It’s All About Love and Support, and It Starts with You!

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NEW BRIGHTHAVEN BOOKLET!!! BrightHaven President and Founder Gail Pope is putting the finishing touches on an important booklet called Following Your Heart: Navigating a Terminal Diagnosis. Her wish is to help you walk this often-challenging path with a deeper sense of peace, confidence and clarity. ***UPDATE:  This booklet is now available!*** Buy Follow Your Heart: … Read more

What Really Matters Most Each & Every Day

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I often feel uncomfortable when I hear that an animal or person has been given a specific number of days, weeks or years to live when they receive a terminal diagnosis. When it comes right down to it, who actually knows? None of us has an expiry date stamped in ink across our forehead! Of … Read more

In Memory of Another BrightHaven Angel

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BrightHaven President & Founder wrote a lovely memorial in honor of beautiful Annelie: “On July 6th our heartstrings were challenged yet again as we said fare-thee-well to another BrightHaven angel called Annelie. This sweet lady was brought to the BrightHaven sanctuary in 2016 and when it became apparent that the sanctuary property had to be … Read more

It’s time to bring back the dog energy!

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Meet Rosie and Ziggy! They recently joined our Hospice/Specialized care unit! BrightHaven President and Founder Gail Pope shares their stories: “During the last several years as we realized the sanctuary property may be in jeopardy, we made the decision that the BrightHaven sanctuary should stop accepting new lifetime residents—clearly a good one as things have … Read more

In Memory of a BrightHaven Gem

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A heartfelt memorial to our beautiful Gem from BrightHaven President and Founder Gail Pope:   “Gem died at 5am on the 11th of April 2018.   To see one who fought the odds for all her life, and succeeded by reaching double figures in age, is a testament to all the wonderful people who helped … Read more

What a Perfect Way to Help & Honor Animals!

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***THESE SHIRTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE AT OUR BRIGHTHAVEN STORE***: https://www.bonfire.com/store/the-brighthaven-store/ At BrightHaven, we are committed to helping animals and we honor them for the many ways they help us humans. For example, how many times has a special animal shown up in our lives just when we needed them most, essentially rescuing us? And how … Read more

In Memory of an Angel Named Ellie

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BrightHaven’s President & Co-Founder Gail Pope recently wrote a very moving tribute to this very special being. “On June 17th 2016 the BrightHaven family was joined by an angel named Goldie who we renamed Ellie, and on February 9th 2018 Ellie returned to join the angels. Back in 2016 we were told that Ellie would … Read more

The New Year Brings a New Chapter for BrightHaven!

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It’s a brand-new year, and BrightHaven is starting a brand-new chapter! The Santa Rosa (Northern California) sanctuary property has been sold, and our sanctuary is officially closed. However, BrightHaven as an organization is NOT going away! We’ve been caring for abandoned animals since 1990 and we will continue our critically important work of serving senior … Read more

Bidding Farewell to Lily & Sophie

BrightHaven’s President & Co-Founder Gail Pope recently honored Lily and Sophie with moving memorials. In Memory of “Big Dog” Lily (Written December 30, 2018) “At 324am on Friday 29th December 2017 BrightHaven bade fare-thee-well to our dearest Lily dog, AKA “Big Dog” (she was affectionately called Big Dog by Blanca as she was small in … Read more

Loss of Beloved Animal or Human, Grief is Grief is Grief

As BrightHaven’s Gail Pope wrote in “The Art of Dying—What Animals Teach Us” article that recently appeared in the Natural Transitions online magazine: “The death of a beloved animal companion is one of the most difficult things we as animal lovers ever face. In my experience, sometimes this loss is more difficult than that of … Read more