Most of the time, the animals who live at VINE Sanctuary move around on their own two or four hooves, feet, and claws. However, there are also times when they aren’t able to move on their own, or they need to go somewhere a little farther than their own legs can carry them.

To get the animals where they need to go, VINE needs a van.

Currently, we transport animals in a 2016 Fiat 500x. This is a personal vehicle, not a sanctuary owned car. The sanctuary has a 2009 Ford F250 that we use for feed store trips, as well as transporting animals by trailer. It is not economically or environmentally wise to use the truck to run sanctuary errands or to transport animals smaller than adult cows.

A sheep’s place is not in the backseat of a car. A van would give sick or injured animals space to lie down and would make scary trips a little easier. Healthy animals on routine visits could step into the van, instead of being lifted and folded into the car with the help of staff. A van would make all our vet trips - routine and emergency - more comfortable and safer for everyone involved.

Luckily, we found a 2011 Ford Transit Connect locally for $7,000. It is in great shape and only needs a new set of tires, undercoating to protect from rust, and new registration to get on the road. This van will be used to transport animals, for sanctuary outreach events, and for errands like the twice-weekly trip to a New Hampshire grocery store to pick up donated produce. That way, we can use the big pickup truck only for trips where it is absolutely necessary. This will help make our trips more sustainable, as well as more comfortable for the sanctuary residents.

VINE needs your help to make this purchase possible. We operate on a very tight budget and don’t have the extra money to make such a large purchase. But we we know we have an amazing community that always helps us out when we need it! VINE has hooves, paws, toes, and claws, but we need four wheels!