"Our pig, Morgan, fell off a transport truck when he was a baby," says Lauren Lockey, the cofounder with local resident David Swartz of Sage Mountain Sanctuary. "When no one claimed him, we were able to take him in."
Lauren and Dave now care for over 40 abandoned or discarded animals on their sprawling Browns Canyon property - pigs, cows, goats, sheep, chickens and geese. "Every animal has a story," she says, including donations from 4H families whose children cannot bear to see animals they love led to slaughter. "We're able to provide a forever home," she smiles.
Lauren's advocacy for farm animals began with an inward journey: a devotion to meditation as she recovered from a Vermont car accident, leading her to study in Thailand. "The constant has been the animals," she avers. "They have been with me through everything."
She and Dave started by saving horses before opening Sage Mountain to expand their mission. Their Saturday volunteer programs "help people reconnect to our innate understanding that every form of life has value," Lauren says.
"I don't think anyone really supports slaughtering 10 billion animals every year for food," she adds. "Sanctuaries are a chance to shift our perspective.”
Medical care, shelter and food are a never-ending quest. Lauren and Dave are presently raising $1.5 million to build a 7,000-square-foot barn for overwintering.
Of life in the mountains with her dogs River and Ridley, New Englander Lauren says, "My family lived here in the 80s and came back during the 2002 Olympics. I decided to stay." Relatives from around the country still gather at the family home here.
With a busy yoga practice ("Sanctuary Yoga begins in June. Check out laurenlockeywellness on IG or laurenlockeywellness.com."), Lauren is fulfilling a purposeful life.
"Protecting animals and caring for them, I became a better version of myself," she says. "I love watching people connect with the joy and love we all have at our source."