Last Monday, when the temperature in Caledonia dipped below freezing, Charger the tiger went for a swim in the pool in his enclosure at Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary. When he emerged, the sanctuary’s employees said, there were tiny icicles glistening on his coat.
“He’ll swim in it when it gets real cold,” Cedarhill’s exotic cat caretaker Justin Stripling said from beside Charger’s enclosure Thursday, as the tiger batted his head against the fence in greeting. “… He’ll go in there and emerge dripping wet. Charger loves his swimming pool.”
But for Cedarhill, the cold weather heralds more than swims for Charger. For the fifth year in a row, the sanctuary is hosting its biggest fundraiser, B&B with the Big Cats, a raffle in which one winner can spend a weekend at the 30-year-old sanctuary.
Normally closed to the public, Cedarhill opens for a weekend every year for the winner of the annual raffle. The winner, along with up to three guests over the age of 18, gets to stay in a guest cabin overlooking the enclosure of Tafari, Jala-Gypsy and Nombi — 3-year-old lions and the most active of the sanctuary’s exotic cats — and spend time with the sanctuary’s more than 200 animals.
The sanctuary provides a home for exotic and domestic animals that have been abused or neglected, or whose owners simply couldn’t care for them anymore, Media Development Manager Michelle Roberts said.
“Some of these animals came here from such horrible circumstances,” Roberts said. “Disciplined with weed eaters, pepper spray in the eyes. … These animals can live out their days here knowing that they are 100 percent taken care of. That’s why we’re closed to the public, because we make sure that they don’t get any stress from outside sources.”
Keeping Cedarhill running
In addition to Charger and nine other tigers — including his sisters Penny and Tashara — Cedarhill has three lions, three bobcats, a cougar, 17 dogs, 10 horses, five pigs and more than 160 housecats, Roberts said.
It’s a huge operation that costs the sanctuary about $50,000 per month, including food, veterinary care, maintenance of enclosures and other facilities and pay for staff members, Roberts said. The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic recession has hit the sanctuary hard, causing a roughly 65-percent drop in donations, which the sanctuary relies on to keep operating.
“That is detrimental to a place like us that runs solely on donations,” Roberts said. “I had to get creative. We did an auction to replace the funds that we usually make when we do our festivals and things of that sort. We (sell paintings and collect donations at) Caledonia Days, we were slated to do Market Street this year. I had to figure out something to basically replace that lost revenue.”
The auction took place on Facebook, where people could bid on art pieces, toys and other items donated by fans of Cedarhill, Roberts said. The auction made $8,000 — more than going to the markets would have, she said. It was so successful, she hosted another, smaller one right after Thanksgiving that closed on Friday.
Still, the raffle is especially important this year, Roberts said. Last year’s raffle made about $9,000 for the sanctuary, and has raised $3,000 this year since it began Nov. 5. Donors can still purchase tickets up through Jan. 8, and employees will draw a winner on Jan. 11.
Anyone can purchase 10 tickets for $20, 30 tickets for $55, 50 tickets for $90 and 100 tickets for $190 on Cedarhill’s website at https://www.cedarhillanimalsanctuary.org/.
Guests will also be treated to a dinner and breakfast, a tour of the sanctuary and a painting by an exotic cat. Some of the exotics like to play in paints, Roberts said, and they will leave pawprints and paint splotches on canvases, some of which the sanctuary sells online or at festivals. For their own paintings, guests can choose which colors they want and watch the cats play in the paint.
Guests will also have time to relax and play with the domestic dogs and cats at the sanctuary. Sunday, the last day, is usually reserved for playing in the cat house, a small residence on the property where the majority of the sanctuary’s housecats live.
Roberts stressed that while guests are able to choose their weekends to visit, there may be extra restrictions due to the pandemic. Cedarhill is currently closed to volunteers, and cases throughout the state started rising before last year’s winner was able to come. Roberts said the sanctuary’s employees will make sure both he and this year’s winner get their weekends when it’s safe.
“It’s not going to go anywhere,” she said. “You’ll still get your weekend. It’s just we’ve got to be safe for everybody.”
Roberts said most people who come to Cedarhill find it restful and even healing to be around the rescued animals.
“I think that’s what’s special about Cedarhill,” she said. “It heals the animals that come here and it also heals the humans that work here. All of us have been through things in our life, and honestly these animals help us.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
