Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kari Castillo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kari, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

In my early twenties, I went to my local animal shelter in search of a companion for my dog, Sasha. I was introduced to several young, vibrant dogs that would have made the perfect playmate for her. But then I stood in front of Fred’s kennel, staring down at that tiny old dog curled up on his little bed and I swear I felt my life change. I remember looking into those cloudy eyes that seemed to ask, “Why am I here?” His little bed had pictures of dogs wearing cowboy hats. He was shaking with what I thought was fear but later learned was severe illness. He died 3 months later, curled up on that cowboy bed, in a home where people loved him.

Shortly after that, Sonny came into my life. I would say if I questioned my path before that, Fred was the map and Sonny was the driver. I was not ready for him nor did I have the knowledge or experience to handle a dog with behavioral issues. He had been returned to the shelter twice before me. I was sort of suckered into taking him and he wanted nothing to do with me. Until we got into the car and he tested his head in my lap. He looked up at me as if to say, “I’ll be good”. Something about him made me want to try. Maybe it was Fred’s memory and the fact that I knew dogs like him deserved a chance. I knew he just needed the right tools to be successful. He taught me the amazing impact of the unconditional love of a dog and despite the challenges, it was all worth it. He was everything to me. He helped to lead me to my purpose. And luckily, my husband feels the same way.

His legacy lives on in every new animal we now rescue in our small senior animal rescue and hospice, Sonny’s Senior Sanctuary. Our aim is to advocate and rescue senior animals or those who require medical care in their final chapter. They will have a safe and loving home with us.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We are a small, home based senior animal sanctuary and hospice. Our mission is to offer a safe haven to animals who older animals or those with medical needs who find themselves without a home. We are often called upon by shelters or rescues to take in animals who are ill or unlikely to be adopted. We currently have a variety of animals including dogs, cats, tortoises, rats, guinea pigs, chinchillas, gerbils, and frogs. We love all animals here and take enrichment seriously. Each individual animal has their specific needs considered when they get here and a plan is developed to ensure they get everything they need to be as happy and healthy as possible for as long as we get with them. Sometimes it is months, sometimes years. Whatever it is, we make the best of it and spoil them the way they deserve.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of the main questions we get asked is about our ability to cope with the loss of the animals we care for. Some of them are with us for a short time and others for many years. We feel grateful for the moments we have with them. We have to remember that this is about them, not us. And the number one goal is to show them love every day we have with them. Even when we know it will hurt when we say goodbye. They break our hearts and take a piece of it when they leave us. And sometimes it feels that we just cannot handle going through it again. Last year was rough. There were times we thought we should stop. We had many losses back to back and it became too heavy. But then we remind ourselves that each one leaves room for the next senior who needs a safe place to land. That’s the way we have to see it.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My partner is my husband. I often ask him jokingly, “In your wildest dreams did you ever imagine THIS for your life?” Lucky for me, his response is always, “No, but I love it!”

When we met, he had a dog, Zeppelin who is now 14 and I had Sonny. The pack expanded from there. Before we knew it, we had 5 dogs in a 900 square foot house. We moved to a bigger house with a large yard. We brought in more senior dogs and our first cat. But then we needed more space so we moved again. And we decided to make our unofficial rescue and our dreams of a senior sanctuary into a real thing. My husband has experience as a business owner so knew what steps to take to get started. We still need to build on our social media presence, but we have zero experience and have stumbled through so far and it’s been a slow build. It’s so important to get the word out about these animals. We can not do it alone. Without donations, we definitely could not have helped as many animals. For that, we are eternally grateful. The animals are lucky to have so many people that care.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sonnyssanctuary.org
• Instagram: @sonnysseniorsanctuary
• Facebook: Sonny’s Senior Sanctuary facebook.com/people/Sonnys-Senior-Sanctuary/100083036897382