Andover Animal Rescue Sanctuary In Foreclosure
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Most of the animals at Northwoods Animal Rescue Sanctuary in Andover, Minn., are lucky to be alive.
Tofu, a turkey, was saved after falling off the back of a slaughter truck. Gipy, an "indoor pig," is allergic to sunlight.
Elisa Soper, the owner of Northwoods, has been taking in animals since she was a child.
"We were the home where all the homeless animals went, and it didn't matter if they were domestic or wild," Soper said.
This week Soper learned she has until Sunday, Dec. 28, to get herself, two children and all of her animals out of the home she rents. The property is under foreclosure.
"We have to make some very quick adjustments here and hope to God that we're going to survive," she said.
Friends have stepped up to care for Soper's cats and dogs, though Soper fears some won't survive relocating, because of serious medical conditions.
Gipy, the pig, will have to stay in the barn with the horses. He's never lived without the comforts of home, which include a TV and DVD player in his room in Soper's basement.
"He has a condition that causes him a great deal of pain, and it's a stress condition that can actually kill him," she says.
The entire ordeal is stressful for Soper, whose own health is failing. Her hope, at this point, is kindness of strangers and the dream of a home of her own.
If you'd like to donate to the Northwoods Animal Rescue Sanctuary, visit its website.
