4Them Sanctuary

Susanne has been with 4Them since the beginning in December 2018. She has spent a lot of time on the farm helping rescue and rehabilitate many of our residents. Family responsibility took Susanne and her wife, Jody, away from Tennessee, but she was able to stay on the board and still does a lot of the Sanctuarys Facebook presence. It helps her feel close to the fighting spirits and resilience of the babies and humans of 4Them. The residents and volunteers inspire her every day and have been lifesavers as she deals with ongoing health challenges of her own.  She dreams of the day she will be reunited with her 4THEM family. 

"My history with 4them dates back further than my time living here. I was newly vegan and I found this amazing vegan restaurant where the owner was also running a sanctuary. I was working in a restaurant where I had a lot of scraps from the produce and I contacted Leslie and asked if she could use it, and every week from then on, she picked up food for the babies from me. Fast forward a few years and I found myself needing a change in life and I asked Leslie if she happened to have a place for me to stay for a little while, she said yes, and almost a year later (as of 12/1/23) here I still am with no intentions on ever leaving this amazing place."

"It’s difficult to put into words just how much 4Them means to my husband Coty and me. I’ll do my best with a story!  Coty and I were born and raised in Illinois. One year, we decided to vacation to the area and visit another sanctuary. While at the other sanctuary, we met some volunteers who told us we absolutely needed to get a meal at the Sanctuary Vegan Café. So we did, and we didn’t know at the time, but that decision would change our lives forever.  At the café, we met Leslie. She sat with us and told us her plans for opening a sanctuary of her own. I’m an introvert and am very sensitive to people’s energy. I usually hate meeting new people; however, we both found it almost impossible to leave. It was like we instantly became connected to Leslie and 4Them before the land was even purchased!  When we got back to Illinois, it didn’t feel the same anymore. We felt an undeniably strong pull to return to Tennessee. And so that is exactly what we did the next year! I told my job that they were going to let me work remotely, or I would quit. Coty left his job, and we moved with Chloe (our beloved dog who is no longer with us) to a state where we had no family or friends. Risky? Definitely! Worth it? 10 million times yes!!!  

Once we found a place to rent, I quickly reached out to Leslie. She had just purchased the land for the sanctuary. I came out as soon as I could. It was a rainy, cold day, but still one of my favorite days yet. The Colorado girls had just recently arrived, and I got to spend time getting to know them and Leslie more. From then on, Coty and I started visiting every weekend. We fell in love all over again with each and every rescue. Especially Nathan- that pig has my heart!  In November of 2021, our lives changed yet again when our twin boys were born. We are so in love with our little vegans and cannot wait to get them involved at the sanctuary. One of the hardest parts about this has been that we have had to significantly reduce our physical time at the sanctuary- Our boys are definitely 2 full time jobs! That being said, soon enough they will be scooping cow poop in the pasture and feeling the love of 4Them.  4Them is magical. Leslie is magical. All of the rescues are magical. If everyone had the heart and spirit of 4Them, the world would be magical too."