KURTISTOWN — There was Munchkin, a fluffy white kitten rescued from the wheel well of a car just seconds before the vehicle moved forward. And Kapitan, a chestnut-colored horse who nearly lost his right eye from a piece of sharp metal.
KURTISTOWN — There was Munchkin, a fluffy white kitten rescued from the wheel well of a car just seconds before the vehicle moved forward. And Kapitan, a chestnut-colored horse who nearly lost his right eye from a piece of sharp metal.
Or Roxie, a small, long-haired terrier surrendered to the Home at Last Animal Refuge with “a major yeast infection under her painfully matted coat.”
These are some of the rescue stories Samantha Cristos, Home at Last founder and president, describes in brochures and handouts about her nonprofit, a self-proclaimed “no-kill animal refuge” designed to rehabilitate and house dogs, cats and horses — particularly those with medical, social and behavioral issues.
“If everybody would just try, we wouldn’t have the (overpopulation) problem we have,” Cristos said during a tour of her refuge on a damp, gray morning last week. “The reality is, there are not enough families on this island to adopt the dogs and cats that need homes.”
For the past nine years, Cristos has been single-handedly trying to ease the island’s pet overpopulation problem herself — largely by taking in what she describes as the most undesirable animals. Many of her animals, she said, came to her with “missing limbs,” “missing eyes,” “chronic behavioral, respiratory and skin ailments.”
“The normal family can’t adopt that kind of animal,” she said. “They couldn’t afford it.”
Cristos works with local veterinarians who help treat the animals’ health problems at a reduced cost. Historically, those deemed adoptable found new homes. Many she says, however, aren’t and reside permanently at the refuge.
Cristos started the nonprofit in 2007. Back then, she operated out of a Waimea facility with just a few cats and dogs. Many came from local veterinarians looking to place injured animals after performing pro bono services. Others were dropped off or pets Cristos said she found herself.
Three years ago, she moved to her current property in Kurtistown. She operates and resides on a small parcel on a 28-acre property just off Highway 11. Her numbers have grown. Cristos currently looks after about 80 animals — mostly cats — kept in two large tents filled with pens, cages and kennels and an assortment of pet supplies.
She said current facilities are not ideal.
The cats — many that started out as feral — need to be re-socialized, she said. Adoption and intake numbers have been mostly stagnant in recent years while she awaited more spacious facilities. And last month, her landlord asked her to move by January because he wants to eventually establish a piggery on the property.
“We’re trying to phase some of the tenants out and move the property over to straight (agriculture) use,” landlord Daniel Davis, who said he manages the property with his father, told the Tribune-Herald. “I’ve sent her some ideas (of places to move) and we’re just waiting until she finds something.”
“It’s become temporarily permanent,” he added. “Which isn’t good for her. I’d like to see her have her own home.”
Cristos set up a GoFundMe page (tinyurl.com/DonateToHomeAtLast) to raise money she says will help her purchase ag-zoned land. She said she is looking for at least 1 acre with a livable structure, preferably in upper Puna.
Cristos isn’t the only animal “refuge” on the island. Just down the street is Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary, a 16-year-old Kurtistown animal rescue that also retains dogs and cats permanently if they’re not adopted, according to the organization’s website.
Rainbow Friends is similarly raising money through GoFundMe (tinyurl.com/DonateToRainbowFriends). It says it is soliciting donations to feed its 250 cats and 80 dogs for the remainder of the year.
Cristos said she plans to increase intake numbers once in a new facility, enlist volunteers and foster homes and begin adopting out again. She said she operates by a quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
“There’s a need for more compassion,” she said. “If you just have this cavalier attitude of ‘let the other person take care of it,’ than no one will. Someone’s got to have the heart to.”
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.