Tiny Hooves Rescue And Petting Zoo

Tiny Hooves Rescue and Petting Zoo is in need of a new property to move to and continue growing Central Texas largest Nonprofit Livestock and Exotic animal rescue after being blindsided and evicted from property for cutting trees limbs. Story;

Tiny Hooves Rescue and Petting Zoo was established in 2016 in the Heart of Texas by myself (Shelby Michalewicz), my loving husband Steven & my sweet son Remington.

I did not realize the magnitude of the animal crisis when I opened as a rescue, the animals flooded in immediately and my eyes were forever opened to the excruciating amount of animal neglect/abuse/lack of laws/over population,etc.

I became a 501c3 nonprofit in 2018 and have continued to see exponential growth of animals we have both rescued, rehabbed, given sanctuary to or even had to turn away as the space and funds couldn't allow them to come here as we run solely on donations and the animal related services we offer to the community. We started as a rescue on one acre but have morphed into something so much larger, now also offering a sanctuary to animals and leasing family property of over 50acres and housing 200 animals (or more at times) and over 30 different species like; Ring-tailed Lemurs, Patagonian Cavies, Macaw Parrots, Llamas, Ponies, Cows, Reptiles, Fallow Deer, Blackbuck, Goats, Sheep, Pigs, Geese, Turkeys, Bunnies, Guinea Pigs, Prairie Dogs, Sugar Gliders and so many more.

Our operation has been struggling to survive since the day we started, it is very difficult to start and keep a nonprofit running but we never let lack of funds stop us from helping a pet in need of we have the opportunity to do so. We have always given every dime we have to rescue/house/vet these animals and keep them from terrible situations, giving them everything they deserve because there aren't many people that can or will take proper care of them.

Starting our farm here was specific, my father had told me I would be able to expand my rescue and make my dream sanctuary as our currently owned 1acres sits around almost 200 acres I was and am set to inherit and share with my siblings.

Unfortunately my father passed away unexpectedly causing those dreams and promises to partially die with him as the property then fell into a trust I can't touch until I am 35 (5 years away).

We have been leasing some of that property around us the last year+ (50+ acres) to sustain housing our large livestock we had rescued (longhorns/horses/donkeys/etc) and planning our expansion further for when the property was split between siblings but unfortunately our pasture leases have unexpectedly been terminated, evicting our animals and giving us until December to makes big decisions.

I was told multiple times I would never be blindsided yet in this situation was absolutely blindsided making the situation unfathomably devastating for our rescue.

My husband and I have poured thousands into fencing here, fundraising and piecing together by hand a new facility together running all of the electric/power/hvac to and built ALONE with each other and now we are being pushed out and forced to leave it all to make sure the animals have a FOREVER sanctuary.

We have until December until our lease ends and displaces 30+ of our large livestock/exotic animals and I would rather die than see them end up in a bad situation ever again, that may sound dramatic but I refuse to let our sanctuary pets be put in harms way which leads us to asking for help relocating.

We are now trying to scramble and find property with 30+ acres of fenced land to grow our rescue and sanctuary elsewhere and remove ourselves from the toxic, unsupportive environment we are currently in with these leases. The issue is this economy sucks and I technically am a volunteer to my longtime organization as I do not receive any financial gain, all of the funds go back to feeding the animals/providing vet care/maintenance and we have 0 paid employees which makes getting a land loan very difficult in this economy.

Where we currently live is my family home, I was born and raised here and had massive plans for this place to make something great out of nothing.

I can't begin to explain how incredibly hard this is for us and to further complicate things, we only have been approved for $200,000 of my inheritance as the rest is stuck in land I am not allowed to even stand on without approval which is ridiculous but the reality of things.

We have rescued so many disabled and unadoptable pets, rehabbing hundreds and hundreds of animals falling in love with them all, adopting out many but also being attached to a few we just absolutely fell in love with and couldn't let go. Anyone that knows our family or meets our family can see the love & care we give our pets and see the sacrifices we have made to keep our organization alive and well over all of these years with minimal donations but doing our best to continue rescuing and having a place of sanctuary for these animals that were neglected, abandoned, mistreated and surrendered.

Nonprofits that do the hard work are often unrecognized but essential to have and can truly bless a community and state if shown the support they deserve. We are asking for that support right now to ensure the forever future of our rescues sanctuary pets and continuing our rescue efforts by helping us purchase a property the rescue OWNS and can't be bullied/kicked off of ever again. These animals were promised a forever and we are going to give them that, even if it's not here like we had planned. Can you please help us obtain this goal? Every single dollar counts and we sincerely appreciate every penny, as do the animals!!