Sanctuary Under The Stars

15/08/2026

FOR OUR QUEEN BEE NOW SLEEPING. This one's for Sally

Last night we stood huddled in the dim starlight as we buried our girl, neither of us knowing how to say goodbye

I want to write and paint pictures and say the thing that could make this hurt less but I don't know how to do that

Sally was strong and funny and sassy and loving and joyful and incredibly resillient. Our beautiful blind queen who brought smiles and laughter to the bleakest of days

When we rescued Sally from a free range farm, she was sick, injured, depressed, weak and so so beaten down. But once she recovered and realised she was free and safe and loved, she never let anything stop her

She lived with cancer as long as we knew her and she never wanted to stop living. Last week, the cancer took over her bowels so food couldn't move.

Sally wanted to live. But her body wouldnt let her because people decided she was disposable before she was even born. You almost never see these cancers in wild birds. Only the ones we breed into existence for purposes that only ever harm them.

Sally's genes were selected so that she would be a laying machine, regardless of what that would do to her body.

Her suffering was not an accident. It was engineered.

That's a really hard thing to sit with.

Her cancer is considered an unremarkable side effect of a successful mission to ensure she would be 'productive' for the 18 months she would be allowed to live before her cull date.

What I wouldnt give to take away her pain and her tumours and give her back her life. She was a beautiful child who wanted to live and there was nothing we could do because her body had already been far too broken

The egg industry relies on suffering because it is neccesary to create an economically viable product. It also relies on nobody seeing or connecting with the individual animals who pay the price. So I will tell Sally's story because she deserves at least that much.

Our hearts our broken and our world feels wrong without her little footsteps answering our calls. Sally was a little soul who made this world a better place and I want everyone to remember her name

Rest in peace my love.

09/08/2026

The incredible humans at Pup and Sourcer who dedicate their time to raising funds for animals have come to our rescue and are offering to match all donations up to $2000 dollars. This means that every dollar you donate gets doubled by these humans and makes double the impact to getting our rescue wheels back on the road ###

Help Save our Rescue Wheels!!! - life saving sanctuary missions are on hold with vehicles down. Please share and donate if you can to help get our rescue wheels back on the road ❤️🙏🏼❤️

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-save-our-rescue-wheels-life-saving-missions

In just 2 weeks:

The horse float failed it's wof - repair costs estimated over $2000

Our only towing vehicle broke down and had to be taken for parts

The trailer axle end came apart

The quad bike stopped working.. twice.

They say when it rains, it pours....

In all fairness, the horse float was made in 1976, the trailer works very hard and our towing vehicle has had the engine light on for over a year (apparently due to major transmission and electronic failure) so we knew this would happen at some point.

But we were not prepared for it all at once, after a month that had already been running our bank account dry with winter hay, vet call outs and hen rescues.

If it were not so serious, it would actually be comical. To fix the quad, we need the trailer but the trailer is broken. To fix the trailer, we need to be able to tow but we no longer have a towing vehicle... and we definitely need a towing vehicle for the float too - but that needs to be roadworthy!

These vehicles are absolutely instrumental to the sanctuary.

Without the horsefloat and towcar, we had to cancel Monday's hay pick up. We still have some left but it wont last long. We also use the horsefloat as our literal rescue wheels, carrying vulnerable rescue babies to safety.

The trailer has assisted in diverting over 65,000L of food waste from landfill this year with roughly 1/4 of this (the really good stuff) going back into communities who are struggling the most. This is also what we use for transporting our fencing, building and roading materials - and the road needs work before we lose access

I am not complaining because I am full of gratitude that Domino's eye is finally healing well after surgery, post op complications and a very scary week. Sally also survived her surgery and, after a rocky start, is also doing incredibly well. The 7 hens in hospital with our mother sanctuary are continuing to fight. If we had lost Domino or Sally, they could never be replaced and I am so so so grateful to be fixing or replacing vehicles not losing lives.

Having said that, we desperately need our vehicles in order to keep the sanctuary running and keep everyone here looked after. I am working extra night shifts to try raise more funds but there are not enough hours in the day so we are reaching out to any incredible humans who might be able and willing to help us help the animals and the community.

At this point, literally every dollar makes a difference and, if you are able to help, it will genuinely save lives and we would be extremely extremely grateful.

