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No-kill · Foster-based · 501(c)(3)

Healing Hearts Sanctuary SoCal

A Sanctuary in the Making

A Place Where Animals and Humans Heal

We have officially launched as a 501(c)(3) Foster-Based-Rescue, allowing us to start saving lives today while we work toward building our future sanctuary.

Anita St Lewis embracing a rescued dog
Anita St Lewis, Founder

You can foster a dog or cat while we find the right home.

Learn how our animal rescue in Orange County cares for animals in foster homes today.

Foster Volunteer Adopt

Four ways in

Pick the way you'll help. Every one saves a life.

Smiling child holding a fluffy white dog 01 Adopt
Adopt Finding every animal a loving home. Meet the process
Foster caregiver with a rescued animal 02 Foster
Foster Open your home for a few weeks. We cover food, vet care and support — you cover the love. Fosters needed now
Golden retriever getting a bath 03 Volunteer
Volunteer Walk, groom, photograph, post, plan events. Your skills directly save lives. Find your role
Two dogs lying together and cuddling an orange kitten on a blanket 04 Donate
Donate Gifts pay for food and vet care in foster homes today, and help fund a future sanctuary. Donate today

The Journey

From the kennel to a bed of their own

Every animal we pull follows this path. Fosters make the middle of the story possible.

Become a foster
A diverse pair of volunteers caring for a rescued animal

Why we exist

A rescued animal doesn't care about your past — only that you showed up.

A Place Where Animals and Humans Heal

They'll celebrate your victories, sit with you in hard times, be your comic relief and remind you that unconditional love is real. As you give them safety, comfort and a future, you discover the truth behind our philosophy: animals and humans heal, together.

Shelter overcrowding in Southern California still ends lives that could have been saved. We exist to change that — one foster home, one adoption, one heart at a time.

Fosters needed now

Your spare room is the sanctuary — until we build one.

We're a foster-based rescue by design. Every foster home creates space to pull another animal running out of time.

A foster caregiver relaxing on her couch with a black cat in her lap and a calico cat on the armrest Start the foster questionnaire
  1. 1 Fill out the questionnaireTen minutes, in English or Spanish, for dogs or cats.
  2. 2 Get matchedWe pair you with an animal that fits your home, schedule and comfort level.
  3. 3 We deliver the essentialsFood, supplies and all veterinary care are on us.
  4. 4 Help them find foreverYour notes and photos speed their adoption — then you can do it again.

The Future Sanctuary

Picture it at sunrise: this is what we're building.

We are actively raising funds to secure land in Southern California — a place where every animal we've ever pulled from a shelter finally has room to just be. Horses grazing beside a small pond. Dogs running loose in open pasture. Cats sunning themselves outside a welcome center built for volunteers and visitors. A working apiary. A meditation garden for the people who show up to heal alongside them.

This is the completed vision — not a temporary fix, but a permanent home that expands our capacity to save more lives for good.

Completed-sanctuary vision showing animal housing, a pond, gardens and horse paddocks — not built yet

Where we are headed

Our vision for the sanctuary. Not built yet. Help us get there.

Programs planned for the finished sanctuary

Our vision. The sanctuary is not built yet; today we are foster-based.

Adoption Program

Finding every animal a loving home.

Foster Program

Temporary housing while an animal heals.

Literacy Program

Children reading to animals.

Mirror Work with Veterans and Horses

Support for PTSD through mirror work with veterans and horses.

Autism Spectrum Program

Working with horses, dogs and cats.

Mental Wellness Program

Relaxing time with dogs and cats, plus yoga, sound baths and concerts.

Our journey

WHERE IT ALL STARTED.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
WHERE WE ARE HEADED.

A true timeline of the people, milestones and the future we're building — together.

Where it all started

2014

Anita's animal advocacy officially begins.

2024

Anita visits Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.

2025

Anita attends the Southern Utah University program on starting a 501(c)(3) animal rescue.

2025

Anita graduates from the program.

2025

Healing Hearts Sanctuary SoCal forms as a 501(c)(3).

2025

Website development begins.

Where we are today

2026

Board members join the cause.

2026

Anita visits established rescues and sanctuaries to learn.

2026 Today

Phase one officially launches: the Pull and Foster Program.

2026

First donation.

2026

First volunteer.

Where we are headed

Explore programs planned for the finished sanctuary →
Planned

Expand our rescue and foster network.

Planned

Land donated for the sanctuary.

Planned

More donations, more volunteers, more animals and humans healed.

Community Voices

Why this mission matters

Every animal deserves compassion, safety, and the chance to heal. Healing Hearts is building a sanctuary where rescued animals receive care while helping people experience the transformative power of connection, kindness, and hope.

A message about our mission Animals and humans healing together

Your voice belongs here

You don't need a perfect story to make a difference. Tell us why animal rescue matters to you, what fostering has meant to your family, or what this sanctuary could bring to our community. With your permission, your own words can help someone else take their first step.

Share your message → Real words, shared only with your permission

Follow our journey

Stay updated with the latest rescues, events, and sanctuary progress.

Instagram

Follow Anita and Healing Hearts Sanctuary SoCal for animals, everyday moments and the journey toward our sanctuary.

Visit @healingheartssanctuarysocal ↗

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TikTok

See the animals and the people behind the mission, and help our rescue reach more caring hearts.

Visit @healingheartssanctuarysc ↗

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Knowledge is power.

Short, plain-language guides on the ideas behind our work.

Quick answers

Yes. We are a no-kill 501(c)(3) nonprofit. No animal in our care is euthanized for space, time or a treatable condition.

Right now we are a foster-based rescue across Southern California, saving lives today while we raise funds for land and permits to build a permanent sanctuary.

Adopt, foster, volunteer, donate or shop our wish list — see "Ways to help" in the menu for every path, in English and Spanish.

No. We provide food, supplies and all medical care, plus a coordinator you can reach 24/7.

Open the Adopt or Foster page and pick a bilingual questionnaire for dogs or cats. Our team reviews every questionnaire and follows up within a few days.

Yes. We are a registered 501(c)(3), EIN 39-2801580. Every gift — cash, goods or land — is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, and you receive an emailed receipt for your records.

Food, medical care and supplies for animals in foster today, and land, permits and construction for the permanent sanctuary we're building for tomorrow.

Yes — monthly giving is one of the biggest ways to help us plan ahead, and it counts toward the same annual tax deduction as a one-time gift. See the Donate page.

Not yet — we open individual sponsorships once our first fosters are publicly listed. Until then, a monthly gift funds the same medical care and food for whichever animal needs it most that week.

Mainly transfers from overcrowded municipal shelters, plus owner surrenders and, occasionally, animals found as strays. We assess every animal's health and temperament before placing them in foster.

Use the Contact page form or email anita@healingheartssanctuary-socal.org — Anita reads every message personally.