Tammy Hindman stands with a young puppy that was dropped off on her porch one night. Since the puppy was delivered to her sans shots, Hindman picked up the tab for all the pooch’s vet costs.Tammy Hindman’s son Steven loved animals more than anything. He would always come home with stray kittens and abandoned baby birds. When Steven passed away in 2009, Hindman began the process of turning her home on McCahill Road in Red Bank into an animal sanctuary in Steven’s honor.
After operating unofficially for years, Hindman got her nonprofit certification about six months ago, and now Stevie’s Haven takes in and adopts out more than a dozen animals a month.
It’s not just dogs and cats, though she does rescue many of each. She’s rehabilitated pigs, ducks, iguanas, rabbits and goats, just to name a few. Really, anything Hindman has room to take in, she said, she does.
“What we do here isn’t glamorous work,” said Hindman. “We’re just in an old house working as we go. Most times, I’m either giving baths, feeding, or walks.”
Hindman described when, a few months ago, three hound puppies were dropped off on her porch in the middle of the night with no note. After taking care of their vet costs, she expects them to be adopted out soon. Some animals, though, aren’t really adoptable.
That doesn’t make a difference to Hindman. Old, young, healthy or sick, she takes them in.
“We had a 14-year-old dog whose owner passed away,” she said. “Someone loved and cared him for 14 years. He was an amazing being with heart and soul while he was breathing.”
That dog passed away a little over four months afterward, surrounded by the comfort of Hindman’s care for him.
She has also received older dogs whose medical costs prevent the original owners from caring for them any longer. Other times, Hindman said, people just don’t want old dogs anymore. Even if she knows they’ll never be adopted, providing that comfort and care for them is what matters, she said.
Nearly every room in her home is a specialized animal sanctuary, complete with custom temperature settings to match the animals’ preferences. Birds get a warmer room, while the dogs prefer it a bit cooler. Hindman said she tries to minimize how much time every animal spends in a cage or kennel, and that the socialization has helped rehabilitate some previously “unadoptable” animals.
“These animals are part of the family,” Hindman said. “I’m fortunate that I’m still small enough that I can be so family and home oriented. Animals that have aggressive inclinations would have been dangerous to put out initially, and are now doing so well.”
She credits other local animal sanctuaries and adoption clinics for pointing her in the right direction initially, such as how to get set up at the local Petco on Highway 153 and PetSmart at Hamilton Place for Adoption Saturdays. Hindman said she believes she’s the first organization to bring more exotic animals like pot-bellied pigs for adoption.
Every dollar donated goes toward maintenance of the house or the animals, she said, and with good reason. Hindman estimates her weekly food budget is around $400.
“It’s not about the profit. It’s just about being able to lend a helping hand to an animal in need,” she said.
If you would like to donate to or volunteer with Stevie’s Haven, contact Tammy Hindman at 314-6257 or tammyhindman@live.com.
Email Shane Foley at sfoley@timesfreepress.com.