Daily Inspiration: Meet Megan Howell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Howell.

Hi Megan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My partner Phil and I had been volunteering at Better Piggies Rescue & Goats with Horns for a while, and we both shared a love and respect for sanctuary owners. They do so much good for animals who need love and care. We purchased our house in 2019 intending to adopt Solange & Coppuchino from Better Piggies, and it is the four of us, happily ever after. About two months after Solange and Coppuchino came home, we got a call from a family friend who had an FFA goat that they didn’t want to get butchered, so they asked if we could take her in. Barb came home, and it was then we decided to create our own little sanctuary!

Almost 3 years later, we have 27 residents, and we have learned so much. Some of our individuals have come from really traumatic situations; working through their trauma with them, and allowing their personalities to blossom and thrive, they have really given us just as much love as we have for them. We hope to continue to educate folks on just how much love these animals have when they aren’t being used for their flesh or other human-centric uses.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We have had a lot of growing pains along the road. We had to learn how to build pens, and we did everything we could to recycle materials to keep them sustainable. We have had periods with no volunteers or monetary donations, and we have had jeers from people asking us why we don’t just eat the residents.

The hardest times are when a resident passes away. Lots of folks want to start a sanctuary or rescue and aren’t emotionally prepared for the toll that those moments can take. Every loss has impacted us and affected future sanctuary decisions, and we hope to remember those lives as we take care of new ones who come to us.

Running a sanctuary, as ethically as we can is absolutely a ton of work, especially as most sanctuary owners we work with also work normal jobs, but it’s the love of these animals that really encourages us to continue what we do, through the good times, and the bad.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Phil and I both have our own bills to pay, and we never want to use donations to cover those costs, so we both have normal everyday jobs. Phil is a data scientist at a cancer research company, which is something dear to both of us. I work at a well-known tech company that focuses on delivering things to customers, and I am a specialist in the fraud department.

Neither of these really lend any similarities to the sanctuary, however, they both allow us accommodations to manage the sanctuary day to day. The weekends are when all the proverbial magic happens. The build days, tours, events, and even good old-fashioned chore days all happen when we aren’t in the corporate world.

There is the common hypothetical question of “what would your dream job be” or “if you didn’t have to work anymore, what would you do” and Phil and I can happily say, we are already doing it!

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I encourage folks from all walks of life to visit their local animal sanctuary! Donate your time, your skills, or anything else you can to help these animals, and owners out. Spending time with individuals who are traditionally commodified can really change someone’s perspective. All it takes is one individual to resonate with you, and then you end up with a completely different understanding of what they are capable of!

If you would like to visit our sanctuary, head over to lamuellasanctuary.org, or follow us on Facebook, or Instagram!

Contact Info:

• Website: lamuellasanctuary.org
• Instagram: @lamuella_sanctuary
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LamuellaAZ

Image Credits
Megan Howell, Alexandra Buxbaum, and Phil Walker