Columbia County sanctuary gives aging farm animals a place to retire

Lois Tivey, a retired secretary from Astoria, has loved horses since she was a little girl watching cowboy shows on TV.

She got her horse, Elvis, from a vet a decade ago. He has severe nerve damage so he can’t be ridden.

“He is amazing. He’s just so gentle and sweet,” Tivey said.

But like Elvis, time is catching up with Tivey. She just turned 75, and arthritis in her wrists means she can no longer lift hay bales to feed him.

“I struggled every time I handled one,” she said.

But a 20-year-old horse that can no longer be ridden and costs $500 a month in feed and medicine was a tough sell. Nobody else wanted Elvis.

But then Tivey heard about On Golden Rescue a newly accredited large animal sanctuary near Clatskanie.

She drove out unannounced to make sure it was clean and well-run.

“My jaw dropped,” she said. “I’ve never seen such an amazing place.”

Golden Rescue’s 14 acres of lush, green fields host six mini horses, four goats, five standard horses and six mini donkeys.

Cofounders Larry Boxman and Gayle Rich-Boxman said they provide aging animals with a balanced diet, plenty of space and medical attention so they can retire in peace.

“We will not take an animal in if we don’t have the resources to support them,” Boxman said.

He was 12 and camping in the Appalachian Mountains when he decided to help animals for a living. He was watching the stars one night, he said, when, “It’s going to sound kind of corny, but I felt this voice tell me that I’m meant to work with animals, save animals, rescue animals.”

Boxman became a paramedic instead of a vet and then an administrator for an ambulance service. But over time, he and his wife, a real estate agent, bought land around their home in Birkenfeld. They expanded the property from two acres to 14.

They opened On Golden Rescue in 2022. Small red-and-white barns speckle the fields. There’s a veterinarian facility and a walking pen for exercise. The sanctuary conducts regular tours for schools and small groups.

“The animals, when they come here, they live out the rest of their life. This is a permanent home for them,” Boxman said.

Dr. Kim Post, with nearby Banks Veterinary Service, said the sanctuary is a wonderful respite for animals that have been abused or neglected. It’s also a great solution for local people who can’t afford a donkey anymore, or who have aged out of riding a horse.

“For Gayle and Larry, it’s a calling,” Post said. “It’s something that they just feel drawn to, and bless them for doing so.”

There are other paths for people with animals they can no longer support, particularly those with farm animals. But the Boxmans feel that once an animal has been a pet, there’s a line their human companions can’t cross.

“We experience them in a way that attracts us to them and them to us. And that’s a connection. Once you make that connection, you can’t eat that animal,” Boxman said.

Owners who leave their animals at On Golden Rescue help as much as they can with hay or bags of carrots. But the nonprofit primarily relies on donations. Larry Boxman has no children and regards the sanctuary as the family legacy. The couple is focused on making the world the best possible place it can be.

They say they tread as lightly as possible on the land, using solar power, collecting rainwater and using barn cats instead of poison to kill the vermin.

Animal sanctuaries can be problematic sometimes because owners accept every troubled animal they hear about. That leads to overcrowding and neglect. Boxman didn’t want to fall into that trap, so he made sure to get accredited by the gold standard in rescue centers, the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.

That means adhering to standards for nutrition, housing and vet care; having ethical fundraising practices; and not allowing captive breeding or trading in animal parts.

Because of such standards, space is limited, and the sanctuary only accepts older animals with serious medical issues.

“It’s important that we have groups that are qualified, certified and trained,” said Roger Kadell, the animal control deputy with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. “Because it’s easy for anybody to just call themselves a rescue. (On Golden Rescue) has taken it to heart to do everything the right way.”

Kadell said he has worked with the Boxmans on many cases, including helping animals in cases of alleged criminal abuse and neglect.

“Having those resources is extremely valuable to us because I don’t have a place to put those kinds of animals.”