Well, in so many words.
The husband-and-wife team are the founders of Shelter Farm Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization which serves as a “forever” home for any animal.
Prior to opening the sanctuary, the only experience Mike and Jenni Presley had with animals was fostering dogs for about five years.
The mission behind the sanctuary is simple: Save as many lives as possible.
“We want to try to center around rescues like animals that would’ve normally gone to slaughter or where people get weird farm animals that turn out to be difficult to take care of. Although, half of what we have right now is more of a rehoming situation,” Mike says.
Rather than looking at these creatures as food, they are considered family members.
The Presley family has practiced veganism for the past few years, and they strongly believe every living being has a right to live freely and experience love.
“We do everything we can do to avoid exploiting animals. We’re vegan so we try not to purchase products deriving from animals. We want to love and respect as many animals as we can and show people they aren’t here for our consumption,” Jenni says.
The pair grew up being animal lovers. Jenni has childhood memories of bringing home animals in need for her mother to nurse back to health and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian.
In 2018 the Presleys began the planning process to launch Shelter Farm Sanctuary, and soon after came across the space in Arcadia in early April.
“We planned on taking it very slow but it’s not possible at this point because there are so many people expecting the events and merchandise already,” Mike explains.
Shelter Farm Sanctuary sits on five acres in at 1837 SW County Road 769. Before the Presleys acquired the property, it ran as a small farm with a few animals and fruit trees. It won’t be uncommon for visitors and volunteers to see mango and avocados growing. They currently have 40 animals right now at Shelter Farm, including several pigs, chickens, and goats. As long as there is enough room, the sanctuary accepts animals from anywhere.
In addition to running the sanctuary, the Presleys are both still working at their full-time jobs — Jenni as a teacher at a nearby Montessori school, and Mike as a supervisor at a South Tampa shipyard.
Funny to think that after a 9-to-5 desk job, the two come home to feed pigs and perform various other types of farm work before doing it all again. The passion for these animals is what keeps them going.
“The animals come from everywhere. The pigs came from Miami and we’re getting two calves from Vermont. Wherever there is a need, we’re going to try and make it work. We’re going to do everything we can,” Jenni says.
Since bills are piling up for these creatures in need, Shelter Farm Sanctuary has set up accounts on various sites hoping those will lend a hand in the mission.
Donations to the sanctuary can be made through a variety of sites: GoFundMe, PayPal, Facebook, Amazon Smile, and Patreon. Individual animal sponsorships are available by mentioning the specific animal along with the payment.
Even restaurants throughout Tampa Bay are jumping on board for the cause, like Golden Dinosaurs in Gulfport, which is donating $1 from every faux chicken sandwich sold to Shelter Farm.
“Between vet bills and maintenance, we’re way over what we thought we were going to spend. It’s funny, we set the GoFundMe for $10,000, but we’ve spent that much in two months. It’s like a start-up so it’s expensive in the beginning,” Mike adds.
In a few years, after their son graduates from school, the Presleys hope to transition into running the sanctuary full-time.
Jenni says all she wants to do is save lives, create awareness and just love on the animals.
“We definitely want to advocate for the animals that can’t speak for themselves,” she says.
In the coming years, Mike has big plans to set up housing for volunteers who want to work on the farm for weeks or months at a time — exchanging housing for helping hands. Until then, the Presleys will continue their efforts at creating a safe space for creatures of all kinds.
“We’re all in it to help people understand the impact their choices have on the Earth, other species, and, in general, our country and the world,” Jenni adds.
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This article appears in May 30 – Jun 6, 2019.