With much Aroha

05/08/2026

Help Save our Rescue Wheels!!! - life saving sanctuary missions are on hold with vehicles down. Please share and donate if you can to help get our rescue wheels back on the road ❤️🙏🏼❤️

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-save-our-rescue-wheels-life-saving-missions

In just 2 weeks:

The horse float failed it's wof - repair costs estimated over $2000

Our only towing vehicle broke down and had to be taken for parts

The trailer axle end came apart

The quad bike stopped working.. twice.

They say when it rains, it pours....

In all fairness, the horse float was made in 1976, the trailer works very hard and our towing vehicle has had the engine light on for over a year (apparently due to major transmission and electronic failure) so we knew this would happen at some point.

But we were not prepared for it all at once, after a month that had already been running our bank account dry with winter hay, vet call outs and hen rescues.

If it were not so serious, it would actually be comical. To fix the quad, we need the trailer but the trailer is broken. To fix the trailer, we need to be able to tow but we no longer have a towing vehicle... and we definitely need a towing vehicle for the float too - but that needs to be roadworthy!

These vehicles are absolutely instrumental to the sanctuary.

Without the horsefloat and towcar, we had to cancel Monday's hay pick up. We still have some left but it wont last long. We also use the horsefloat as our literal rescue wheels, carrying vulnerable rescue babies to safety.

The trailer has assisted in diverting over 65,000L of food waste from landfill this year with roughly 1/4 of this (the really good stuff) going back into communities who are struggling the most. This is also what we use for transporting our fencing, building and roading materials - and the road needs work before we lose access

I am not complaining because I am full of gratitude that Domino's eye is finally healing well after surgery, post op complications and a very scary week. Sally also survived her surgery and, after a rocky start, is also doing incredibly well. The 7 hens in hospital with our mother sanctuary are continuing to fight. If we had lost Domino or Sally, they could never be replaced and I am so so so grateful to be fixing or replacing vehicles not losing lives.

Having said that, we desperately need our vehicles in order to keep the sanctuary running and keep everyone here looked after. I am working extra night shifts to try raise more funds but there are not enough hours in the day so we are reaching out to any incredible humans who might be able and willing to help us help the animals and the community.

At this point, literally every dollar makes a difference and, if you are able to help, it will genuinely save lives and we would be extremely extremely grateful.

With much Aroha

04/08/2026

DOMINO AND SALLY RECOVERING WELL
Thank you to every single one of you who have been keeping our sweet Domino 🐮 and Sally 🐔 in your thoughts.

As you may know, poor Domino got cancer on his third eyelid. His eyelids dont have any pigment and protrude due to his genetics which makes him (and any of our white faced kiddos) super super susceptible to eye cancer. Moony, Rusty and Teddy have had to have similar surgeries.

During the operation, Mutti refused to leave his side and once he was back in the paddock, he was surrounded by his family who all wanted to make sure he was okay. Rusty and Teddy (his forever brothers he jumped off the slaughter truck with) stayed especially close.

Unfortunately he developed an extreme infectious reaction which was scary for us as our facilities are still in the setting up phase so getting him back into the yards was a real question. I was so scared we would have problems getting him in for treatment but he was so so so incredibly brave and went into the treatment unit twice more every 2 days for injections.

He wasnt tricked (hes waaay to smart for that) or forced (we dont have the facilities even if we needed to- we are working on this). We encouraged him. And he decided to trust us 3 times over. I dont even have words for that.

This is the boy who used to bolt at least 100m away if a human came into sight. I am so incredibly proud of him.

Sally had a much more major surgery and the first week was hard but she is recovering really well now and our little foodie is enjoying all the best treats which she absolutely deserves.

I will always be grateful for these 2 absolutely irreplaceable members of our whānau here. They've both known far too much trauma in their lives but it is a great privilege to see them learn to trust happy and to get to know the incredible individuals they are.

