business start-up

After over 10 years of teaching, Kathy Stevens, hailed as a “modern-day Noah” by The New York Times, cashed in her retirement fund and bought a junk-filled farm two hours north of New York City.  Motivated by a desire to combine her loves of teaching and animals with her distaste for suffering, she opened the doors of the Catskill Animal Sanctuary in 2001.

            While most sanctuaries fail after two years, CAS continues to thrive.  Since its inception, CAS has saved the lives of over 1,100 desperately needy animals, including a horse shot in the head, a 1,000-pound pig locked in a Bronx apartment, and the only survivor of an arson that killed 23 horses––all funded by nothing but donations from people who care.

            In addition to rescue, CAS raises public awareness of the impact of agribusiness on animals, humans and the planet we share. They are open for visitors on weekends from April through October, and regularly host school groups, church groups, and other organizations. CAS is a loving, joyful place—as so many have said, it changes a lot of lives—both animal and human.

            Kathy lives behind the barn with her dog, Murphy, and cats, Fat Boy and Mouse. She kisses the pigs every day and sings to the cows at night. She wrote the book, titled “Where the Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary” (Sterling Publishers, 2^nd printing release date: Nov 2007), which is Kathy’s “affecting and thought-provoking” (Publishers Weekly) tale of its birth and evolution. “How many people are fortunate enough to work doing what they love, what they believe in?” Stevens asks, “I’m the luckiest person I know, and Catskill Animal Sanctuary is simply my gift to the world—a thank you for a life filled with good fortune and opportunity. It’s also a place that embodies everything I believe in—and what I believe in, essentially, is love.” For more information, please visit www.wheretheblindhorsesings.com or www.casanctuary.org. HBM