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Willows Animal Sanctuary
Willows is celebrating it's 20th anniversary as a
charity!
Our Pledge to the Animals in Our Care
When you come to Willows, we will embrace and care for you. If you arrive broken, we will fix you if we can, and bring you back to good health.
If you were let down in the past, we promise to keep you safe and we will do our best for you at all times, for you are now truly home. Your soul
may be battered and broken, but all that is over now and you must let the past be the past. Peace and love will be all you know now and food and
water will be in abundance. Shelter, bedding and medicine can be taken for granted now and we will watch over you.
When you become unwell and no pain relief works, when you are tired and you let us know that enough is enough, we will be there to hold you,
with love and reassurance, as a kind vet helps you to slip quietly to sleep. Our hearts may be broken once again, but we take comfort in knowing
that you are now safe and out of pain. When the next soul arrives, we’ll be strong enough to do it all again! Because to give a great life,
means you have to be there to hold them at the end.
21 Years Saving Animals!
Willows Animal Sanctuary is the largest,
ethically
run, equine, farm and domestic animal sanctuary
in Scotland and will try to help any animal in
distress. We operate a strict no kill policy and
only euthanise an animal on veterinary advice.
We look after over 450 animals including over
100 horses, ponies and donkeys, approximately 60
cats and dogs and many reptiles as well as over
200 farm animals and birds. We are very
dependent on donations, legacies and grants from
benevolent organizations to keep the sanctuary
running. Unlike larger charities we have no
reserves of money and are always desperately
short of funds. We specialise in helping elderly
or more vulnerable animals that have already
been refused help by well-known large national
charities, but we can only continue to help
needy animals with your support!
Our Visitor attraction is open every Thursday,
Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11-30 am till
3-30 pm. In addition to meeting all our resident
animals, visitors can get lunch or a coffee and
cake in our coffee shop, buy unusual items from
our gift shop and grab a bargain from our onsite
charity shop.
Lucky: I would have starved to death in plain sight
The Animal-Assisted Therapy Unit at Willows
Willows helps many vulnerable people with its
animal-assisted therapy (AAT) programme. The concept
of allowing rescued animals to help vulnerable
people on the road back to health is very innovative
and has been independently evaluated and shown to be
highly beneficial.
Willows has run its AAT Programme for people with severe mental health difficulties,
for approximately 19 years.
The AAT programme at Willows started out as
a pilot scheme but soon came to be regarded
as a useful alternative to day/hospital care
by social workers, psychiatrists and
employment officers in the Aberdeenshire
region.
Willows now has a service level agreement with Aberdeenshire Council
to help people with severe and enduring mental health difficulties.
Since starting the programme we have identified other client groups who would benefit from using our service. Currently we are experiencing an
increased demand for places from young people and especially school-phobics and troubled teenagers. More people than ever are looking into alternatives to assist with anxiety,
depression, and other mental health difficulties.
Our AAT programme has boosted confidence, helped overcome anxiety, taught new skills and opened doors for
employability and further education. Our therapy programme is run by a team of experienced staff (some of whom have personal experience with mental
health issues themselves).Willows acts as a life line for many vulnerable people, and in many cases it is the only programme particular clients are willing
to try. We work very closely with employment officers, social workers and back to work programmes etc. This helps us to maintain the high standard of service
that we provide.
'I feel being at the sanctuary has helped me move forward and I am feeling more confident'
- Julie is now considering seeking paid work, the fact she is thinking about this shows how far she has come!
'Being at Willows is a chance to escape from reality!'
- Jill has suffered with depression for a long time and has really blossomed since being at Willows.
'Being around all the wonderful animals has made me feel useful!'
Taking part in the AAT helps people to put animals first and this can help with resolving issues at home.
'I now feel like a different person, I can now cope with people, in the past I would have tried to avoid people by crossing the street if
necessary or not going out' - Brian now feels so much better
he is now helping others at Willows!
Mary looks forward to her time at the sanctuary it gives her
'time out'.
Jemma feels that attending the Willows AAT programme has helped her enormously with her depression and panic attacks. She feels the animals
need her to feed them and being at Willows makes her feels happy and free. Jemma also said the she
'enjoys this the most' out all of her activities.
'Coming to the Willows on a Monday kick starts my week if I don’t attend my whole week doesn’t feel right' -
John has suffered with severe depression
for years… Willows AAT is the only activity he attends.
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Come and enjoy the new Willows Coffee Shop - opening
times above. Serving a full lunch menu including
great home cooking: macaroni cheese, stovies,
soups and many other delicious options! We also have a lovely selection of cakes, teas and coffee!
