For 20 years, West Place Animal Sanctuary in Tiverton has provided a home to rescued farm animals. Wendy Taylor gave up her law practice to open the sanctuary following a devastating house fire that killed nine of her beloved pets.
West Place, which sits on eight acres of historic farmland, is being featured on the latest edition of Our Town, the Ocean State Media documentary project where ordinary Rhode Islanders tell the stories of their communities. In advance of tonight’s premiere, Taylor spoke with morning host Luis Hernandez about the sanctuary and its role in serving the East Bay.
Interview highlights
On what inspired her to create West Place Animal Sanctuary
Wendy Taylor: To keep it short and sweet, I would say it was merely a contemporary of mine, who was another attorney, who said, "You should probably donate to an animal rescue to, sort of, balance the scales for what happened in the loss of your pets with this house fire." And I probably should have just done that, but being an attorney at the time (and) lawyers being what we are, I think the first thought that went through my mind is, "I could do that, but I could also start my own animal rescue and really balance the scales."
I realized being here in the farm coast of New England, in beautiful agrarian Tiverton, Rhode Island, that farm animals were the way to go. They are underserved, underrepresented. They don't get as much love as dogs and cats do, and there were plenty of dog and cat shelters around. So I turned my focus to where I thought the need was the most.
On the types of animals at the sanctuary
Taylor: We have everything from cows to pigs to alpaca, sheep, goats, emus, peacocks, peahens, pheasant, chickens, turtles, Japanese koi. I mean, the list goes on and on with the animals that are currently in our care… For the most part, we work with the authorities or other organizations like SPCAs (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), so the (Massachusetts) MSPCA or the Rhode Island SPCA or an animal control officer. The wildlife clinic here in Rhode Island may take in an animal that's not up their alley or the police will seize an animal that has nowhere to go if it's a farm animal. They can't drop it off at your local dog and cat shelter. So usually we're getting the calls. Sometimes we do get calls from the public. If the animal is not neglected or if they're not really in need, we'll help that person place their pet goat or their pet sheep with someone else who's looking for a pet goat or a pet sheep. Our focus is really saving the ones that are struggling, the ones that are neglected, the ones that have been abused, and the ones that need us the most.
On being featured in Our Town: Tiverton
Taylor: We were very honored. We feel like we've been a big part of Tiverton for the last 20 years. I've lived here in Tiverton more than half my life. I didn't grow up here, but I'm certainly going to die here. It's a very important town. We love it. We love being here. The sanctuary loves being here. So to be asked was an easy yes.
Sometimes it's a hard story to tell because the beginning – the origin story – is very sad and very tragic. But it's been 23 and a half years, and I tell it all the time. It's important that we never forget why we exist and we never forget what we do here. So as hard as it is to tell… Yes, I lost, I lost nine pets, but we've saved thousands, and that was the goal. We make up for that house fire every day, and we always will.
