3 Questions

Give elderly animals some much deserved lovin' this Valentine's Day with a party at Kindred Spirits Animal Sanctuary, complete with vegan refreshments and furry and feathered company. Sanctuary founder and executive director Ulla Pederson tells you exactly why you should be there.

Tell me about the mission of Kindred Spirits.
The mission of Kindred Spirits is to give care to old animals basically. We do eldercare and hospice for dogs, horses and poultry. The animals have their use of a regular home; they do not fit in cages. The mission is to also do outreach into the community and do education there about aging in general.

Why is it important to focus on caring for old animals?
We live in a culture that has a great deal of difficulty not only coping but addressing and being comfortable with that whole aspect of life. It's an aspect of life everyone will encounter, so we seek to really change that paradigm by encountering it consciously…I'm a nurse myself, so I've seen it for many years that the elders in our people community also tend to just get put sort of out of the way, and people don't find them very interesting anymore or don't want to slow down or, you know, take the time to visit and really be present with them and honor their wisdom and lives they have led.

What can people expect at the Valentine's Day party?
The Valentine's Day party is really a way of celebrating the heart of the matter: the heart of our relationship with the animals and the natural world and, really, the spirit that infuses all of us. We will have a tour at 2 o'clock, and people will get to meet all the animals and talk to them and hear their stories.

Santa Fe Reporter