Wobbles & Stomps 501(c)3 Special Needs Animal Sanctuary is dedicated to providing a safe and loving environment for animals with disabilities and special needs. Established to raise awareness about the unique challenges these animals face, the sanctuary offers rehabilitative care, comfort, and companionship. By fostering a sense of community and promoting adoption, Wobbles & Stomps not only enhances the lives of its residents but also educates the public on the importance of compassion and understanding towards all living beings. The sanctuary serves as a haven where each animal can thrive and receive the dignity they deserve.

We didn’t realize it, but we began our mission in 2022 with the promise to help a local animal shelter through fostering and volunteering. We took in a mama cat and her litter of kittens and within two weeks, we were assisting with a hoarding situation that brought us even more kittens. From that point on, we took on the mindset of “what’s one more?” and started regularly fostering cats and kittens until they were healthy, spayed/neutered, and ready to adopt. Several of those were admittedly foster fails, too, and we faced plenty of tragic losses throughout the process, along with some surprising and incredible opportunities to save lives… like our beloved Mr. Berry, a calicivirus survivor.

Cats and kittens were supposed to be our thing… no dogs allowed (except our four!). We were in an area that was overrun with an overwhelming homeless animal population and the health concerns that go along with too many animals and not enough food or vet care available. But, then we met Spoonie and all bets went out the window. At six weeks and only twelve ounces, he and his two litter mates (Forky and Knify) set the standard for raising puppy litters and getting them into good homes. Spoonie was just too much to resist and he became our first dog foster fail… and is now considered a Sanctuary animal due to his unique skeletal anomaly.

Why special needs animals? Like Mr. Berry, Spoonie, and the others, our big fear was that in a place where healthy animals are literally walking the streets, these special pups and kitties would face a terrible future. They would be abandoned or suffer due to a lack of vet care or just a safe home to call their own.

If you have followed our journey, you’ve probably heard of the Trash Bag Pups and know their story. In short, seven four-week old pups were discovered inside a trash bag next to a creek as a car sped away. In all likelihood, the person who discovered the bag probably saved those pups from being drowned in the creek. We took in the seven pups and still have four of them in the Sanctuary. Anakin or AniBanani was the runt of the litter and obviously struggled to walk the same way her brothers and sisters did, preferring an army crawl style of movement until she got a little bigger and stronger. Her diagnosis (hypometria and proprioceptive disorder) are likely due to being in the trash bag, deprived of oxygen or tossed to the ground, or both (on top of being the runt). We knew pretty instantly that she would be a lifer with us… and her unique walk (STOMP) became part of our mission… or at least our name.

The other three siblings are still waiting for their homes… but medium-size, dark-furred, pitty-face dogs are just not in demand, despite how sweet and silly they are. We’ll have more on that on a different part of the website.

As for the Wobbles, we met our first “Wobble Cat,” about a year after the Trash Bag Pups came into our lives. He was born to a feral mama and wasn’t the first of her babies to have Cerebellar Hypoplasia behaviors. Fortunately, the caretaker of the feral mama and kittens knew that wobbly baby could not make it as a feral cat and began the process of socializing him and finding, well, us. Arthur Wobbleston became our second Sanctuary Cat and not long after, we added in another “feral” wobbly boy: Toby “Trembles” LaRone.

At this time, we have worked with cats, dogs, kittens, and puppies with a wide range of challenges, including health, nutritional, and behavior issues. We’ve had plenty of successes, but we have also had a lot of tragic outcomes. Still, we continue to help these animals while fighting for stronger spay/neuter laws that will help prevent unhealthy and unwanted litters and the subsequent problem of homeless and unhealthy adults. We are no-kill advocates. We support organizations that offer low-cost medical care, vaccines, and low-cost basic training for puppies and dogs, keeping these animals safe and happy in homes, while reducing health and behavior challenges. We provide temporary fostering for animals that need a place to heal and grow before finding their forever homes and lifetime support for those who would otherwise be discarded on the side of the road.

Want to help us help them? Donate, foster, volunteer, share our posts, and advocate for stronger spay/neuter laws in your area.