MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Running a rescue that focuses on senior and special-needs animals isn't easy, but Old Souls Animal Rescue and Retirement Home happily takes on the challenge daily, providing comfort and care to the animals who need it most. Now, the non-profit is asking for a little care in return.
It's a place where every animal, no matter their age or condition, is treated like family. For executive director, Paula Rivadeneira, Old Souls is all about giving the "forgotten ones" a final, happy hoorah.
"People kind of give up hope on them. They think that the puppies are the ones that should be rescued, but these guys have a lot of life left in them. And so, we want to make sure that this last chapter of their life is the best chapter," Rivadeneira said.
Old Souls runs entirely on volunteers — people who feed, clean, and care for nearly 90 animals every day.
"Without them, I don't know, I wouldn't be able to go to work because I would be worried all the time. So, they're really important to us," Rivadeneira said.
Those 80-90 animals include dogs, cats, pigs, goats, one peacock, chickens, roosters, and more. So, Rivadeneira says there's a place for everyone who wants to help, no matter their skills or schedule.
"Everything from building a new tortoise enclosure so we can get our little tortoises outside and even inside stuff, like stuff that would just make our lives a little easier, like the cabinet door that's falling off," Rivadeneira said.
One of those volunteers, Kelli Burgess, says these animals give just as much love as they get.
"I come in the afternoons occasionally and just pretty much take care of the dogs. I check on the outside animals, make sure they have water. But [I] take care of the dogs, do a little cleaning up after the dogs, and just spend time with them and just give them the human connection," Burgess said.
Burgess says that working with older animals has changed her view of compassion.
"They teach me about resilience because dogs are incredibly stoic and they just want to live and love," Burgess said.
Rivadeneira hopes more people will see what makes Old Souls so special.
"One of the reasons that people say that they don't want to volunteer with us is because they're afraid it's going to be sad and I can assure you there is nothing sad about being at Old Souls. Everybody is well taken care of. Of course, we have sadness when an animal passes away or when they're really sick. But honestly, it is a comedy of errors here most of the time. We all have a really good time together, and the animals are hilarious," Rivadeneira said.
Rivadeneira says they value all the donations they receive, but encourage people to support vet costs for the animals if possible.
"We could really use some help with fundraising because we love and appreciate every donation we get, but a lot of people donate items, and we have tons of towels and blankets and pee pads and all of that stuff. But there's a lot of animals that we need to take to the vet," said Rivadeneira.
If you'd like to support or volunteer at Old Souls, you can find their contact information here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
