By Megan Kelley
Staff Writer
OXFORD TWP. – Get the family together for a day of fun with the animals, rain or shine. Pan Equus Animal Sanctuary hosts its eighth annual Fall Fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 8.
Visitors can spend the day petting and feeding pigs, horses, cows and other animals while also enjoying fun activities for children, teens and adults.
There will be games, face painting, a silent auction, a vegan food truck, bake sale and PEAS merchandise available for purchase. There will also be live music from Dumb & Drummer as well as 2nd Shot.
Entry is $5 a person with children under five entering for free. Proceeds for the fundraiser will help PEAS take care of the animals throughout the long winter months when the sanctuary sees a jump in electricity costs, and when the animals need more food to stay warm.
PEAS started years ago when co-founders Ed and Judy Stull began taking in sick, neglected and hurt animals to nurse back to health. Being a veterinarian, Judy had committed much of her life to taking care of these animals.
“The worst of the worst animals, the ones that might not live the night or the day, she would bring them home and we would care of them. The deal we always made with them emotionally, psychologically, was that if they pulled through we would make sure they were never in that situation again where people could hurt them or abuse them and the only way to know that is to keep the animal,” Ed said.
After accumulating more and more animals over time, in 2014 the pair decided to turn PEAS into a 501 c3 organization, and create a place where the animals can not only live but thrive and receive the care they need.
“Once we did that, we realized that one of the things we overlooked was that there was a human side to all of this, one that is equal measure to the animal side,” Ed said. “By that I mean, the people that come out here, including our volunteers, for a lot of people, this is their sanctuary too.”
While PEAS does have free open barn days throughout the year, the fall fundraiser their biggest fundraising opportunity of the year. PEAS also takes can and bottle donations during the open barn days. All donations help ensure PEAS can provide a forever home for animals in need.
Over the years, PEAS has have hosted groups throughout Michigan including boys scout and girl scout troops and students from Oxford Schools, including special needs students and the 42 Strong organization.
“After the shooting, there were a lot of kids that didn’t want to leave home but they wanted to come out here,” Stull said.
The impact PEAS has had not just on the animals but on the mental health of volunteers and those who visit the sanctuary has been something Stull did not foresee upon opening the sanctuary to visitors.
PEAS is always looking for volunteers and is happy to host groups that are interested in visiting the sanctuary. To get involved or check open barn days, visit peasbarn.org.
“Not all of our volunteers come here to the sanctuary. There are a lot of ways to help. Whatever someone’s skill or comfort level is if they want to get involved,” Stull said. “It can be from managing an activity or setting up an offsite fundraiser. One of our volunteers, for instance, runs our website. It just depends on what someone is interested in.”
PEAS is located at 940 Hummer Lake Road in Oxford.