02/08/2026

THANK YOU KĀNUKA FOREST SOLAR!!!!
If there are people in the world making us lose faith in humanity then Antony from Kānuka Forest Solar is the absolute opposite. Over the past year and a half, this incredible small business has bailed us out when our batteries suddenly died, donated time, equipment and invaluable advice!! After struggling to find an electrician who understood Solar, Antony not only saved us with his incredible knowledge and understanding of solar but took the sanctuary under his wing and has been helping us get better set up ever since all while refusing point blank to charge a cent for his time. If you are in the north auckland/northland area and need anything solar related or want to set solar up you should 100% support this incredible small business run by genuine and kind humans with incredible knowledge. They also know which brands are the best both quality and affordability wise! We have been running the household with just 3 panels. This means usually turning the fridge off at night, struggling to keep medicines cool and often needing to run the petrol hungry generator but yesterday we were able to connect the new 6 from Kānuka Forest Solar thanks to Antony's incredible kindness and today the battery is charging so fast I cannot believe it. I am so so so so excited to be able to turn on our electric blanket tonight instead of relying on lots of layers and covers with these freeze cold nights.
Thank you so so so much Antony
https://www.kanukaforest.co.nz

24/07/2026

CANCER SUCKS - SURGERY, POST-OP COMPLICATIONS AND SOME SCARY DAYS.
On Monday we noticed a tiny dot of cancerous cells on Domino's third eyelid. The vet came out on thursday and removed the tumour which had rapidly grown to 5mm in diameter. The vet did an amazing job but there are risks to any operation and our poor boy will have to go back into the treatment unit twice for injections and ointments. There is also the possibility that this is a reaction to there being more cancer in an area we cannot see but for now we are hoping the medications will work. The first - and hardest - step is getting him contained for injections. He has been through so much trauma that this is very challenging because our facilities are limited having moved onto complete bareland just over a year ago. We have a series of metal yard panels leading to a treatment unit but the large animal hospital padodck with proper, reliable yards and the ability to get the big kids repeatedly in is still in the very early stages of construction. We desperately need our hospital paddock. The setup we have is okay for a one off treatment but very challenging for multiple successive ones since it only works while they move between 2 specific paddocks and is simply a funnel. If he wants to go around and jump the fence instead because he is too scared, he can. I am praying we can get him in again today so we can give him the first set of meds he so desperately needs.

Please send your thoughts to our boy especially today and Monday. This boy has been through far too much trauma in his lifetime and I so desperately wish I could spare him from this.

With love

24/07/2026

SALLY RECOVERING
Sally made it through her major surgery on Wednesday with flying colours. She lost a fair amount of blood but she is a fighter. Her uterus and fallopian tube have been removed, as was a cyst and some yolk debris in her abdomen, side effects of a body broken by the demand for constant laying. Her crop isn't moving much post op so she is still going through procedures here for that but she is safely through surgery and thats no small feat.

Huge thank you to her vet, Kevin and anesthesiologist, Charlotte from Mill Road Vets and also to all of you humans out there sending love her way.

Yesterday our beloved Domino also had surgery. He is recovering and we will keep you posted with his story and how he is going.

With love

08/07/2026

10/06/2026

WINTER MISSION - HAY HEROES!!
Every winter, the large and wonderful shipping container which serves as our hay barn is filled - and then many times refilled!- so that all of the rescue animals have happy full tummies and nice soft beds.

Now that the days are colder and shorter, its time to restock our barn and secure hay for the next few months.

Would you be willing to join our crew of animal angels and become a regular donor?

25 dollars per month which is roughly $5/week would buy 2 bales of hay for a kiddo in need helping to support them through the hardest part of winter. If you are willing to give up one coffee per week, it would honestly make a real difference.

I am dreaming big that there might be some beautiful humans out there who are willing and able.

Our ability to help is directly proportional to the funds we have which means that, as a monthly donor, you would be joining the literal lifeforce behind the sanctuary which makes it possible for us to look after animals who have had nowhere else to turn and often never known human kindness.

I am so truly grateful to all of our herd members, donors, angels and supporters and to anyone who is considering joining!

If you would like to become a hay hero, you can set up a monthly payment directly into our bank account which is:

SANCTUARY UNDER THE STARS CHARITABLE TRUST
38-9024-0809200-00

All direct donations are tax deductibe so you can claim back 1/3 at the end of the year. Send us a message so we can say thank you and so we have your details for when we do end of yrar donation receipts every april!

You can also set up a regular donation from overseas through our donorbox platform:
https://donorbox.org/sherock-sanctuary-sponsors-herd-members-and-supporters

Please like, comment and share this around to anyone who might be able to help. 10 new donors this month would add almost 5 bales of hay per week which would be massive for our rescue kiddos. Do you think we can get there?

With much aroha