Friends Of Baxter

Our Rescue Work

A primary aspect of our work is going to rescue centres and sanctuaries to offer voluntary Reiki sessions to benefit animals in their care who are distressed and otherwise suffering. During the COVID-19 pandemic weekly Reiki has been offered distantly.

Centres where we have been offering Reiki to benefit the animals in their care

  • Yorkshire Cat Rescue
  • The Wonkey Donkey Visitors Centre (Donkey Sanctuary)
  • Cario Raptor Care and Rehabilitation (Bird of Prey Centre)

It is wonderful to see animal and bird rescue, rehoming and rehabilitation centres opening their doors and welcoming natural and holistic therapies to support the work of their vets and care staff. Benefits are quickly evident and what’s more the animals/ birds show how much they truly love their therapy sessions.

We can say what we like but animal don’t lie through their actions and behaviours.

If any other charity/ good cause animal centres are interested in knowing more, with possible staff training if desired please contact us on [email protected].

Hope Pastures

Hope Pastures is a charity organisation and equine (horses, ponies and donkeys) rescue centre in north Leeds, run by a few staff and supported by 100 volunteers. It aims to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home or offer a home to equines who are suffering from neglect or may otherwise do so. Often, the animals rescued are heading on a downward spiral and desperately need intervention before their situation deteriorates. 

This centre is set up with natural animal care as a priority – edible medicinal hedgerows, a grazing system that encourages the sustainable growth of healthy grass and hard standing areas to prevent mud, which can cause undesirable health issues. Their ‘3 F’s are a given i.e. Friends, Forage and Freedom and any animals with mental, emotional and physical problems receive kind, ethical, science-based training and various therapies. This is where Friends Of Baxter Animal Care plays a role with our Reiki work.

Within the community, Hope Pastures seeks to educate and welcomes visitors on site, sharing the healing and therapeutic benefits of being around equines.

A Hope Pastures perspective: The horse has got us where we are today. This is our chance to repay this humble animal.

Yorkshire Cat Rescue

Yorkshire Cat Rescue is a registered charity and rescue centre that exists to save the lives of abandoned and unwanted cats and kittens in Yorkshire and parts of Lancashire. It rescues, cares for and rehomes approximately 1000 cats a year from its purpose-built centre, with many in foster homes too. As Yorkshire Cat Rescue will never put healthy cats down sometimes it takes in and, until found the ideal home, cares for chronically ill cats or kittens. Cats for adoption can be viewed on https://yorkshirecatrescue.org.

A manager from Yorkshire Cat Rescue approached Friends Of Baxter Animal Care and asked if we would be willing to offer Reiki to help their anxious and frightened cats. “Of course,” we replied, and our first visit was arranged for late November 2017.

On the first morning immediate benefits were evident for all to see. Our visits then became a regular occurrence with Reiki also being sent between visits to nervous or ill cats who were new to Yorkshire Cat Rescue and it was thought would especially benefit. Our case studies show a few examples of how Reiki has helped these Rescue cats, and could help large numbers of other animals.

The Wonkey Donkey Visitors Centre (Donkey Sanctuary)

This Yorkshire based donkey sanctuary was built with the aim  of rescuing donkeys in need of loving care and nursing them back to health so that they could enjoy the rest of their lives in comfortable caring surroundings. It took 5 years of planning but the centre was set up and is a non-profitable organisation. Over 20 donkeys now live their days, largely in family groups at The Wonkey Donkey Visitors Centre. Their website can be viewed here:  Wonky Donkey Sanctuary.

On the regular daily guided tours, visitors hear sad stories about how the donkeys have in many cases been terribly maltreated and it is a pure joy to go weekly to offer some therapy sessions to these adorable souls.  Most of the donkeys are very receptive to Reiki and after our visit it isn’t uncommon for them to be sleeping standing up or even lying down. In one paddock they even line up, with one at a time under the Reiki Practitioner’s hands. They patiently wait their turn, taking as much ‘healing energy’ as they want and then moving on and the next donkey moves forward.  

Cario Raptor Care and Rehabilitation (Bird of Prey Centre)

Corio Raptor care and Rehabilitation is highly specialised registered Charity centre dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of raptors or birds of prey and it has now become one of the largest independent centres for the care and rehabilitation of sick, injured and mistreated birds of prey in the North West on the border of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria.

Many injured and mistreated birds are received, cared for and rehabilitated so that they can be released again as soon as possible. Like other animals they can suffer mentally and emotionally as well physically and Reiki has been able to offer helpful support for their recovery. In some cases the birds need to become long term residents, for example if they are non-native birds, taken in as injured chicks or juvenile birds without experience of hunting and fending for themselves in nature, or if suffering with severe psychological damage following mistreatment. The aim however is to rehabilitate them wherever possible. Given the nature of this centre and its work, it is not open to the public. However public displays are on occasions given