Community Highlights: Meet Lori Swett of Clover Ridge Animal Sanctuary

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Swett.

Hi Lori, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Sure! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my story with my new Colorado community! I founded Clover Ridge Animal Sanctuary in 2018. After two decades of volunteering for various dog and cat rescue organizations and welcoming our first goats and caring for them on a daily basis, I learned the true plight of farm animals and the need for rescuing and advocating on their behalf. 

Through hands-on work with these incredible beings, I realized that goats, sheep, cows, pigs, chickens, etc. are no different from cats or dogs. They all think, feel, have their own unique personalities, are incredibly social beings who are bonded to their family members, and most importantly they all want to live! 

 Our organization began in the northwestern corner of Connecticut 5 years ago, but I recently relocated all our animal residents to Colorado. It was no easy feat, but we are so happy to be here and to be part of an amazing new community that is just getting started! 

 I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I was called to work with animals at an early age, recognizing this as my path and passion in life. In following my intuition to walk that path, I developed many skills over the years. Having been deeply rooted in the rescue community, I had first-hand experience in everything from fostering to adopting, conducting home visits, providing medical care, working with special needs animals, building websites, writing, and content creation, and I also do digital marketing for my day job. 

 As is often the case when we follow our soul journey, all our past experiences become tools in our toolbox that we can then utilize to help birth our new creation into the light. So, in this respect, it was a very natural and organic unfolding where I felt the universe conspiring to bring our sanctuary and mission to life. 

 But it certainly hasn’t all been easy. The biggest challenge we have faced to date is losing support during the pandemic with everything shutting down, losing volunteers, and the current economic climate resulting in losing donor support that had been directly providing funding to our animal resident’s food, shelter, and medical bills. 

This combined with recent changes to the social media algorithms has made it very difficult for nonprofits to get our posts seen, our messages heard, and to get people engaged. We are now starting to think about how we can pivot our strategy to rely less on the internet and reach more direct like-minded local community members who may want to get involved in this rewarding work. 

 We’ve been impressed with Clover Ridge Animal Sanctuary, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Clover Ridge provides a sanctuary and a retirement home to a variety of different animals. The sanctuary is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to create a safe haven that heals and nurtures animals and people. Our goal is to make a difference in as many lives as possible providing them with good food, quality vet care, compassion, comfort, and dignity for the remainder of their lives. We strive to make the world a safer place for animals by sharing the deep connection that exists between all sentient beings to hopefully inspire others to make more compassionate choices for the animals and for our planet. 

 So, what does that mean in layman’s terms? It means that I give homeless, abused, or neglected at-risk animals a 2nd chance at the life they deserve. It means 24/7 365 care of each individual animal resident. It means that I work from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep tending to animals and trying to make a difference in the world for them. Whether they are cats, dogs, chickens, or goats, their lives are all precious and they matter. It means that I get peed and pooped on multiple times a day! But it also means that I get to experience true unconditional love from these unique and inspiring beings, and sometimes it means I am holding them as they take their last breath in this world knowing that whether they were here with us for 4 days or 4 years, I managed to make a difference in their life. It also means that we get to share that connection with anyone who wants to receive it. 

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years? 
This is a great question. For me, being an animal sanctuary means that we do not believe in using any animals for products, food, or entertainment. I believe that animals are here with us, not for us and I strive to be a voice for the voiceless, helping more people make the connection, and we believe that is slowly starting to happen. 

Within the food industry for example, just over the past several years, I have witnessed a huge shift in people starting to wake up to the horrible realities of factory farming (myself included). The devastation it causes not only to the animals who are bred into these miserable existences but also the toll it has taken on our beautiful Mother Earth, recognizing that animal agriculture is a major driver of global warming and biodiversity loss. 

I would be remiss not to also mention the impact on our health as food coming from factory farms often contains harmful bacteria, pesticide residue, antibiotics, and artificial hormones, all of which can be harmful to consumers. 

It is estimated that 99% of all animal products in the U.S. come from factory farms so more people are realizing that if they are buying their animal meat, milk, cheese, and eggs at the grocery store, this is what they are supporting.

 The good news is many consumers are no longer willing to support this detrimental industry. Now when you go to the grocery stores you can see there are just as many plant milk cartons as there are cow’s milk cartons. If you go to a major fast–food chain like Burger King or KFC, there are now plant-based options on the menu that weren’t there 5 years ago. Large traditional brands like Nestle, Kraft, and Country Crock are now putting their plant-based offerings on the shelves giving mass consumers access to healthier, more compassionate, and sustainable products. 

 I think it’s safe to say the movement is happening because it needs to happen and it’s only going to continue building momentum over the next decade and beyond.  

In our lifetime there will sadly continue to be a need for animal sanctuaries to provide safe havens for rescued animals. But of course, the ultimate goal would be for there to be no need for animal sanctuaries at all because humans would no longer be breeding animals into existence for food or entertainment.  

In the next 5-10 years I envision being on a new farm property here in Colorado where we can continue caring for our existing residents and take in new rescued animals as well. Hopefully with an amazing team of supporters who want to be part of our community!

Dedicated volunteers play an essential role in our mission. We rely on a small full-time staff, and we always need volunteers of all skillsets to get involved and help us take great care of our rescued animals. 

If someone has a special talent they’d like to donate to a great cause, we are always looking to grow our Colorado community and would love to hear from them! We need everything from photographers, graphic designers, carpenters, grant writers, and social media specialists, to business partnerships, fundraising, and hands-on animal care. 

 If anyone would like to learn more about our organization, meet our animal residents, and be part of our team to help spread compassion throughout the world, please contact us at cloverridgesanctuary@gmail.com or DM us on Facebook or Instagram. 

 Contact Info:

• Website: www.cloverridge.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cloverridgeanimalsanctuary/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cloveridgesanctuary
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cloverridge