On Saturday, May 2nd, the Animal Ministry hosted its first field trip to the Love Always Sanctuary in Sun Valley. Not only does the sanctuary open its doors for the animals on the first Saturday of each month, but it also has many passionate volunteers, local food vendors, and artisan booths. It is the perfect time for our UUSM community to come together.
At Love Always, the philosophy is simple yet profound: “All beings are equal and deserve love, kindness, and respect. Through gentle interaction and education, the sanctuary invites visitors to make meaningful connections with the animals — always on the animals’ own terms. This safe space exposes the realities of animal agriculture and our food choices while offering inspiring, compassionate pathways to protect animals, heal our planet, and improve our own health.”
The sanctuary is steered by its incredible founder, Nickie, a remarkable woman doing so much hard work for these animals. While she has a wonderful core group of volunteers assisting with chores and public events, but running a sanctuary is a huge task for one person. Love Always relies entirely on the generosity of the community to keep this safe haven alive. Please check out more about this sanctuary and the animals at www.lovealwayssanctuary.com.
Our UUSM attendees had fun on the grounds, sometimes traveling in small groups and at other times wandering off on their own. I must apologize — in all the excitement, I forgot to write down all of their names, but please know that they do all have names, because they are someone and not something. Here, they can simply just be.
Gentle Giants & Feathered Friends
Our first stop was to say hello to a beautiful mother-and-son donkey duo. They were incredibly kind, gentle, and more than happy to trade affection for some brushing and treats.
(Photos: UUSM members Dan and friends enjoying some donkey time.)
Next, we headed to the aviary, home to an eclectic mix of chickens, ducks, pigeons, a turkey, and even a resident turtle who roams the ground of the pigeon habitat! Having worked at an animal sanctuary for two years and spent my time adopting out hens rescued from egg farms, this area felt instantly like home to me. There is a deep peace in watching them sunbathe and peck around. For me, birds are incredibly grounding. One of my absolute favorite sounds in the world is the soft, contented cooing of chickens falling asleep. To top it off, the resident turkey strutted his stuff and did a little dance to welcome the ladies!
(Photos: UUSM members Jacinda and Leah Moore with our feathered friends.)
What makes a sanctuary so special is that people get to meet animals who might otherwise be eaten, or whose bodies might be exploited for their milk or eggs. Here, they aren’t viewed as ingredients or commodities, but as individuals. Instead of a life cut short by the cruel industry, they are granted the simple, beautiful right to live out their natural lives to the very end. They get to grow old, form deep friendships, stay with their families, and just be — safe, happy, and loved.
Our final stop was the main habitat for the four-legged residents, who have so much personality! We met the day’s official mascot: a sassy little goat sporting bows on her antlers, who spent the morning greeting guests alongside Nickie on her leash. By the time we caught up with her near closing time, she was happily back in with her other goat friends, snacking and enjoying more attention from visitors. Nearby, several pot-bellied pigs were mastering the art of the afternoon nap, a mini-horse was being cute from a respectful distance, and a flock of sheep happily swarmed us for attention.
Goats have really cool personalities, and I would like to think they’re very curious about many things, compared to other farm animals. Many love to climb, which led to some of our favorite photo ops of the day. The boys had a wonderful time interacting with a goat perched high atop the “goat gym.”
(Photo: UUSM members James Witker and friends sharing a laugh with a climbing goat.)
Meanwhile, Udi and his wife were radiating their love for this habitat. Their sweet infant was wiggling and smiling so vibrantly that one curious goat just had to wander over to get a closer look at the newest little human member of our interdependent web.
(Photos: Udi Binchtok and baby making a new goat friend.)
Thank you to everyone who came out to support our first outing! If you don’t want to miss the next field trip to Love Always Sanctuary, please add Saturday, November 7, 2026, to your calendar, so you won’t miss it with our other fellow UUSM friends for our next one in the fall, after it cools down! More details to come, or you can always email animalministry@uusm.org if you want us to email you as soon as we have that info available!
