horse/pet!

WE ARE LOCATED 15 MILES SOUTH OF GAINESVILLE & 15 MILES NORTH OF OCALA, FLORIDA & ABOUT 1&1/2 HRS FROM ORLANDO & TAMPA AREA.

VISITS ARE SCHEDULED BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

8:AM T0 7:00PM, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK

WE TRY TO ACCOMODATE OUT OF TOWN PEOPLE BY KEEPING A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE.

JUST CALL US THE SAME DAY YOU WISH TO ADOPT AND WE WILL TRY OUR BEST TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS THAT WORK FOR YOU.

PLEASE USE OUR EMAIL CONTACT StFrancisSanctuary@gmail.com